How to organize a team building activity

Why team building activity?rnTeam building has gone mainstream, no wonder most companies and groups are investing in professionals and specialists for it. You see it‘s not a waste. It strengthens the bond of unity in the team and creates more room for teamwork.rnIt is important to note that to get the best results in team building, there are pre-requisites and fundamental steps you should consider. Also, know every stage contributes to team building. rnBelow are some things you need to note. rnThe individuals are important the activity. Both the team and activity are important. Without the team, you won’t be thinking about building anything. They’re both necessary when you deal with team building. Study your team thoroughly and consider individual differences to choose the best fit program. Remember, the bedrock of all the process is ‘team building’. So be mindful of the activity you bring up. Know the members of your group and their various needs. Very important, every member of your team is different, so individualize them. Try to reach out to each of them. It‘s more effective and you won’t end up introducing unnecessary ideas. You’ll experience challenges when you try to reach out initially; some conserved, hostile or unsociable. You need consistency to prevail. rnEffective choice of activities. What works for one may not work for another. Study your team before proposing any activity. Example, if most of your team have communication issues, it would be best if you look for games and activities that involve more of interaction and communication. Anything outside this scope might not be useful to the team. So while organizing team-building activities, be particular about the game that will work best. An example of a game that may work for this kind of Group is the who am I game. Here, participants answer certain questions with either yes or no. For this game, each player receives a name of the most famous person, an object or even a word in any category. You can write the names on small sheets or cards. Make sure nobody knows what you write on the card. So the only way to find out is to ask other group members. Everyone will place their cards on their forehead and asks each other to answer what you‘ve written on the sheet/card. There may be questions like: Am I an actor? Is this a city? Is he under the age of 30? Where is he/she from? Questions must be clear and well thought out to have the chance to find out what others think about you in a space of 1 minute or more. rnIn who am I game you have to be careful and try to find out what word is hiding behind.rnWhile making choice of activities, you ought to make sure the group needs it. Consider their age and interest among other factors. Also physical, mental, and social factors. rnSelect the right place. Carefully select locations to fit the game or activity you chose. Let’s say you chose a game that demands a quiet environment, a room or someplace you won’t be disturbed is perfect. If you are splitting into several teams, you need a place that will hold the number of persons on the team. rnSelect a leader according to the group’s requirements. The leader of the group in most cases determines the team achievements. He makes the decision. Whether wrong right, it’ll affect the team. The leader of the group must be flexible, communicable, well organized, attentive to even the smallest detail, and responsible for the group. He must also be good with words of encouragement for his team members.rnPlan the first meeting. You must put a lot of energy into preparation for the first meeting. Practice and know what to expect to some extent. If you do not have experience of some team-building activities, do not give up. You can plan and set out a day and practice with anybody you can meet. For the first meeting, it would be wonderful and of great importance, if the members of the group take part in activities and relate. And the game of “Two truths and lai ideas” is a wonderful idea I suggest.rnTwo Truths and a Lie The main aim of this game is to find out things about other members of the group. You provide each player with a card where he will write three(3) things about himself; Two truths and lie ideas. When they’ve done, collect all the cards in a basket, then shuffle and pass the cards again randomly. Each player should read out what you have on the paper and attempt to guess the truths and the lie.