Piccles Question Bank: Asking the Right Questions during Virtual Meetings

Piccles is a virtual engagement tool that speakers can use in meetings and events to interact with their audience by asking questions and collecting answers through drawings.

From the conversations we had with our customers, we have received many inquiries about what questions are the best to ask when using Piccles.

Asking the "right" questions will create a connection deeper than the screen you are looking at. By choosing the right words you can direct your audience, by either energizing them or make them think (now and long after your virtual meeting is over).

We took the example of " How did the Coronavirus affected you?" - with this question we received authentic drawings, that moved us and our audience. It created a feeling of compassion and tolerance for what others are going through. Another time, we asked "What did the Coronavirus make you grateful for?", the answers were hopeful, joyful, and happy. Long after the meeting was over, our audience continued to share the love and gratefulness. So don't forget, the choice of your words can change the direction of your meeting.

For your inspiration, we've complied with a question bank based on different scenarios and objectives of your meetings.

Four categories of questions to supercharge your next meeting

Icebreaker

For icebreaking, you want to create an inclusive, participatory vibe among your audience draw them into your content. The following questions may be useful when kicking off a meeting:

1. Draw one truth and one lie about yourself.
2. Why are you here today?
3. Where are you joining us from?
4. How is the weather where you live?
5. What was the last thing you did before joining this event/meeting?
6. What drink would you love to have right now?
7. Draw your self-portrait.

Retrospection

Retrospection and feedback are great at the end of an event as a wrap-up and way of creating action items or next steps. Questions related to self-reflection will work the best:

1. How are you feeling right now?
2. What was your big takeaway from this event?
3. What was missing that you would have liked from this event?
4. How did you feel about the content of this presentation?
5. Draw one thing you wish you could have done better.
6. What one thing would you change for next time?
7. What should we start/stop/continue doing as a company?

Team Building

You can use Piccles for team building activities. Questions for team building should allow for interactions between meeting participants to build trust and personal connections, such as the followings:

1. Draw the portrait of one team member who has helped you the most in your work.
2. What do you appreciate the most about your team?
3. Draw one thing that no one knows about you.
4. What do you want to do together once the quarantine is over?
5. What has brought you the most joy during the past month?
6. Draw a food that represents the team.
7. Draw your weekend plans, then guess which team member is doing what.

Just for fun

Whether it's for a work meeting or a social happy hour at the end of a long week, we need to socialize to build team bonds. These questions can help you learn about who the people on your team are outside of work.

1. Draw your favorite animal.
2. Draw a food you wouldn't cook normally, but have because of quarantine.
3. What is your favorite meme/what is the meme that expresses your mood now?
4. What is your favorite TV show/movie/actor/actress?
5. Where do you want to go for your next vacation?
6. What keeps you up at night?
7. Which superhero do you want to be?

A short story about how the Piccles team is using Piccles during our weekly meetings

From a scale of 0 to 10, I would probably rate my level of drawing as 3. But now, thanks to the weekly drawing activities during team meetings, I can say that my level of drawing has improved to at least a 4! The reason behind is not that I am better at drawing after practice, but that my creativity got sparked by my colleagues.

We usually use Piccles as a retrospective tool during weekly meetings. Questions like "What is your plan for the weekend?" and "What have you been working on the most over the last week?" are often asked. We spend some time to draw, guess who drew which one, and discuss the drawing in a casual conversation. Apart from creativity, our team culture has become more lively due to those fun discussions about the drawings and a different way of sharing personal lives and thoughts.

We hope the question bank and the short story can inspire you how to best create the right questions during your meetings or events for engagement and interaction. You can also check out our Wall of Fame for more ideas and inspiration!

Thank you for reading!