Make Your Own Movie

January 28, 2021 in Games

Make Your Own Movie

What better way to stimulate creativity than to get your team to make their own little movie? This fun activity can be done indoors or outdoors. It requires some equipment – cameras, tripods, and microphones – but your team will love it.

After all, who doesn’t love movies?

Number of participants: Any

Duration: 2-8 hours (change as needed). Alternatively, make it a full day event

Objective: Promote creativity, teamwork, collaboration and help people work with large teams

How to play

1. Procure the equipment – a good camera (DSLR cameras will do), shotgun microphones, tripods, and a laptop loaded with film editing cameras.

2. Divide participants into large teams (minimum 8 people). Ask each team to divide responsibilities (screenwriter, actors, camera operator, director, etc.).

3. Optional: Introduce a theme. If that seems too constricting, ask teams to pick their own topic/theme.

4. Ask teams to write scripts for their own 5-7 minute movie. As a rule of the thumb, a single script page translates into a minute of film.

5. Teams will create movies based on the script, borrowing equipment as necessary.

6. Screen all finished movies at the end of the exercise, awarding prizes to the top picks.

Strategy

Making a movie is an exercise in teamwork. You need every part of the “studio” working together seamlessly to pull off a successful movie. Since you’re working in a limited environment, teams will also have to be creative to get the narrative and effects they want. This can promote lateral, unconventional thinking.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Shark Tank

Join Mark Cuban and company as you present your own product pitch in front of a mock “Shark Tank” of investors. People love this pitch format and it gives team members to work together and be entrepreneurial. You also get to play ‘investor’ and pick the best pitch.

Number of participants: Up to 24 people, split into teams of 2-6 participants

Duration: 90 minutes

Objective: Promote unconventional thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship and teamwork

How to play

1. This team building activity is based off the eponymous TV show. The objective is the same: teams pitch mock products in front of a group of “Sharks” (usually senior team members) to secure investments.

2. Divide participants into teams of 2-6 people. Ask them to come up with an imaginary product and develop a pitch for it. This pitch must be professional and include:

• Brand name
• Brand slogan
• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Financial data (predicted sales, market size, profit margins, etc.)

If people have difficulty figuring out the pitch requirements, you can play them clips from the Shark Tank show.

3. Choose 3-4 people to be the “Sharks”. Give them imaginary backgrounds (“X is the founder of ABC Clothing and the owner of a major NFL team“). You can also give them an imaginary pool of money to invest in pitched ideas.

4. Ask each team to develop their pitch and present it in front of the Sharks. Encourage the Sharks to ask questions as if they’re evaluating a real business and parting with their own real cash. If a pitch is promising, the Sharks can invest their mock money into the business.

5. The team that wins the most investment at the end wins.

Strategy

Shark Tank is one of the most popular shows on television. Getting your team to participate in your own version of this show can stimulate entrepreneurship and big thinking. Since all players have to work in teams and divide duties to be successful, it will also promote teamwork and collaboration.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Magazine Story

Who wouldn’t want to be featured on a magazine cover?

In this activity, each team has to create an imaginary magazine cover story about a successful project or business achievement. They have to get the right images, come up with headlines, formulate quotes, etc.

A great exercise in creativity that can also inspire your team to think bigger.

Number of participants: Any

Duration: 60-90 minutes

Objective: Visualize future success, motivate team members and encourage them to think big

How to play

1. The goal of this game is simple: get players to create a magazine cover story about your company or project (choose either). The players don’t have to write the complete story; they only have to write the headlines and create images, quotes and sidebars.

2. Divide participants into teams of 3-6 players. Give them markers, pens, and anything else they’ll need to create a fictional magazine cover.

3. Create several templates for different elements of the magazine story. This should include: a) magazine cover, b) cover story headline, c) quotes from leaders and team members, d) sidebars about project highlights, and e) images.

4. Distribute these templates to each team. Ask them to create a magazine story, filling in each template and focusing on the project or business.

5. Choose the best magazine cover.

Optional: Offer a prize for the most creative magazine cover.

Strategy

Seeing your project or business’ success featured in a magazine is the high-point of any organization. This creative exercise helps your team members think big and visualize their future success. It can also be a powerful motivational tool.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Back of the Napkin

Draw the solution to a problem on the back of a napkin, like all entrepreneurs of legend. Teams will have to work together and solve problems creatively for this game to work.

Number of participants: 6-24, divided into teams of 3-4

Duration: 10-20 minutes

Objective: Promote unconventional thinking and teamwork

How to play

1. Come up with a bunch of open ended problems. These could be related to your business, an imaginary product, an environmental problem, etc.

2. Divide all players into teams of 2 to 4 players – basically, what you would see in a team of startup co-founders. Ideally, these would be people who’ve never met or worked together.

3. Give each team a folded napkin and a pen.

4. Ask the teams to draw a solution to the problem as a flow chart/sketch/graph. Evaluate all solutions and pick the best one.

Optional: Offer prizes to the best solution

Strategy

The “back of the napkin” is where so many great product and startup ideas first came into being. This simple team building exercise replicates this tiny canvas, giving participants something fun to do while promoting teamwork and outside-the-box thinking.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Spectrum Mapping

Map the diversity of perspectives on a topic by organizing them into a spectrum. This can unearth innovative ideas and show the diversity of opinions within a team. It can also encourage people with unconventional views who otherwise won’t speak up to participate.

Number of participants: 5-15

Duration: 30-60 minutes

Objective: Express views and share diverse views

How to play

1. Start by identifying a few key topics on which you want insight and opinions from the participants.

2. Write down a topic in the center of a whiteboard. Then ask participants to write down their opinions and perspectives on the topic on sticky notes. Post these notes on either side of the topic along a horizontal line

3. Once everyone has chimed in, work with the group to arrange the notes as a “range” of ideas. Group similar ideas together to the left. Place outlying ideas to the right.

4. Continue doing this until you’ve arranged all ideas as a “spectrum” with most popular ideas to the extreme left, the least popular ideas on the extreme right.

Strategy

Building a spectrum map tells you the diversity of your team’s views about a topic. If you choose a topic that’s relevant to your business, this little team building exercise can reveal an astonishing amount of unconventional thinking.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Low-Tech Social Network

Map the connections between team members on a whiteboard. Teams create their “avatars”, then draw lines to show how they know other team members. This can work great as an ice-breaker at events where teams don’t know each other well.

Number of participants: 5-50

Duration: 30 minutes

Objective: Introduce participants to each other and establish relationships between them

How to play

1. Give participants markers, index cards, and tape. If possible, use markers of different colors.

2. Ask participants to draw their “avatar” on the index card – their “profile picture” on this social network, so to say. Add their names and positions to each card as well.

3. Stick each avatar card on a large whiteboard. Make sure to leave plenty of room between each card.

4. Ask each participant to draw lines to avatar cards of people they already know in the room. Also, specify how they know them (“worked on a project together“, “lunch buddies”, “went to the same college”).

Strategy

This “social network” works best when you’re dealing with people who don’t know each other. Establishing the relationships between them will break the ice. It will also help others map connections between participants for the remainder of the event.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Memory Wall

A physical activity that establishes and re-lives the team’s shared memories. Teams sketch their shared memories with each other and place them on a wall. The wall remains up throughout the event, working as a focal point of the team’s camaraderie.

Number of participants: 6-50

Duration: 45-90 minutes

Objective: Build camaraderie between team members, foster relationships

How to play

1. Give each participant sheets of paper, markers, and tape.

2. Ask each participant to survey the room. Take 15 minutes to write down positive memories of shared experiences and moments while working together.

3. Once participants have a few memories listed, ask them to draw a few of these memories on fresh sheets of papers. The drawings can be abstract renditions of the “memory scene”. They can involve partners who’ve shared the memory to create this drawing. Give them up to 30 minutes to do this.

4. Once the time is up, ask participants to tape their memory drawings to the wall.

5. Ask for volunteers to approach the wall and expand on the memories they just taped on the wall with the entire group.

Strategy

A visual “memory wall” creates a welcoming environment and reaffirms the positive relationships between team members. Rendering each memory – individually or in groups – as a drawing adds much-needed levity and camaraderie to the whole exercise.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Campfire Stories

A classic activity that inspires storytelling and improves team bonding. Teams gather in a circle and share their workplace experiences. Along the way, they learn things about each other and relive old memories.

Number of participants: 6-20

Duration: 45 minutes

Objective: Informal training, encourage participants to share, and establish common experiences

How to play

1. Create a set of trigger words that can kickstart a storytelling session. Think of words like “first day”, “work travel”, “partnership”, “side project”, etc. Add them to sticky notes.

2. Divide a whiteboard into two sections. Post all sticky notes from above on one section of the whiteboard.

3. Ask a participant to pick out one trigger word from the sticky notes and use it to share an experience (say, about his/her first day at the company). Shift the chosen sticky note to the other side of the whiteboard.

4. As the participant is relating his/her experience, ask others to jot down words that remind them of similar work-related stories. Add these words to sticky notes and paste them on the whiteboard.

5. Repeat this process until you have a “wall of words” with interconnected stories.

Strategy

Storytelling is at the heart of the community experience. It is also how information gets passed on informally. A storytelling session focused on work-related stories can get a large group to loosen up and share their experiences.

It can also act as an informal training session with work experiences passing from one member to another.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Code of Conduct

A simple but meaningful activity that sets the tone for an event and builds consensus on shared values. Teams list what matters to them on a whiteboard. Perfect for the start of an event or workshop.

Number of participants: 10-30

Duration: 30+ min

Objectives: Build mutual trust, establish group values.

How to play

1. On a whiteboard, write down the words “Meaningful” and “Pleasant”

2. Ask everyone in the group to shout out what will make this workshop meaningful and pleasant. Alternatively, ask them to write their ideas on sticky notes.

3. Record each participant’s suggestion in the form of a mind map.

4. For each suggestion, ensure that all participants have the same understanding of the idea. If not, change the suggestion until it has consensus from all participants.

5. Go through each suggested item and ask participants how they would ensure that the idea is carried out during the workshop. Record these on the whiteboard in sticky notes.

6. All ideas mutually agreed on as being “pleasant” and “meaningful” make up the Code of Conduct for the group. The group has the responsibility to uphold this code through the remainder of the workshop.

Strategy

For any team building activity to be successful, the team has to have a few common values and beliefs about what makes a successful team meeting. Establishing these values early in the workshop/team meeting can make the rest of the workshop run much smoother.