“You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” A strong company needs a strong team that knows how to work with and push each other to greatness. There are no weak links if every link in your chain is strong enough to support each other. A great way to bring your team together and keep them energized and focused is to get them to stop working for a few minutes and engage them with a team building activity.
At Printing Solutions, we know the value of having a tight-knit team. We keep things fun and focused at work. Sometimes the best way to keep your team’s head in the game is to get them to go out and play for a bit! Here are five team building activities that you must try.
#1. Improv
One of the most fun and instructive team building activities you can do is improv. Most major cities have improv theaters or groups that teach short-form and long-form improv. A lot of these organizations offer free drop-in classes or private training for very affordable rates. Improv is an activity that’s very misunderstood. When most people hear the word, they think of the show “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” or Burt Reynolds ad-libbing in blooper reels at the end of his movies.
Improv is more than just saying whatever comes to mind and acting silly. It teaches you a method of collaborating that can be invaluable for your business. Improv classes teach the value of participation and group effort. The central tenet of improv is “Yes, and”. Learning to agree with the people you’re working with and add to their efforts. It teaches people to have fun and make something wonderful by putting their egos aside and playing along with each other. They will build a lot of trust. And it will let you know that your fellow improvisers will support whatever you say and do in an improv scene.
Improv also teaches people to trust their impulses. To realize that we’re all far more creative and able to think on our feet than we often give ourselves credit for. If you have people on your team who don’t have a lot of confidence in their abilities to think fast, give them the gift of an improv class.
Here’s one final advantage of improv. While it helps to take a class, improv is something that you and your team can do on-site on your own. All you need is a book of theater games and the willingness to be goofy with each other.
BONUS: 3 Tips To Closing A Lead#2. Team outing: Escape the Room
Escape the room have become a huge trend over the last few years, and for good reason. They’re a lot of fun and force teams to be challenged! Escape the room operate under the same formula. A team is “locked” in a room for one hour and have to solve some kind of mystery. Most escape rooms pride themselves on being very complicated and devious. They’re designed to be challenging enough that you NEED a team with you to solve it.
Escape the room requires a team to communicate efficiently and be more perceptive. Since most rooms work within a time limit, if your team wants to succeed they have to be able to work closely, quickly and wisely with each other. It’s also a great way to learn that your teammates could possess talents that you didn’t know they had. Perhaps one of your coworkers is amazing at solving riddles, or that another is musically gifted and can play a piano that’s a key part of the escape room. These are talents that could very well become useful in the workplace at some point. And best of all, the escape room is a team building activity that can give you all a sense of accomplishment because it is something that can be beaten and won!
#3. Sports
Sometimes the best way to bring a team together is to get them outside and on their feet. Physical activities are great because they tend to already be team-oriented, they offer a friendly competitive atmosphere and it gives your team a workout. Getting your team out for a dodgeball game, a few rounds of bowling or mini-golf is a great way for them to loosen up their muscles, blow off some steam, and get to know each other better.
There are also in-door sports that work as great team building activities. At Printing Solutions, we have a ping-pong table and a basketball hoop. They both get a lot of use during our down-time! If you don’t want to install any game tables or athletic equipment, there are easy and simple ways to play sports indoors. You can grab a golf club, some balls, and red cups and use them to create a makeshift office golf course. You can get a dart board, or get small foam balls to throw around. Anything that gets your team off their feet, on the move, and working with each or against each other in the spirit of fun and fair play is a great way to bond them together as a unit.
#4. Board Games & Game Shows
Putting together a board game hour is another great way to get your team to play and work together. Board games give them a chance to exercise their cunning and be competitive with each other in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Sometimes you don’t even need a board game to have a great game day: A simple game of charades can really bring a team together. Not only is it fun, it’s great for developing non-verbal communication skills and teaching your workers to be more attentive and perceptive.
You can also put on your own game shows! You could have someone put together their own version of “Jeopardy” and test your test’s mental acumen. Make your own “Wheel of Fortune” or pit two teams against one another in an inter-office “Family Feud”. It can take a little extra time and effort to set these up, but it’s worth it for the fun times and boost in company morale.
#5. Show And Tell
Another popular trend in recent years is live storytelling. Storytelling doesn’t just make for great live shows- It can also be a revealing and fun team activity! Come up with a prompt and let your team know a day or two ahead of time. Give everyone a little time to come up with a personal story related to that theme. Something that isn’t longer than five minutes. The beauty of storytelling is that it’s something to be unrehearsed and from the heart. If your team worries about sounding unpolishing and unprofessional, let them know that that’s precisely the point. Storytelling is about being real. That kind of realness builds serious trust in a team. Being able to talk openly and honestly about something in your life can make you feel closer and more at ease with the listener. Just as it how it make the audience feel more empathetic and appreciative to the person doing the sharing.
Not everyone is great or comfortable with talking in public, though. One way to ensure that everyone is comfortable being a part of this activity is to give them a “show and tell”. Maybe instead of telling a story based on the theme they want to sing a song instead. Or show off a piece of art or display some kind of other creative talent they have. Give your team the chance to express themselves in a way that’s comfortable to them and they will shine.
Looking to build a brand that’s as strong as your team? Give Printing Solutions a call. We’d be happy to help you get the business and printing materials you need to succeed. Call us at 480-596-6300 or request a free quote now.