Team Building Activities That Can Be Done in an Afternoon
Team building activities bring members of a team closer together, both personally and professionally. There are a number of team building activities you can do with your team or staff, but some take longer than others. If you only have a few hours in one afternoon, consider a few different team building exercises that are fun and help team members get to know and trust one another more.
Other People Are Reading
-
The Tallest Tower
-
"The Tallest Tower" is a team building activity game that can be done in just a few hours. The objective is for members of a team to build a tower as tall as possible using only specific materials. Break the team into smaller groups of three or four people to turn the activity into a competition if you wish. Give the teams odd materials, such as paper cups, paper plates, straws, boxes, tape, sticks or other materials from around the office. The odd materials force the team to be creative and work together on a plan. Give the team a few minutes to strategize, and then a few minutes to implement their plan.
See No Evil Hear No Evil
-
"See No Evil Hear No Evil" is a team building game that focuses on developing communication among team members. Set up an obstacle course in a large open room using office furniture, boxes or any other barriers you have access to. Divide the team members into groups of three. Designate one person from each group as the person trying to get through the obstacle course. That person is blindfolded. The next person is allowed to speak to the blindfolded person, but cannot see the obstacle course. The last person can see the course but cannot speak. The objective is to have the person who can see the course but cannot speak use hand gestures or non-verbal communication to give direction to the person who can speak but cannot see the course. The person who can speak then relays the directions to the blindfolded person. The team with the fastest time through the course wins the game.
-
Group Scrabble
-
"Group Scrabble" is a team building exercise that focuses on strategy and communication. Write letters of the alphabet on index cards. Use the vowels on multiple index cards (such as two or three cards for each vowel), but consonants only get one card (one card for B, C, D and so on). Then, have each team member pick one card from a hat. The goal is to arrange the team so their cards spell out a word or multiple words. They get more points for larger words, but smaller words are fine, too. The main rule is that all cards must be used. You might consider omitting a few letters from the cards, such as X or Q.
Happy Hour
-
Designate one afternoon for everyone on your team to leave work early and go to happy hour at a local restaurant. This activity allows the team members to get to know each other on a more personal level in a social setting outside the office. You do not need organized games for this, but you can ask everyone to share personal details, like where they grew up, the last book they read or their most embarrassing moment. The details help each team member trust one another more, as they will share and listen to personal details they might not have otherwise known. If the company pays for appetizers and drinks, the activity will be even more enjoyable.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit business team 9 image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
