Chat waterfall: one videoconferencing practice

How can we conduct webinars well?

Over the past two years I’ve seen and used many strategies and practices. One unusual technique has appeared, one for getting webinar participants to write in a certain way in a chat box. I found it charming and entertaining, and wanted to note it here as one tool in the videoconference toolbox. I’d also like to see what folks think, especially those who have used it.

The thing is simple. A facilitator asks everyone to start writing in response to a prompt — but not to hit “enter” until a given signal, whereupon everyone hits return simultaneously. The chat box suddenly fills up. A canny facilitator quickly identifies and celebrates fine responses.

What is this technique called? I’ve heard various names, but found no consensus, so I asked around on Twitter and Facebook. I was impressed by the wide range of replies and the imagination they showed. Here are some the responses, with credit to individual respondents, linked when linkable:

1–2–3-Go (Kimberly Sagarin, Thomas Tobin)

321 (“referring to the countdown when everyone types return,” writes Monica Van Dieren, Thomas Tobin)

avalanche (Scott Meyer, Joshua Eyler)

chat blast (Sara Brownell)

chatmospheric river (Megan Barker)

chatslam (Brett McCollum)

chatstorm (Stephanie Doscher, Naomi Uman)