ClaryooA check-in is the first question of a session, asked so everyone says something before the work starts. "How is everyone doing?" is technically a check-in, and it usually gets silence or a row of "fine". A good check-in question gets an honest answer in a few seconds and tells you something about the room.
Christopher Littlefield, who wrote a book of activities for remote teams, suggests giving about a sixth of meeting time to connection: ten minutes in an hour, twenty in two hours. A check-in is the cheapest way to spend some of it.
Three formats that work
| Format | How it works | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulse check | A 1 to 10 scale question, answered with a number in the chat or on fingers | 2 min | Regular team meetings, long trainings |
| Weather report | Everyone describes their week as weather: sunny, cloudy, a storm that cleared on Thursday | 5 to 10 min | Small teams, retros, Mondays |
| Welcome question | One open question posted as people arrive, answered in the chat or out loud | 3 to 5 min | Workshops, first sessions, mixed groups |
How to run a pulse check
- Ask a scale question, for example "From 1 to 10, what's your energy right now?"
- Ask everyone to type the number in the chat at the same time, or hold up fingers in a room.
- Say plainly that any number is fine, and go first with an honest one. If you're at a 5, say 5.
- Invite, don't require: "Anyone want to say why they picked their number?"
- Make a note of anyone who's low. A quiet word afterwards ("I saw you put a 3, anything I can do?") matters more than the check-in itself.
The scale is what makes it work. A number feels safer than a sentence, so people answer honestly, and you get a read on the whole room in ten seconds.
How to run a weather report
Ask "What was the weather like for you last week?" and go round. People will say things like "thunderstorms until Wednesday, then the sun came out after the client call". It gets a story without asking for one. Once it gets familiar, change the theme: your week as a movie title, a song, or a meal.
How to run a welcome question
Post the question in the chat or on the first slide while people are still arriving, so the early arrivals have something to do. Then pick two or three answers and ask the person to say more. Chad Littlefield opens sessions by asking people what they know really well, then asks a few people to teach the group one thing about it. People talk easily about what they know well.
30 check-in questions
| Mood | Questions |
|---|---|
| Quick and light | One word for how you're arriving. What's the weather in your week? What did you have for breakfast? What were you doing five minutes ago? |
| Scale | Energy from 1 to 10? How full is your plate this week? How ready do you feel for today's topic? How clear are you on our goal? |
| Getting to know you | What's something you know really well? Who was your favorite teacher and why? What's a small thing that gave you joy this week? What's one of your proudest moments? |
| Work-focused | What do you need from today to call it a win? What's one thing on your mind that might distract you? What's one question you're bringing? What's one thing you hope we don't do today? |
| Reflective | What are you leaving behind to be here? How do you want to feel when this ends? What's taking up your brain space lately? What's going well that nobody's noticed? |
| For training | What do you already know about today's topic? Rate your confidence on it from 1 to 5. What's one way you've tried this before? What would make this worth your time? |
| For a team that knows each other | If you could tick one thing off your to-do list by magic, what would it be? What did you learn last week? What's something you're looking forward to? What's one thing the team could do for you this week? Who helped you recently? What's a win from the last month? |
Pick one question per check-in. Two is a survey.
On a call or in a room
| On a call | In a room | |
|---|---|---|
| Scale questions | Everyone types a number in the chat at once | Hold up fingers, or stand on a line from 1 to 10 |
| Open questions | Chat first, then invite two or three people to unmute | Pairs first, then a few out loud |
| Big groups | Chat only, then read a few out | Turn to a neighbor, then a few out loud |
Common mistakes
- Asking "how is everyone?" and moving on before anyone answers. It tells people you don't really want to know.
- Going round a group of 15 one by one. It takes ten minutes, and people spend it rehearsing instead of listening.
- Making it compulsory to explain an answer. Offer the chance, and let people pass.
- A check-in with nothing to do with the session. A question about the work ahead does both jobs at once.
Run it with Claryoo
A pulse check works as a live poll: "Energy right now?" with 1 to 5 as the options, answered by typing a number in the Zoom, Meet or Teams chat. Make it anonymous if the room might not be honest otherwise. You see the spread as it comes in, and the result is in your summary when the session ends.
Poll · 10 votes from chat
LiveWhich priority should we work on first?
Waiting for the chat…
More to watch
- Three Powerful Check In Activities for Virtual Meeting, Christopher Littlefield (5 min): the pulse check, weather report and welcome questions above.
- How To Make Virtual Team Meetings FUN, Chad Littlefield (12 min): the "what do you know really well?" opener, a minute of silence before starting, and renaming yourself on Zoom.
- For longer warm-ups, see icebreakers for adults and 35 ice breaker ideas for meetings.
Use it in a ready session
Free PowerPoint templates with the slides, timings and speaker notes written. Check-in questions for meetings and workshops fits in each one.
Want a co-host in your next session?
Claryoo joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call, runs polls people answer in the chat, and writes up what was decided.
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