I have been a teacher, management consultant, and
meeting facilitator
for over twenty years. In the hundreds of classes and seminars I have
taught, I have learned one truth -- people get more out of your meetings
if you mix in a little fun.
By using team building exercises and icebreakers you can make your next
meeting, class, or team building event something dynamic and fun.
It is wise to consider a few basic elements before choosing a team
building exercise or a meeting ice breaker.
Ownership -- First, icebreakers tend to work best when participants have
taken ownership of the activity chosen by the facilitator. You must put
five key elements in place.
1. Explain the activity.
2. Provide the goals of the activity.
3. Outline the structure of the activity.
4. Allow time for questions.
5. Give permission to participate at their comfort level.
This last element is crucial and overlooked in many cases. Make an
announcement at the beginning of an exercise to insure participants
understand they are not "bound" to participate in the activity or team
meeting.
For those who opt out, perhaps ask them to be "observers" and see if
they are comfortable providing a debriefing at the end of the event.
Provide them something constructive to do during the exercise. When
given the freewill to choose, people will take greater ownership of
their participation.
Set the Climate -- Icebreakers set the climate for the event to proceed.
With this understanding, it makes sense to choose an icebreaker that is
in alignment with the climate of the meeting. An ice breaker or team
building exercise could send a wrong message. The unintended message
could send the meeting in a different direction. Therefore, it makes
sense to spend the time to choose the proper meeting icebreaker.
Learning Objectives -- Some trainers and team facilitators prefer using
either a meeting ice breaker or team building exercise focused on the
learning objectives related to the meeting, training program, or goal of
the group. Others prefer using an unrelated exercise just to break the
ice. However, each icebreaker is dynamic and has both intended and
unintended consequences. Consider this prior to the event so you can
maximize the experience and build a cohesive meeting.
Safety -- The first rule is not to take any chances that could cause
physical injury to your participants.
One of my favorite team building activity is called the "Terrorist Toxic
Popcorn Situation." This is an easy team activity for both adults and
teens. The goal is to decontaminate a can of "toxic" popcorn that has
been secretly placed in the room by "terrorists." Your team must quickly
come up with a plan of action; assemble tools and equipment, transfer
the material into a "safe" container before the "toxic" substance
explodes. This is a great game to identify the planners, doers, and
thinkers in your group. It also demonstrates the importance of having a
good plan.
Free Team Building Exercises and Icebreakers
A Great Day for Hats!
Give each participant a donut-shaped piece of felt or other material
approximately 18 inches in diameter. Tell participants to form a hat
with the material. Participants should have enough time to make their
hat. At the end of the team exercise, allow each person to explain the
hat they created. You can also put people on teams and have some
friendly competition between the groups on who can come up with the most
creative hat.
Letters and Names
Give each person a few moments to think of an adjective starting with
the same first letter in his or her first name (e.g. "Great Greg").
Begin by
modeling it yourself. Then go around the group asking each person to
state their name/adjective combination. During various points of the
exercise, or at the end, ask volunteers to remember and repeat each of
the names and adjectives volunteered so far. Provide prizes to those who
do the best job.
The Napkin Game
Ask participants to form equal size groups. Give each group a napkin and
ask them to fold the napkin as small as possible. However, it must be
large enough for members of the team to place their toe on the napkin.
Paper-Tearing Exercise
This meeting icebreaker only takes about 5 minutes to conduct.
Give everyone a blank 8 ½-by-11-inch sheet of paper. Tell them the
following: “We are going to do something that will show us some
important things about communication. Pick up your sheet of paper and
hold it in front of you. Close your eyes and follow my directions—and no
peeking -- you cannot ask questions.”
Then tell them the following. “Fold your sheet of paper in half. Now
tear off the upper right-hand corner. Fold it in half again and tear off
the upper left hand corner of the sheet.
Fold it in half again. Now tear off the lower right-hand corner of the
sheet.”
After the tearing is complete, say something like “Now open your eyes,
and let’s see what you have. If I did a good job of communicating and
you did a good job of following my directions, all of your sheets should
look the same!”
Hold your sheet up for them to see. It is highly unlikely any sheet will
match yours exactly.
Ask the group why no one’s piece of paper matched yours. You will
probably get responses like “You didn’t let us ask questions!” or “Your
directions could be interpreted in different ways.” Then, lead them in a
discussion about the need for effective communication.
Greg Smith's cutting-edge keynotes, consulting, and corporate team
building programs have helped businesses build better teams, reduce
turnover, increase sales, hire better people and deliver better customer
service. He has authored nine informative books including his
best-selling book called,
Icebreakers
and Teambuilding Exercises.
