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The big book of team motivating games

McGraw-Hill

Contents

Chapter One

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

—Goethe

Answer the Question

OBJECTIVES

• To demonstrate the benefits of humor

• To increase the comfort level within the team

Group Size

10 to 20, or split large groups into smaller teams of 10 to 20

Materials

None

Time

10 to 20 minutes

Procedure

Have your team stand or sit in a circle. Tell them this activity consists of asking and answering questions. Let them know they will ask the person next to them an open-ended question (one requiring more than a yes-or-no answer). Specifically, questions that require the person to answer with a sentence, rather than simply one word, work best. Instruct each participant to remember the question he or she asked, as well as the answer given.

To start the game, simply have one team member ask the person on his or her right or left a question. This establishes the direction: for example, if the team member asks the person to the right, that person answers and then asks a question to the person to his or her right, and so on around the circle. By the time you get around the circle, everyone should have asked and answered a question. Remind the team members to remember their question and their answer.

Now for the fun part: have everyone get up and take a different place in the circle so they are standing or sitting next to someone new. To start this round, again have one team member ask the person to the right or left his or her original question (again establishing the direction), and have everyone give his or her original answer—regardless of the question.

Get ready to laugh!

Discussion Questions

1. What did you like about this activity? What was challenging?

2. How does laughter impact our energy? Our productivity? Our teamwork? Our stress level?

3. What are some other ways to reduce the stress level within our teams?

Fun Facts

OBJECTIVE

• To learn about the others on the team

• To build rapport and trust within the team

Group Size

Up to 20

Materials

Copies of the Fun Facts About Our Team form (provided) for each person, pens

Time

15 minutes

Procedure

Some prep work is required. Have all the team members who will attend submit a few little-known facts about themselves to you—the facilitator—before the session (e.g., where they went to school, their major, number of siblings, names of pets, where they were born, favorite vacation spot).

Before the meeting, write a statement about each person based on the submitted facts. Put all the statements together on the Fun Facts About Our Team form, and give everyone a copy as they come in.

Give the team time to mingle and ask each other questions to determine whose name belongs with each statement. Let them know they also need to find out any specifics. For example, if they have three pets, what kind of animals are they? What are their names?

Whoever has the most names filled in after about 10 minutes gets to announce the team members along with their little-known facts.

Example Statement Sheet (or use the provided Fun Facts About Our Team form)

Born in a country other than the United States

• Name of the person__________________

• Name of the country_________________

Changed my major in college three times

• Name of the person__________________

• The three different majors______________

HANDOUT

Fun Facts About Our Team

Fact_______________________________

• Name of the person__________________

• Details____________________________

Fact_______________________________

• Name of the person__________________

• Details____________________________

Fact_______________________________

• Name of the person__________________

• Details____________________________

Fact_______________________________

• Name of the person__________________

• Details____________________________

Fact_______________________________

• Name of the person__________________

• Details____________________________

Fact_______________________________

• Name of the person__________________

• Details____________________________

Guess Me If You Can

OBJECTIVES

• To get to know each other

• To come together as a team

Group Size

10 to 20 participants works best

Materials

Slips of paper, pens

Time

15 to 20 minutes per round

Procedure

Have each participant write out the name of a book (or movie, etc.—see other categories under Variations) on a slip of paper. One person acts as the facilitator and collects and reads aloud all the slips of paper one time. After that, everyone must rely on their memory.

The person to the left of the facilitator begins by trying to match a book title with the person who chose it. If the guesser is correct, the person whose book was guessed becomes a member of the guesser's team, and as a team they take another turn. Every correct guess gains the team an additional team member and gives them another turn. If they're wrong, the next person takes a turn, and so on around the team.

The activity is over when everyone is on the same team.

Variations

Instead of book titles, you can use movie titles, song titles, musical groups, board games, cities, vacation spots, and so on. Get creative! Or have the team come up with some new categories. Remember, the goal is to make it challenging for the others to guess the selections.

Discussion Questions

1. What did you notice as we made the transition from individuals to teams, and finally to one team?

2. What does it take to be a team?

3. In what ways does this relate to coming together as a team at work?

Partner Stretch

OBJECTIVES

• To energize the team in a creative way

• To break down barriers and have some fun

Group Size

Any

Materials

None

Time

5 minutes to develop stretches, and 1 minute per pair to teach and lead a three-count

Procedure

Have the team pair up. Then have each pair develop a quick stretch that they will teach the rest of the team.

The stretch has two requirements: (1) the partners have to be connected during the stretch, and (2) the stretch has to have a sound effect or phrase to go along with it. Each pair then teaches their stretch to the team and takes the team through a three-count of the stretch.

Demonstrate an example of an acceptable stretch. For example, stand next to your partner, with your and your partner's feet touching; then stretch your arms up and say, "Reach for the stars."

Variations

For larger groups or...