Even the most productive and effective teams can benefit from teambuilding activities because they help to find new ways of improving morale and motivation. Only a team that works great together is productive and successful. It’s also fun to work in such a team, don’t forget about that as well!
Finding the right scenario for your teambuilding event can be a fairly challenging task since not everyone can be comfortable with certain activities. It is therefore critical to select an activity that everyone likes.
If you’re having trouble finding clever ideas for a teambuilding event, read below to find five excellent options to choose from.
Let the playing begin!
Event #1: “Two Truths and a Lie” Game
Purpose: foster communication in newly assembled teams.
Time required: 30 minutes
The game begins with each team member secretly writing down two truths about himself or herself and one lie on a piece of paper. After everyone is done, the team is encouraged to communicate for 15-20 minutes – like a party – and quiz each other on the questions. The main purpose here is to persuade other that the lie is a truth, so explain this rule to the team before the beginning.
While persuading others about that the lie is actually a truth, team members should also guess lies and truths of other by asking them questions. The answers are not to be disclosed until the end of the game no matter what.
After the discussion is over, the team is gathered in a circle and everyone repeats each statement one by one. Next, the group votes on which is a lie and which is a truth. As the result, this game encourages everyone to communicate better and lets to know the colleagues better by revealing some facts about them.
Event #2: “Hello My Name Is” Game
Purpose: to demonstrate that assigning an attitude to someone can influence how they view themselves in real life; fostering communication; have fun.
Time Required: 50 minutes + (depends on the number of participants)
The coordinator of the game creates a list of adjectives that describe attitudes (e.g., positive, encourager, trouble maker, etc.). Although it may be enough to write enough adjectives for every player, it is also recommended to have more. Each adjective is to be written on a “Hello My Name Is” sticker.
The stickers should be placed into a box, which is given to every member of the team. As they draw them out, make sure they don’t see what’s written there. Now, everyone should stick them to their shirts. Let the playing begin!
The players are instructed that all of their interaction during the game must reflect the adjective written on their tag. It is typically recommended to provide positive adjectives to improve the outcomes of interactions. By the end of the game, everyone should guess the adjective and discuss the results.
Here’s a list of adjectives for you to get started.
Event #3: “Catapult to Success” Game
Purpose: enhance cooperation, strategy, decision making, group problem solving
Time required: 2 hours +
The main goal of this hilarious game is to get an idea off the ground. Literally. The team needs to be divided into three or more groups, each with a home-made catapult. To win, a group need to have a great device, so a lot of discussing, testing, and brainstorming is required.
The game consists of two rounds. During the first one, each group is instructed to catapult an object. The performance is judged using two criteria: distance and accuracy. Two groups with the best performance qualify for the second round, where they try to outperform their opponents one more time.
According to teambuilders, this game is great for meeting and conference breaks because it takes the mind off work but still requires a fair amount of decision making and creativity. And it’s fun!
Hint: many teams use Angry Birds theme to make it hilarious.
Event #4: “Penny for Your Thoughts” Game
Purpose: improving communication; getting to know each other
Time required: 50 minutes + (depends on the number of participants)
This is a simple game that can be played every week. The coordinator needs to collect coins such as pennies for each member of the team (or more) and make sure that they are dated older than the youngest person on your team (i.e. the coins are younger than the team).
The coins are to be dumped into a box. Every team member draws out one and sees the year on the coin. The coordinator asks to share something interesting or meaningful that occurred to them in that particular year. There is no time limit, so the conversation can go a long time.
Not only this simple game is great for getting to know other members of the team but also a great ace-breaker.
Event #5: “Use What You Have” Game
Purpose: inspire creativity, communication, group problem solving, have fun.
Time required: 1 hour + (depends on the number of participants)
The team is to be divided into equal groups that face the same challenge, which is designed by the coordinator. It is important to create a project with specific challenges and rules; for example, design a device that moves a ball from one point in the room to another. The groups of participants are to use the materials provided by the coordinator.
This game is similar to Unchained Reaction show on Discovery but on a much smaller scale. The participants there needed to build unchained reactions with the materials provided by the hosts, two famous mythbusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.
This game is an excellent opportunity to compete and it’s fun.
Wrapping up
Teambuilding events are a great way to improve performance of teams. The scenarios for these events described above are designed to do just that! Find the right one for your team and make sure that everyone is comfortable with the activity. And have some fun!
Thank you for reading! Don’t forget to let us know how these games worked for your team!
Download theeBook and get practical ideas on designing employee engagement activities for your team!
Image licensed from Depositphotos.com
About the author:
Diana Clark is a former HR specialist discovering career possibilities for students at College Papers. Feel free to connect Diana on Linkedin.
Leave A Comment