Name Memory
Go around in a circle. 1st person
says her name; 2nd person says her name and also says the 1st
person’s name over again, and so on all the way around the circle.
The last person has to repeat everyone’s name. As a
variation, have each person say her name AND what plant she would
be, if she could be a plant. This way there is more to remember
than simply people’s names, which makes it more interesting. OR,
have everyone say an adjective plus her name, but the adjective
must begin with the same letter…for example, Daring David,
Ridiculous Rick, Wonderful Wendy, etc.
Picture Guessing Game
(great for the first crew meeting!)
Everybody draws a picture that
expresses something about themselves. The drawings are
collected. One by one, the drawings are "pulled out of a hat" and
held up, and the group tries to guess who drew it. Whoever guesses
correctly is the next one to choose a drawing ‘out of the hat’ to
hold up for the group to guess. When someone guesses correctly,
the person who drew the picture must explain it’s meaning to the
group.
Animal Charades
(great interactive game for taking
risks!)
Get in groups of three. Each group
is given the name of an animal. They must come up with a way
to demonstrate that animal, or act it out as a team. Then each
group presents their demonstration to the group, who has to guess
what animal it is.
What You Don't
Know
Hand out slips of scratch paper
and ask people to write down something about themselves that they
think nobody else in the room knows. Then collect the sheets,
shuffle them, hand them out again (making sure nobody gets their
own). Each person reads out what is on their slip, one by one, and
the group tries to guess who wrote it. This really gets people
laughing! Unless you have a lot of time, I wouldn't recommend it
for groups larger than 15 or so, because these tidbits about
people tend
to be surprising and prompt curiosity and discussion.
Finding Common Ground
Form equal-sized teams of three
to six. Give each team a sheet of paper and a pencil. Tell teams
their challenge is to list everything they can think of that all
team members have in common. For example, team members might all
attend the same school, prefer the same kind of music, or like
the same brand of tennis shoes. The only rule is that they can't
list similar body parts, such as "We all have two arms, a brain,
and a nose."
Tell teams they have three
minutes to create their lists, so they need to work quickly.
(Groups of five or six may need more time, but don't allow more
than four to five minutes.) To add to the urgency and excitement
of the game, inform teams when there's one minute as well as 30
seconds remaining.
When time is up, find out which
team has the longest list and ask team members to read the
similarities they listed. Then ask teams who had similarities
not already listed to share them. To conclude, have the entire
group discuss the following questions. Ask:
- How easy was it to
discover something in common with another team member? with
every team member?
- What does this reveal
about the extent to which we're alike? the ways in which we're
all different?
- How can our similarities
draw us closer together? How can our differences help us grow
closer?
Talk-Sparkers-Just for Fun!
- What three things would you
put in a time capsule that your descendants would dig up in
100 years?
- Which one of Superman's
powers would you choose for yourself? Explain.
- Finish this sentence: "One
thing I want to do before I die is..." How can you make that
"one thing" happen?
- If you could listen in on a
conversation between any two people in history, who would they
be? Why?
- How would your life be
different if music were outlawed? Movies? Television?
Christianity?
- What's something you'd never
order at a restaurant?
- What's something you'd never
do, even if someone offered you $1 million to do it?
- If you could make up a
nickname for your boss (or supervisor), what would it be?
"Tasty" Messages
-
Place a candy/treat that's a natural for a "message"
at each place (i.e. Kudos bar).
-
Form groups of 4-5
-
You have four minutes to share with each person in
the group a specific reason why he/she deserves Kudos.
Candy / Treats that can be used for this activity:
-
WOW! Doritos - Tell each person a piece of
WOW! (praise, affirmation, encouragement, support)
-
Extra Gum - Thank you for going the Extra
mile. I really appreciated it when you...
-
3 Musketeers Bar - "One for all and all for
one." A reason you've been such a great team player is...
-
100 Grand Bar - Your input is worth 100 grand
-
Kudos - Another way to tell someone they've
done a great job!
-
Carefree Gum - your great attitude makes
serious work feel carefree...
-
Hugs and Kisses - praise, appreciation,
affirmation and support
-
Lifesavers - You were a lifesaver when you...
-
Snickers - ways you make me laugh
-
Sweet tarts - I think it's great that you can
be both ___ and ___ at once.
-
Peppermint patties - you're worth a mint
-
Red Hots - your idea for ____ was red hot!
-
Use your imagination! Cruise the candy
aisle for more ideas.
Proverbs
-
Prepare a list of proverbs (i.e. a bird in the hand
is worth two in the bush) - Each person takes one.
-
Split into small groups of 4-5 people.
-
As a group, take the 4-5 proverbs of your group and
create a different way of expressing them. (i.e. a warm
blooded vertebrate with feathers contained in the five digit
extremity has exchange value of a couple in a thicket.)
-
Give 5-8 minutes.
-
Rotate your five to the group on your right so that
each group. receives a second set of proverbs.
-
Race to see which group can first decode their set
of proverbs.
-
Give a small prize.
This is a great activity to use when clarity and
focus of communication is important.
Here's some proverbs to get you started:
-
Out of sight, out of mind
-
There's no fool like an old fool
-
Blood is thicker than water
-
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree
-
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach
-
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
-
Opposites attract
-
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
-
Honesty is the best policy
-
Birds of a feather flock together
-
Pride goeth before the fall
-
Love is blind
-
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today
-
Necessity is the mother of invention
-
Don't rock the boat
-
Save for a rainy day
-
Too many cooks spoil the broth
-
Can't see the forest for the trees
-
When the cat's away, the mice will play
-
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw
stones
-
Use it or lose it
-
He who laughs last, laughs best
-
Where there's a will there's a way
-
Time is money
Treasure Hunt
OBJECTIVE: To be used for small-group (15-25
attendees) workshops as a get-acquainted activity.
PROCEDURE: At the beginning of a seminar,
explain the importance of becoming acquainted with the other
participants. Hand out a form (see below) to each attendee and ask
that everyone find at least one similarity (e.g. "grew up in
Chicago") and one dissimilar trait ("e.g. "football fanatic" vs.
"dislike sports") for at least 8-10 other participants. Award a
small prize for the first person completing the form.
MATERIALS REQUIRED: Handout forms and a
nominal prize.
APPROXIMATE TIME REQUIRED: 15-20 minutes
SOURCE: Gordon Hills, St. Petersburg, FL |
