The thing about team-building activities is that they tend to elicit more embarrassment than enthusiasm from the team members. As such, the impact of the team-building exercises gets nullified by the reluctance of the members to take part in them.
So, the key to a good team-building activity is to find something that the people will truly enjoy. Keeping that in mind, here are three simple and easy activities that your team will love to participate in.
1. The code of conduct
It is a meaningful and simple activity to build a consensus-based on shared values and set the tone for team building. Teams are asked to list out what is important to them. It’s the perfect activity to start a workshop or event.
Total participants: 10 – 30
Objective: Establishing group values and building mutual trust
Steps:
- Write down ‘Pleasant’ and ‘Meaningful’ on the whiteboard
- Ask teams to write down what they feel can make the workshop pleasant and meaningful
- Record the suggestions of every participant as a type of mind map
- Make sure each participant has a similar understanding of those suggestions. If not, keep changing the suggestions until every participant agrees and understands them.
- Ask the participants about how they can help in carrying out that idea in the workshop. Get this recorded on the whiteboard.
- All the mutually agreed ideas would make up the group’s code of conduct for the rest of the workshop.
Establishing the code of conduct early in the team meeting or workshop will help the rest of the event or workshop go a lot smoother. The team meeting will be successful when every member is on the same page.
2. The campfire stories
It is a classic activity to inspire storytelling and improve team bonding. The teams come together in one circle and share the workplace experience. All along their way, they get to know new things about one another and reminisce about old memories.
Total participants: 6 – 20
Objective: Encourage the participants to enthusiastically share, establish shared experiences, and carry out informal training.
Steps:
- Have a complete set of words that help to kickstart the storytelling session. Consider words like ‘side project,’ ‘partnership,’ ‘first day,’ and so on. Include them on your sticky notes.
- Get the whiteboard divided into two parts. Post the sticky notes you made on one of the parts.
- Ask the participants to choose a word from those sticky notes and share one of their experiences using it. Shift the chosen notes to the board’s other side.
- When the participants share their experience, tell others to note the words that tend to remind them about such work-related incidents. Add these new words to the whiteboard.
- Repeat the procedure until there is a ‘wall of words’ with interconnected stories
Storytelling helps the group get closer to each other through their shared experiences. Also, it can act as your informal training session thanks to the work experiences going from a member to another.
3. The memory wall
It refers to physical activities that establish and relive the shared memories of the team. The participants sketch out the shared memories of one another and put them on the wall. Let the wall stay there for the event to work as the focal point for the camaraderie of the team.
Total participants: 6 – 50
Objective: Foster the relationships and build up camaraderie between participants
Steps:
- Give tape, markers, and sheets of paper to every participant
- Tell every participant to take a look at the room. Then, give fifteen minutes to write the positive memories of every shared moment and experience of working together
- After the participants have their memories listed, tell them to draw the memories on sheets of paper. Let the drawings be some kind of abstract rendition of that memorable scene. Give thirty minutes to each participant.
- After this, tape the drawings to the wall, and let every participant approach that wall to talk more about those memories.
It is a way to reaffirm all the positive relationships among the members. The whole exercise is all about camaraderie and levity that brings the individuals together.
So, the next time there is a workshop or event at your office, make sure to try out these three activities with your team.
