Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas #4

This week's Easy Office-Based Team Building Idea takes a classic family game that everyone is familiar with and turns it into the perfect brainstorming or icebreaker tool - whether you are a new team, or just want to get to know each other better.

Conversation Jenga

Sometimes icebreaker sessions can be difficult to structure and as a result can seem forced, making people shy and guarded - which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. Take the pressure off and make it into a game by playing Conversation Jenga - it's just as you would play it at home, except each block has a question on it which must be answered by the person who pulls it out.

Before the session, source a Jenga set (use the classic version or go for a giant garden set for extra impact) and either write directly onto the blocks or print off labels to stick on. It's up to you what you ask, but we'd suggest a mixture of work-centred and personal questions (without getting too personal!) Some examples are:

• What skill would you like to learn?
• Whose career do you most admire?
• Where is your favourite place you have travelled to?
• If you were to write a book, what would it be about?
• If you could have one super power, what would it be?

NB: It almost goes without saying, but the words "...and why?" should be assumed after each question - you're after interesting information, not a one-word answer.

To avoid putting people on the spot, have each person pull out a piece each before going back to the first person for their answer - this gives everyone time to think about what they want to say. After listening to their response, make it the start of a broader conversation by opening up the question to everyone, before moving onto the next person.

As well as being great for icebreaker sessions, Conversation Jenga is also perfect for brainstorming. If you have an issue or upcoming project which isn't resolving itself, no matter how many meetings you call, have a think about what you really want your team to reflect upon, and add them to the blocks as before. For example:

• How can we manage our time better?
• How can we ensure that we come in under budget?
• What past examples are there of when we performed best as a team?
• Under what circumstances do we work best together?
• If you could re-structure your day, what would it look like?

In this way, you make resolving issues into a fun team building activity, whilst ensuring that the topics you want to address are approached. Keeping the discussion points limited to what is already on the blocks means that your session will be more structured, and you will avoid going off-topic.

If you want to take your team building further, call in the professionals at CCC Events! Visit our website or call 0845 006 06 06 for more information.