Nowadays there are many options to organize team building activities for your team.
Let’s take a look at some of the best team building activities available out there, so you can select the best fit for you and your team:
1. Game of Possibilities
With this game you only need a few minutes and you can get a long way. Your goal is to teach your team how to be more creative and to be innovative. It’s about teaching them how to speak up with their own ideas.
All you need to do is play a game sort of like charades. One person goes to the front of the group and is given an object. They have to then act out the use for that object, but not necessarily the use that it’s intended for. The rest of the group can’t see what the object really is, so they have to call it out based on what the other person is demonstrating. Those actions are the only way that they can figure it out too, so it can get a little interesting and definitely become a lot of fun.
2. Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn’t love a good scavenger hunt? And this game can be done in as much or as little time as you want. You get to decide how long or elaborate the scavenger hunt is, after all. Plus, you’re going to have a game that’s all about getting a team to work together to solve clues and puzzles and achieve an objective.
You or another one of the team leaders can set up the scavenger hunt with all of the different clues. Then, you can hand the list or the first clue to one person from each team and set a time for when they have to complete it. The entire team needs to work together in order to succeed. That’s going to get everyone talking and make sure that they know how to communicate well with each other. That makes it easier when it comes time to work together on a project.
3. Human Knot
With this game you are going to have to get close together, but you can make it a lot of fun, and teach your team how to communicate well with one another. They’ll also have to work together to achieve an objective, which is great for getting ready for any project work. Plus, it doesn’t take long to execute this task.
Have everyone get together facing into a circle with their hands out in front of them. From there, each person grabs someone’s right hand with their own right hand and grabs another person’s left hand with their own left hand. You get to set a deadline and by the time that deadline comes they need to all be untangled, but no one can let go of anyone’s hand. So they’ll have to spin and move around but they’ll also have to talk to each other to figure out how to get untangled.
4.Walk the Minefield
If you really want to build up your teams ability to communicate and work as a team this is a great option. It takes only about 30 minutes or less and requires you to pair off each of your team members with someone else. Then, they’re going to learn some great skills in a quick and easy fashion.
You’ll need a large, empty space that you can then lay out random objects in. Your teams will all go to one side of the space and one of them will put on a blindfold. The other teammate must lead their partner through the space without hitting any of the objects. But they’re not allowed to touch their partner, only to speak to them. And the partner isn’t allowed to speak at all. So there needs to be a whole lot of communication, listening and trust to make this game work.
5. Jigsaw Puzzle
If you want to get your team to learn more about negotiation, communication, leadership and problem solving then you will want to try out this puzzle game. It can take a short amount of time if you use small puzzles or a long time if you pick bigger or more complex ones.
For this game you’ll need a jigsaw puzzle for each group that you’re going to create. You want to make sure all of the pieces are there, but they should be mixed between the three puzzles. You can choose whether you’re going to tell your teams that the pieces are mixed up before they start or not. The goal is to get their puzzle put together faster than the other teams, but with the pieces mixed up they’re going to have to figure out a way to get the rest of their pieces from the other teams. They can do this by trading people, trading pieces, negotiating or any number of different options. The sky is the limit.
6. Draw it Out
This is another variation of the game with the minefield. You’ll be able to do it in just a few minutes and you’ll be teaching your team how to communicate, how to listen and how to interpret what someone else is saying to them.
You’ll break your entire team down into small teams of two. Both of the team members will sit back to back and one will get a picture. The other will get a pen and a piece of paper. The team member who is looking at the picture will have to describe it so that the other teammate can draw it. The team member who is talking can’t see the picture. And the team member who is drawing can’t speak or ask any questions. It’s all about explaining and understanding clearly. But the pictures should be more difficult than just a simple image that is easy to explain or the teams should be kept from saying exactly what the image is. You get to set the specifics.
7. Team Up
You’re going to get your team learning how to communicate and how to strategize and work together. You’ll also be able to do this game in a short amount of time if you’re pressed or you can stretch it out a little longer if you choose to.
Write down different pairs on pieces of paper. This could be things like salt and pepper or ketchup and mustard or even people like Mickey and Minnie or Mario and Luigi. You’ll tape one piece of paper to the back of each of your team, but make sure they can’t see what’s on their back. Then, their job is to find the person who compliments them. To make it more fun don’t let anyone tell the team members what’s on their back. They can only describe the character that’s on someone’s back so they have to figure it out and then find their partner.
8. Escape Room
Escape rooms have started to wane a little in popularity but they’re still a lot of fun. So, create one in your office with your entire team there to try and get out. This one could take a while (or you could make it easier if you choose). It’s going to focus on teamwork, communication, problem solving and listening skills.
With this option you’re going to need to put some thought into the process. It’s going to take a bit of time to come up with the clues and the puzzles that your team needs to work out in order to ‘escape.’ Make sure you start with an easier one and then make the questions progressively harder as they go. This will encourage them to work together and to puzzle things out together rather than one person taking charge and doing everything. The whole game will help your team learn better how to work together for anything they need during work projects as well.
9. Who Am I?
If you want to promote communication and understanding between your team you can try out this game. It only takes a little bit of time and it’s similar to the game about finding pairs, but it gives each of your team members the opportunity to speak up with each other.
In this game you give each person a name of a celebrity and put it on their forehead with a post-it note or sticky note. Then, that person has to try and figure out who they are supposed to be. They can ask as many questions as they want from the rest of the team, but they can’t ask straight-out whose name is on their paper. They’ll need to figure out what questions to ask for their own turn and interpret their teammates answers. Then, when it’s someone else’s turn they’ll have to figure out how to give good hints and answer the questions themselves.
10. Volunteer
There’s something about volunteering that really makes a difference in any team, so make sure you’re getting yours out somewhere to do some volunteer work. It could be for any cause or any type of work as well. This will teach them how to work together to achieve a goal and how to appreciate one another and helping others.
All you need to do is find a cause that’s important to you or important to a lot of your team. Then, you get everyone together and work on ways that you can help. It could be cleaning up at a local park or packing boxes for the troops or building a home for someone in need. There are plenty of different types of volunteer projects and all you need to do is find one and make sure that your team gets there to start working.
11. Cook Off
A little friendly competition is always a good idea and everyone loves food, right? So, bring them all together for a social gathering. It could be done during work hours, but make sure everyone brings in a dish to pass and you set a specific time for the entire team to get together and eat. It could be a short even or a long one, but it will get everyone talking and having fun together.
With this activity you really don’t need to do anything if you don’t want to. If you want to set a theme for the day you can or just ask everyone to bring their best dish or their favorite dish. Then, everyone gets to try it. You can choose to vote on which one is the best or not, but the important thing is that everyone is getting together to talk and have some fun, without it being all about work. What could be more fun than that?
12.Campfire Stories
These stories can be great for encouraging creativity and spontaneity in your team. Not only that but they encourage communication, listening and more. And all you need is a few minutes to get going or a longer period of time to really get your story moving along.
You put everyone in a circle and one person starts off the story with whatever they want. The more fun and creative and crazy it is the better. When they say ‘then suddenly’ it’s the cue for the person next to them to take over. Or you could make it more fun and have them toss a ball to someone in the circle. That person gets to take over the next part of the story. Make sure everyone gets a chance to add on and remember, the crazier it is the more fun it’s going to be.
With all of these options you’re going to have plenty of ways to get your team talking and to encourage them to keep working on creative ways to solve problems or answer anything their clients need.
