Team building brings people together by encouraging collaboration and teamwork. Fun activities that help people see each other in a different light allow them to connect in a different setting.
One of the most powerful reasons for team building is to get results. Through a series of planned team building events that are both fun and motivational, teams build skills like communication, planning, problem-solving and conflict resolution. Team building ideas that work can help facilitate long-term team building through fostering genuine connections, deeper discussions and processing.
Below we have listed the 5 Best Free Team Building Activities you can complete in your workspace today!
#1 Like It. Pin It. Own It.
For this activity you need:
- Enough small pins for everyone in your office
- Sharpies/Magic Marker
- A Basket
Our idea for this icebreaker is that when everyone first walks into the office in the morning, they choose a pin from the basket. Beforehand, someone would need to organize the pins and write on them statements that people can identify themselves with.
For example, a pin that reads: I’ve read all 8 Harry Potter Books, or I am the Top Chef, etc.
Once a pin has been chosen, you wear it for the remainder of the day.
This way, when people come up to your desk or see you in the kitchen area, they notice which pin you have chosen to wear and can strike up a conversation with you about your pin. At the end of the day you put your pin back and take a new one the next morning. This way, you can also see if anyone else chooses a pin that you have worn in the past!
#2 Agree or Disagree
For this activity you need:
- A Large Whiteboard Hung Up
- Whiteboard Markers
On a daily or weekly basis, have a different office member write a statement on a whiteboard that people can either agree or disagree with.
For example, written on the whiteboard one day can be: The Patriots are the best NFL team, and then split the whiteboard in half with Agree or Disagree.
When people walk by the board, they can sign their names under either side depending on whether they agree or not. Try not to get too political with your statements however, a friendly rivalry could take a turn for the worst…fast.
#3 Office Bingo: Unknown Facts
For this activity you need:
- An organizer
- An unknown fact from each person in the office
- A bingo sheet
- Bingo markers
Take a midday break and organize an office bingo event. On bingo cards, have each bingo participator write down every one’s name in the office in a random order. No one bingo card should look the same. For reference, number each bingo marker and number each unknown fact. Once everyone’s bingo cards are set up, begin reading off the Unknown Facts and the number of the unknown fact.
For example: #15 This person hates dairy products, especially yogurt.
If people know who this person is, they can take the #15 marker and place it over that person’s name on the bingo card. Once someone has a row filled up, they read off the name and the number that they have marked, and the delegate can reference whether or not those name and numbers correspond.
#4 Coffee Pot
For this activity you need just a few co-workers.
The game “Coffee Pot” is a fun, lunchtime game that can get the brain juices flowing, while also creating laughs among co-workers. For this icebreaker, one person comes up with a verb in their head. The other people must try to guess which verb that person is using by asking questions. However, the person with the verb in their head must not use the verb; instead they use the word “coffee pot.” This game is set up to resemble 20 Questions. You can also use a different word instead of Coffee Pot, in fact using your company name is a great idea.
For example: If my verb was “run”
Co-worker: How do you get to the grocery store?
Me: Well, I drive to the grocery store
Co-Worker: What do you do for exercise?
Me: I go to the gym, but I also coffee pot when the weather is nice.
#5 Yes And. . .
For this activity you will need just a few co-workers working in pairs.
The basic idea is to partner the players and ask them to decide who is A and who is B. Ask A to make a statement (“The lunch today was great”). B is to reply with “Yes, and. . .” and make another, somewhat related statement.
For example
Partner B: Yes, and we got to eat two desserts!
Partner A: Yes, and then I had tons of energy from all the sugar.
The participants should continue this exercise for an allotted period of time. This is not a game that anyone should be trying to win. The goal is to practice communication.
Possible Specific Debrief Questions at the end:
- What are the obstacles to agreement?
- How does it feel to be consistently agreed with and consistently agree?
- What was it like to unconditionally listen so intently to someone? To be listened to?
- Was it easy or difficult to build upon what each other was saying?
- How can this technique be helpful to you in your working with others?
We hope these activities have gotten your team on the track to success! If you are interested in more team building activities please feel free to check out our events page or contact us here at TeamBonding so we can help plan your next event!
