Tired of the loudest person on Zoom taking over the conversation? We have a better way. Our Group Share feature is equipped with an opt-in queue, algorithmically optimized to prioritize participants that haven’t spoken recently. It’s an easy, inclusive way to give everyone in your group a voice. Simple for facilitators, welcoming and intuitive for participants, and way more fun for all!
How it works:
In a Group Share, everyone has the opportunity to share thoughts with the group in response to a provided prompt. Once a participant opts in, they’re added to a queue. When it’s their turn, their camera and microphone are automatically enabled and they have a set amount of time to share their thoughts.
Adding Group Share to Your Event:
Group Share activities are already incorporated into a variety of our event templates. If you want to add a new Group Share activity to an event, enter the event and click “Add Activity” on your event dropdown, then select “Group Share”.
After selecting “Group Share," this module will appear:
Name of activity determines what the activity will be titled in your event itinerary (i.e. how it appears on the welcome screen or on the left side of the event’s main room).
Group prompt is the card that your participants are responding to during Group Share. It will appear up on the top right of the main room throughout the activity.
Participant speaking time refers to the amount of time allocated for each participant to respond to the prompt before they fade out and the next person in line begins. Be sure that participant speaking time corresponds to the content of your group prompt! Forty-five seconds isn’t long enough to tell us your life story, but five minutes might be a bit too long for a round of basic intros.
Activity duration controls the total amount of time dedicated to this Group Share activity during your event. If there are too many participants who opt in for the time allotted, they’ll be added to the waitlist. If you see many people on your waitlist, consider extending the activity!
Be sure to click Add once you’ve customized your Group Share activity to your liking, and it will appear in the activity list!
Facilitating Group Share:
When it’s time to start your Group Share activity, here’s what you’ll do:
Press the black play button next to the Group Share activity. Note: Cameras will be automatically turned on for each person when it's their turn to participate in Group Share, assuming they opt-in, so there's no need to adjust camera settings for your participants.
When people opt in to share during the activity, their avatars will appear on the left side of the room. If participants want to remove themselves from the line before they’ve spoken, they can click “Leave Activity” in the playbar at the top of the screen. Note: In creating the order, we remember who hasn’t spoken in a while on Gatheround and prioritize them speaking first.
After a brief countdown, each person will automatically pop up on video and audio one after the other. When a participant’s set time is up, their video simply fades to black, so it’s not on you to kick them off; the next person in line will just appear! The prompt card will stay on the top far right for easy reference.
Recommendations to keep things running smoothly:
We encourage you as the host to stay on video with participants as they respond to the prompt. Having someone visible to speak to makes participants feel more comfortable sharing! But remember: everyone except you should go off video when you first start Group Share.
You can skip participants as needed by clicking the “Skip” arrow at the bottom of the speakers line. For instance, use Skip if someone has finished what they’re saying but hasn’t finished their time, or if a participant experiences technical difficulties.
If few participants have opted to join Group Share and you have excess time dedicated to the activity, encourage participants to get in the queue to share by clicking “Join Activity”—even if they’re joining late!