Team Building in Twos
Whether you're trying to help a pair of people learn to work together, or teach a group of students how to work effectively in pairs, try team-building activities. Of course, you also can do these activities yourself in partnership with a co-worker or anyone else you want to work with more effectively. These activities are great icebreakers as well. After each activity, the team should talk about the working style of each partner, and how they can work together more effectively.
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Presentations
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Give each team of two people a topic to present on. Keep topics light and silly, like "the history of hiccups," to encourage them to laugh at their mistakes instead of getting frustrated. To liven things up, if you're working with more than one team, have teams pick topics for one another to present on. Give teams 30 minutes to prepare their presentation. This will challenge them to work quickly and communicate well. Give them poster board and markers to draw with, so they can create a visual dimension to their presentation, as well as note cards.
List Making
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Have teams brainstorm on the number of uses they can find for an everyday object, like a piece of string. If teams are enthusiastic about the game, have them play a second, more challenging round with objects like a can opener that were designed for one specific purpose. See how creative teams can be when they put their minds together.
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Puppet Show
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Have each team write and perform a short puppet show, using the puppets given to them as characters. Team members must coordinate their parts and, since they won't have much time to rehearse, they'll have to be in-tune and supportive of each other during their performance. This helps them learn to communicate effectively and be encouraging of each other, since the success of the play depends on each partner's performance.
Building a Tower
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Have teammates build a tower out of craft sticks or straws without using glue or any other material. They should try to make the tower as tall as possible without it falling over. Teams can compete against each other, or one team can play this game alone. Either way, teammates will bond as they laugh together, and they'll learn about their different styles of working.
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