Team Building

Team building exercises can be used in a variety of different ways. Whether you want to help establish teamwork at school, encourage thinking out of the box at the workplace, or simply help a crowd get to know one another better, these activities are perfect for establishing trust and companionship. Here are a few suggestions regarding team building activities.

What are team building exercises? Essentially they are physical and mental activities that help the group learn to think as a collective whole. Regardless of your age, you can always come away from a team building session with a new lesson about cooperation and communication. Best of all, these activities also encourage the fun of disguising learning as play.

Some examples of fun physical team building exercises include games that incorporate the entire group without singling any one person out. These include group tag, relay races, parachute games, human knots, and more. These are a great way for groups of all ages to get on their feet and moving. Along with leaving your group feeling energetic and happy, these games also do wonders for establishing trust, teamwork, and mutual understanding.

However, communication games are also highly encouraged. These include activities such as the telephone game, word associations, name games, memory games, and even simple storytelling, such as describing a favorite childhood memory or a much loved pet. These games do more than just help the group work as a whole; they also allow members to bond with one another and establish trust, empathy, and sound communication.

With this in mind, it's easy to see why team building games are popular with schools and corporations. Not only do they establish group thinking skills that they will continue to use for the rest of their lives, but they also aid enormously in helping a specific group learn how to trust and work with one another. This is a good way to boost productivity and overall satisfaction in the workplace.

Keep in mind, however, that not all team building games are for everyone. While a popular one includes allowing the group to catch a team member as he or she falls backwards, it's not a good idea to include this activity until the group has established a firm bond. Otherwise you run the risk of not only causing someone deep embarrassment, but actual physical harm as well. While mistakes are inevitable during team building games, it's important to mark them as learning experiences and not to dwell on them, lest they encourage resentment among team members. Learn more team building today!