Odd Couples

January 28, 2021 in Games

Odd Couples

On any team, you’ll have people with different personalities. But sometimes, these different personalities actually have things in common. Getting these team members to appreciate their differences and similarities can improve team bonding.

Number of participants: 6-20 people

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Objective: Improve team bonding and communication skills

How to play

1. Create a list of odd pairs of objects that, for some reason, go well together. Like “Peanut butter & jelly”, “chocolate & coffee”, “salt & pepper”, etc.

2. Write down the names of objects from each pair on separate sheets of paper.

3. Tape a sheet of paper to a participant’s back. Do this for all participants. Try to tape opposing pairs on people with opposing personalities, though this is isn’t necessary.

4. Ask participants to mingle with the group. Their objective is to figure out what’s written on their backs. The trick is: they can only ask yes/no questions (“Do I add flavor to food? Do I make the food spicy?”).

5. Once participants figure out what’s written on their backs, they have to find the other half of their pair.

6. After they’ve found their pairs, participants have to find three things they share in common with their opposing pair.

Strategy

In any team building event, one of your biggest challenges is bringing different people together. An exercise like this can give participants a reason to sit down and share experiences with people they might not mingle with otherwise. The focus on yes/no questions also improves communication skills.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Silver Lining

Recollecting memories is a good way to get team members to bond with each other. But not everyone on a team will have the same perspectives of a memory, especially if it’s a negative one. Pointing out the silver linings in a negative memory can help shift perspectives, improve morale and help people see things from their team members’ perspectives

Number of participants: 4-12 people, divided into teams of at least 2 people

Duration: 30-60 minutes

Objective: Reframe experiences and shift perspectives

How to play

1. Divide the participants into teams of two or more people who’ve had a shared work experience (such as working on a project together).

2. Ask Team Member A to share a negative experience they had working together with the rest of the group.

3. Team Member B then shares the same experience but focuses on the positive aspects of the experience, aka the “silver lining”.

4. Team Member B then shares his/her own negative experience, and Team Member A shares the positive aspects of it from his/her perspective.

Strategy

A “negative” experience is seldom exactly that. Often, it’s a matter of perspective. By sharing a negative experience, then reframing it in a positive light, you can shift perspectives. Sharing experiences also promotes team bonding and helps build deeper relationships.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Office Trivia

Sometimes, you need a quick activity to break the ice and get people involved in an event. Asking relevant “trivia” questions about your workplace works well in such situations. This game doesn’t require any equipment or significant preparation. It can also be held indoors or outdoors, with small teams or large teams, making it a flexible option for team building.

Number of participants: Any

Duration: 30-60 minutes

Objective: Get people engaged and improve team bonding

How to play

1. Come up with a list of trivia questions related to your place of work. Questions like “What does the poster in the cafeteria say?”, “How many people named ‘John’ work in the IT department?”, “How many people work in the accounting department?”, etc.

2. Write all questions and their answers on index cards.

3. Ask questions to the whole group and solicit answers out loud.

4. The participant who gets the most answers right wins at the end.

Optional: To make it more competitive, consider dividing participants into teams and adding ‘buzzers’ for each question.

Strategy

Your workplace is the one thing common to all members of the team. The objects and people in your office tie your team together. A game like this is not only fun and easy to run, but also highlights the things common to everyone in the room, improving team bonding.

January 28, 2021 in Games

Radio Play

Making movies is fun, but what if some team members are shy and would rather not appear on camera? Or if you don’t have the equipment or the expertise to make and edit movies?

In such situations, you have an alternative – creating a radio play.

This evergreen format offers a way for teams to work together and express their creativity without the hassle of working with film equipment. It also supports smaller teams and can be done in smaller rooms.

Number of participants: Any

Duration: Up to to 2 hours. Keep it shorter if you want time management to be a learning outcome.

Objective: Promote creativity, teamwork, collaboration and time management.

How to play

1. Procure the equipment – notebooks, pens, markers, flip chart papers, microphones, and props for making different sound effects.

2. Divide participants into equally sized teams of 3-12 people.

3. Set up a theme or let teams choose their own.

4. Give teams 60 minutes to plan and write the play, 15-20 minutes to perform it. Since the play is for radio, it’s audio only.

5. Strategy each play and award the best-reviewed play a prize.

Strategy

The radio play is a much more approachable creative format than making movies or actual plays. Since it only requires voice acting, people are generally more willing to participate. At the same time, putting together a successful radio play requires collaboration, teamwork and lots of creative thinking.

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.