June 13, 2014
When you picture a construction site, you see a team of workers that are contributing to a common goal. If you’re looking for fun and engaging to get your team working more collaboratively, consider a boat build.
Effective Communication In The Workplace
In a recent study, people were given a $5 gift card on their way into a busy Starbucks. Some customers were asked to “have a genuine interaction with the cashier,” smiling and having a brief conversation. Others were told to be as efficient as possible: Get in, get out, go on with the day. Those who lingered left Starbucks feeling more cheerful. Both introverts and extroverts appear to benefit from social interactions in similar studies. Efficiency, it seems, is overrated. Effectiveness is sometimes more important.
The first step toward effective communication is listening. This doesn’t mean just hearing what someone has to say, but understanding what is being said. Your team will benefit immensely from learning to:
- Improve listening skills
- Create the right environment for communication
- Organize delivery of message for clarity
- Deal with conflict
- Pay attention to body language
Build A Boat: Sink or Swim!
The Build A Boat program is a perfect example of collaborative team members contributing to a fun project. all members of your crew need to coordinate their efforts to brainstorm, create and build the raft together.
This is where strategy and collaboration are necessary– the success of your raft depends on the level of cooperation and fraternization among your team members. Team members must build as a group to complete the boat. This will help your team boost skills for effective communication in the workplace.
Teams can win bragging rights from this challenge based on variety of factors, which allows everyone a role: best team flag, best team commercial, fastest time and more. As a result, your team gains a sense of project ownership, group decision making, improved communication skills and advanced resource management.
