Team Building Activities

Looking for a way to spice up a meeting, break the ice with a new group, or quickly enhance your group’s teamwork abilities? Here are some activities you can try.

Impulse

Divide your group into two and have them line up parallel to each other—the lines do not face each other with the exception of the first person in each line standing next to the leader.

At one end of the two groups there is a small ball, and at the other end is the leader with a coin. The line leaders watch as the leader flips the coin. As soon as the coin comes heads up the line leaders need to squeeze the arm of the person adjacent to them who will squeeze their neighbor and this will happen until the other end feels the squeeze, as soon as they do they grab the ball as fast as they can and their team wins.

Introduction by 3 P’s

Ask each person to take a turn by introducing themselves to the rest of the group by 3 P’s, which means:

1. Personal – Anything about themselves.
2. Professional – What their title is and what they do in a nutshell or their professional goals.
3. Peculiar – Something peculiar and unique to them.

Ask that people challenge themselves by attempting to state something in each category that others in the room may not already know.

Clap with Me

• Say: Clap once if you can hear me (then clap once)
• Say: Clap twice if you can hear me (then clap twice)
• Say: Clap three times if you can hear me (then clap three times)

Repeat until you have everyone in the room’s attention and they are all clapping.  This usually happens after the fifth time.  Once you have done this and have their attention, it is recommended that you offer them instructions on using another attention tool (such as Alright = Okay).

Alright = Okay

Announce that anytime during the class or meeting when the leader(s) shots, “Alright, Alright, Alright,” the group should respond by shouting “Okay, Okay, Okay.” Also mention that when they respond, attention purposely comes back to the leader to give further instructions.