Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas #9

Today's Easy Office-Based Team Building Idea takes TV classic Would I Lie To You? and turns it into a simple yet effective icebreaker tool that is both fun and effective. You'll learn unusual facts about one another, promoting team bonding, but you'll also be in stitches as usually-reserved colleagues try to convince you that they were once Judo champions!

To prepare for this exercise, ask each person who will be taking part to submit one or two unusual stories or facts about themselves that none of their colleagues are aware of. Tell people in advance what the stories will be used for, so that they only submit stories they are happy sharing and can have a think about personal facts that may surprise - and fool - others.

Meanwhile, it's your responsibility to come up with the 'Lies' that you will give out during the exercise. Be careful not to give anything that may be potentially embarrassing; judge it on how close you are as a team and how forthcoming people normally are. Here are some ideas to get you going:

• For two weeks I drove a car that could only turn left
• I used to speak French fluently, but have forgotten all of it
• I once won first place in my home town's windsurfing championships
• Until last Christmas I thought reindeer were mythical creatures
• I am a Grade 8 clarinet player
• I once wrote fan mail to Jason Donovan...and got a reply
• My middle name used to be 'Rainbow', so I changed it
• I was once interviewed by MI5 to be a spy
• I used to be in a rock band called 'Skullz'
• For two years my front door didn't lock properly so I leant an ironing board against it at night

Print each 'Lie' onto a separate piece of paper, and remember to write the word 'Lie' underneath, or use red ink to show it is false. Do the same with the 'Truths', writing 'True' or using green ink.

Then decide how many stories each person will tell - if you are short on time or there is a lot of you, just go for one per person. Decide who will tell their 'Truth' and who will tell one of your 'Lies' and pop the necessary pieces of paper into envelopes with the name of the person who will be reading them on the front. If you have more time, or there's only a small group taking part, you can give each person a few envelopes, one or two containing their 'Truths', the rest with your 'Lies' (make sure everyone gets the correct 'Truth'!) Allocating the 'Lies' yourself lends an element of surprise for everyone, but if you're short on time, you can always simply ask people to arrive with one truth and two lies of their own.

When you're ready to begin, explain the game and ask the first person to open an envelope. They must then relate what it says to the rest of the group, adding as much detail as they like, to convince them it is true. Other participants can then ask questions and discuss the answers to get more information and try to catch the main player out. Once everyone has asked a question, ask those who think it is a 'Lie' to raise their hand. Ask the main player to reveal the truth by turning the paper around for everyone to see, and give a point to those who were correct. If the main player gets a 'Truth' in their envelope, they may choose to double-bluff the other players by seeming as though they are lying - again, anyone who guesses correctly gets a point.

Taking it Further

This exercise works wells as a short icebreaker before meetings, but you can also make a whole afternoon or evening of it by splitting people into teams of two or three and adding extra rounds. Classic rounds from the TV show include:

• Ring of Truth: Everyone takes part in guessing during this round. 'Facts' are read out about well-known celebrities and players must guess whether they are true or false. For example: 'David Beckham gave a copy of his autobiography to Nelson Mandela for Christmas.' (True!)
• This is My...: If your colleagues are up for a bit of pre-game preparation, ask everyone to bring an object to tell a story about. Allocate people 'True' or 'False' stories beforehand so that you have an even spread. For example: 'This a lock of Simon Cowell's hair that I bought on eBay.'
• Quick-Fire Lies: If you've been inundated with funny stories people wanted to share, consider ending with a quick-fire round. Go around each person individually, giving them one story, and tell them who the story was from. They must answer within 10 seconds, without asking any questions.

Our Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas are amazing, but our Corporate Team Building Events are on another level! To find out more, visit our website or call 0845 006 06 06 for a chat.

Sports Day Team Build at Old Deer Park, Richmond

Our clients gave the professionals a run for their money on Friday, taking part in a Sports Day event at Old Deer Park in Richmond, Surrey - whilst the London Welsh rugby team trained alongside them! It was only a matter of time before our sporty set up attracted the attention of the players, and as soon as training was over they headed straight for a go on our Free Kick Frenzy:

Old Deer Park is a favourite venue of ours as it offers plenty of outside space whilst being only a stone's throw from Central London. Add to that the friendly staff and the clubhouse bar and you have the perfect venue for London-based clients after an outdoor team building day. Being home to the London Welsh Rugby Club, working at Old Deer Park means that we often get to see the players in action - although in this instance, our clients were the superior athletes of course:

As well as the Free Kick Frenzy, the six teams competed in a host of other challenges, including the always-hilarious 4x400ml Relay:

The whole group gave it their all, but at the end of the day there could only be one winning team - and they were delighted with their victory!

We left the group to enjoy some well-earned drinks at the bar, but not before promising to come back with another sporting event so that the winners could defend their title.

If you'd like to claim victory in your very own Sports Day, visit our website or call us on 0845 006 06 06.

Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas #2

If you're looking for a small team build you can run yourselves, from your office, with minimum planning or fuss, look no further than our Easy Office Based Team Building Ideas!

Creation Through Communication

The aim of this activity is for each team member to create a piece of origami by being given only verbal instructions by their team leader. It is beneficial for groups who are having communication issues, as it encourages everyone to assess how they listen to instructions, how they interpret them and how they implement them. It's also a great way of looking at the art of giving instructions, and is a fantastic DIY team build because the only equipment it requires is paper.

To prepare this activity, trim some A4 paper into squares and print off some Origami diagrams. There are plenty of resources online but ideally you want something easy and without written instructions, so that the instructor describes what they see in their own words. We like Origami Diagram - try the Flutter Fly as it's nice and simple.

If you have a small group (ten or fewer), this activity can be run as one large group, with the person running the activity giving instructions. For more people, divide the group into teams of about four to six people and ask them to nominate a team leader who will be giving out instructions.

Give each person a piece of paper (using coloured paper is nice but not essential) and explain the activity. Ask the team leaders to give out a series of instructions to best describe the diagrams you have given them, which everyone should follow. People should avoid asking questions, but they can ask for instructions to be repeated or re-phrased. Do not let people know exactly what they will be making, although you should have one example already made up to reveal at the end.

Give the teams a time limit, depending on the difficulty of the design you have given them (fifteen to twenty minutes for the Flutter Fly would be ideal).

If you are working in teams, when the time is up come back together to de-brief.  Reveal your "Here's one I made earlier" example, and explain that it's okay if not everybody's is perfect - that's the whole point of the exercise!

Some points for discussion to consider are:

• How do the end products compare to each other? If there are noticeable differences, why do you think this might be?
• What did people find challenging about this exercise? Are these challenges similar to those you have when communicating at work?
• Do you think that if you could see diagrams of the instructions, or have an example of the end result, your product would look the same? This would have meant relying less on yourselves and your own understanding of the instructions - would that have been a good thing?
• Participants had to trust the person giving instructions - how did this feel?
• What can you feed back about how the instructions were given? Did those giving instructions speak clearly and slowly enough, waiting for everybody to be ready before they moved on to the next point, or not? You may find it's beneficial to repeat the exercise with different people giving out different instructions, so that everyone has the chance to work on these skills.
• What have we learned about communication - both listening and instructing - that we can transfer to our working lives?

If you want to take your team building further, check out our website for ideas or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to our fabulous team.

The Guernica of the Team Building World!

An enquiry comes in from one of our top clients to provide a creative team build for a group of 150 in a meeting room in Northampton which accentuates the need for communication, dedication and the whole group working towards one spectacular achievement. "OK, leave it to us!" we said. This will require creating a painting so big only Picasso could rival it we thought! Pablo Picasso was one of the World's greatest painters, and one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, with some of his most famous works including Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Guernica. But these paintings are not only an outstanding expression of his thoughts, they are on a particularly grand scale! Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which portrays five nude prostitutes from a brothel in Barcelona, stands 244cm tall and 233cm wide and is considered to be central to the development of cubism and modern art.

However, Guernica is a dark and moving representation of the terror and destruction of the German and Italian bombing, and the ultimate artistic anti-war symbol if ever I have seen one. The painting measures an outstanding 349cm high and 776cm wide! I have been lucky enough to view it in all its splendour and glory at Museo Reina Sofia, and it was truly magnificent.

So, what's this got to do with team building? Well, we have had years of experience of running successful team building days for our clients, finding them the best venue for their away day, and creating bespoke events, but to create a masterpiece usually only Pablo Picasso could be proud of is something that requires team work at its best.

Having commissioned a local artist, Kelly Penfold, to paint us our own 'Picasso style' work of art, we now set ahead to produce an 18 team event and scale it up to a 250cm high and 750cm wide masterpiece. Look out Picasso!

CCC Events have provided a wide range of bespoke Work of Art events for clients, and have commissioned artists to design branded images as well as abstract or modern art, but we don't often we get asked to provide a 750cm wide masterpiece (you require a pretty big meeting room for these!) The teams on the day had 75 canvasses distributed between them, and instructions on what their challenge was. But they had no idea what the complete image would be. Considering it was the hottest day of the year so far the Northampton Marriott staff were helpful in topping up cold water stations to keep our budding artists refreshed and cool. But the hard work paid off and the delegates couldn't believe their eyes when we did the big reveal at the end of a truly successful afternoon. And here is the masterpiece itself:

The client said:

"...feedback from all participants was extremely positive and it certainly helped the communication and networking theme around which our day was centred. While some of us are less artistic than others, cue some of the examples in the warm up exercise, it was a fantastic event which brought together many teams who work in different locations and never get to see or meet each other. It was arranged so seamlessly that it even managed to make me look good!"

For more information on our bespoke team building events, free venue finding service and creative options contact 0845 006 06 06 or visit our website.

Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas - #1

Here at CCC Events we understand that it's not always possible to get your whole team out of the office for an 'official' Team Build as often as you'd like. That's why we're proud to introduce our new blog series, Easy Office-Based Team Building Ideas! Whether it's your first foray into the world of team building, or you are looking for something to tide you over until your next away day, we'll be posting a series of small team builds that you can run yourselves, from your office, with minimum planning or fuss.

The Scavenger Hunt

A Scavenger Hunt is an easy way to get everybody working together in a fun frenzy of activity. Use it to get over the mid-day slump or before a meeting and your staff will be buzzing with excitement - especially the winning team.

The aim of The Scavenger Hunt is for each team to try and find as many of the items on the list as possible within a set time limit. This is an office-based activity, but if you work in a city or near a park, you may want to allow teams to get out and about as they search for items (if you trust them to come back!)

Begin by dividing the group into teams - three to six people per team is perfect. A mixture of senior/junior, male/female and different age groups in each team is a great way of getting people to mix with those they might not otherwise. Alternatively, simply pick names from a hat.

Once everybody has found their team, hand out a list of Scavenger Hunt Items. A range of easy and difficult items is good - here are some of our favourites:

• Coin dated 1999
• Cassette Tape
• Picture of the MD
• Your company logo
• Safety pin
• Stress Ball
• The Queen
• Novelty hat
• Stuffed animal
• Golf Tee
• Balloon
• Promotional Item
• Company Award

Encourage teams to think outside of the box - items don't have to be literal. A hand-drawn caricature of the MD, for example, is more creative and will provide more laughs than a printed photo from your website! Give the teams a time limit - 15 minutes if you're looking for a quick motivator, or up to an hour if if you really want to get the teams working together (adjust the number of items on the list accordingly).

When everyone has returned, get the teams to present the items they managed to find - the team that got the most is the winner!

Award a small prize or treat to the winning team, and if you want to get your office looking ship-shape again, consider giving another prize to the first team to return all of their items to where they found them.

If you want to take your team building further, take a look at our website or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to one of our fabulous team.

CCC's Bushcraft expert stars in new series - Jimmy's Forest

Edible or deadible? asks our Bushcraft expert Heath Dawson, as he holds up two rather innocent looking bits of shrub from the forest. "Edible" cries one of the team members. "Then I'm afraid you would be dead within an hour if you ate this!" replies Heath. Heath Dawson is an absolute legend in the woodland, and the very best of our CCC Events Bushcraft instructors. Over the years he has taught bushcraft and nature skills to thousands of people from businessmen in corporate team building days, children, hen & stag parties, to park rangers and scout groups. And it is Heath's vast expertise and welcoming nature that makes CCC Events Bushcraft days so popular!

He is, in fact, so knowledgeable that he is now set to appear in the new series 'Jimmy's Forest', starting tonight at 9pm on More4 with Jimmy Doherty. Jimmy's Forest takes viewers on a modern boy's own outdoor adventure deep inside a pristine Norfolk woodland. Country boy, farmer, insect lover and natural history enthusiast Jimmy Doherty is in his element high up in a spectacular tree house, fully equipped with its own suspended walkways, zip wires and science lab.

Joining him around the camp fire and in the lab are friends and experts who help him make new discoveries and carry out experiments to understand the inner workings of a British forest. The series charts the seasonal transformation of the forest and the challenges and pleasures it holds for Jimmy.

Jimmy, also well know for being a good friend of Jamie Oliver and rare-breeds farmer, has had a string of successful TV hit series including the most recent Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket, A Farmer's Life for Me and Jimmy's Food Factory.

So if the skills of a bushman interests you, then tune in tonight and keep your eyes peeled for Heath! He's due to appear in -

Episode 1 - Spring. Broadcasting on 6th August @ 9pm on More4

Episode 3 - Autumn. Broadcasting on 20th August @ 9pm on More4

Episode 4 - Winter. Broadcasting on 27th August @ 9pm on More4

And for those adventurous corporate groups out there who like to break away from the norm and get out in the wilderness, contact CCC Events for more information on our Bushcraft skills days or weekends on 0845 006 06 06.

Back to School: Team Building at Down Hall, Hertfordshire

Last week our clients were taken Back to School  for a fun-packed trip down memory lane at the beautiful Down Hall Hotel in Hertfordshire.  After sitting assembly with our terrifying Headmaster, the group was split into 'classes' and embarked on a school day with a difference - breaking plenty of rules and avoiding their teachers at all costs!

Much more fun than you remember from your former years, our Back to School event is all your favourite lessons with a twist - think decorating cakes whilst blindfolded for Home Economics, giant footballs for Sports Day and hilarious renditions of your favourite songs in Music.

Event Manager Steve Scott had this to say about the day:

"It's always amazing how quickly the teams regress to schoolchildren and start acting up! Everyone spends the day in stitches, but not only is this event masses of fun, it strengthens bonds and encourages teamwork in a situation everyone can relate to."

Fancy going Back to School for your team building event this summer? Visit our website or call 0845 006 06 06 to speak to one of our amazing sales team.

What a Work of Art!

As Event Managers at CCC Events we're trained to run a broad range of team building days from Treasure Hunts, Murder Mysteries  and outdoor activities, to Chocolate Workshops and cooking master classes. The events are fantastic fun and designed to get colleagues working well together, communicating and competing for a winning prize! However one of our most popular events, the Work of Art, not only gets the delegates to work wonderfully in their teams, but the whole group is working towards the same goal, to produce a huge and colourful multi canvass masterpiece!

It was a beautiful day in London when CCC Event Managers Katrina Shoesmith and Kate Packham travelled to the city to run the Work of Art for Ernst & Young at their offices. After spending the morning in meetings, our clients were delighted to come back from lunch to find we had transformed their offices into an Art studio. It looked fantastic, and the view of Big Ben and the London Eye out of the windows on the 11th floor was just breathtaking!

We all take pride in helping companies enjoy good team building days, but there's nothing that compares with the sense of achievement the teams get when we do The Big Reveal at the end of the day. This was one of the best paintings I've seen yet though. The teams worked so well together, communicating to get all the joining canvasses with matching colours and sharing the shades of paint with each other. You can tell that a group has worked well together when the end result is so perfect. Well done Ernst & Young!

Kelly Edwards at Ernst & Young was thrilled:

"Our entire team enjoyed the the work of art event - it was a nice surprise to see the final painting and how well we all worked together to achieve the wonderful end result. I have been on quite a few team building days but none have even compared to this one. I would highly recommend Work of Art for a team building day to anyone. I look forward to planning our next Strategy day with CCC Events!"

For more information about our Work of Art team building day, and many other team building solutions call our sales team on 08450 06 06 06 or visit our website

Team Building At Down Hall in Hertfordshire

Down Hall in Hertfordshire is a beautiful venue, with extensive, well kept grounds - ideal for an outdoor team building event like our Hostage Rescue! And so it was on Friday that Operations Director Steve "Agent S" Scott rounded up his team of mercenaries, hostage takers and weapon handlers to treat 30 delegates to an explosive day!

Steve had this to say of the day:

"The event was a complete surprise for most of the clients, and starts with a fake briefing being interrupted by two masked men with machine guns! After they took their hostage - in this case one of the company managers - it was up to me and the team to train up our guests in order to save the day!"

Teams spent the day learning a variety of skills and competing in several challenges, including pistol shooting and bomb disposal.

Steve went on:

"The clients on the day were a great bunch and everyone really got into the spirit of the day. The rescue of the hostage at the end was hilarious - some teams were contemplating leaving him chained up even as the enemy base was beginning to explode"

Give us a call on 0845 006 06 06 for more information about how you can ensure your next team building event goes off with a bang!

Team Building at Wotton House in Surrey

The sun stayed out and made for a great day yesterday at the beautiful Wotton House Hotel in Dorking, Surrey.

Event Manager Kate Packham was running our action packed outdoor team building event, the Cryptic Challenge, for 160 delegates and had this to say on the day:

"A little bit of rain doesn't damage outdoor events, and can sometimes even add to the enjoyment. That said, you'll never hear me complain when we get glorious sunshine like this! The clients had a great time and, as ever with a Cryptic Challenge, the finale was nail-biting and hilarious!"

The Cryptic Challenge sees teams compete head to head in a series of devious games, testing their mental and physical agility - and also their ability to work as a team! Imagine if the Krypton Factor and the Crystal Maze had a child together - we like to think it would look a bit like the Cryptic Challenge!

Give us a call on 0845 006 06 06 to discover how we can make your next event truly memorable.

iPad Fever at CCC HQ

One of our most experienced event managers, Mike Horner, works his magicon 40 of the CCC iPad 2's...

No, he's not just playing 'master of the universe', he is in fact preparing a 300 guest iSpy Team Building Event in our home town of Brighton!

Although the team have all had a chance to have a good old play around with our new toys (The 'photo booth' app provided quite a few hours of cheek ache!) we do, sadly, sometimes have to do some work - although on days like this, we wonder if we can call it that!

Mike says of the award-winning iSpy "What makes iSpy so special is that it was all created in-house, so the team really knows all its in's and out's. We are lucky enough to have team members with the added skill base and drive to learn, to be able to create this interactive event that keeps on developing - the possibilities are now endless and we can tailor nearly every aspect so that our clients are getting a completely bespoke experience. And the clients' mischievous giggling at the end of every event is testament to iSpy's appeal...

One of our agency clients who recently took part in the iSpy said:

"We all had such a great time around London - I really appreciated the effort you and your team put into the day and we haven't laughed so much in a long time." 

Whether you have 5 or 500 people, are in Bath or Barcelona, iSpy will run exactly the same and that's why it's been so successful. With over 22 years experience in team building, we know some classics can become tired and typical - this is just one of the ways we keep our team builds fresh and unique.

Mike adds "my favourite thing about events like this is winning over the clients during the introduction alone. There are so many weird and wonderful challenges to complete that once I've explained what we have planned for them, even the most sceptical of clients will warm to the idea of running around a city looking for clues! And no one can wait to see the films the teams have made along the way - having a 'screening' of their movies as we announce the winners is sure to end the day on a real high"

So if you feel that your team build needs something unique, bespoke and hilarious, this really is something to consider.

Visit our website for ideas, guides and testimonials - or if you just fancy a friendly chat with our lovely team or to find out more about what we do, call our office on 0845 006 06 06 - we love a good natter!

CCC Events Win "Team Building Company of the Year"

CCC Events has won the coveted Team Building Company Of The Year at the Event Awards!

2011-12 has been great for CCC Events -it has seen us introduce brand new events, invest while others have tightened purse strings, and win a series of industry awards on our first try!

The Team Building Award makes 8 awards in total, but it is the one of which we are most proud - it is, after all, what we do best!

We represented well on the night with no less than 10 of us attending, and no less than 10 of us piling onto the stage when the win was announced!

Creative Director of CCC Events, Martin Clark, had this to say. “Our clients’ companies are doing well, and although everyone is tightening their belts in these difficult economic times, they are still prioritising spend on making their workforce stronger, more loyal, more productive and more effective. It seems obvious, but is often an area in which companies cut back in hard times.”

You can read more about our entry at the Event Awards Website.

By Mike Horner

Welcome to the Team Building Blog!

Welcome!

Here at team building and corporate events company CCC Events we have lots to talk about, so what better way than by launching this blog?

We certainly have a lot to shout about; from winning no less than eight industry awards, to launching The Murder Mystery Company - our very own, specialised centre for all things murder mystery!

Along the way we also hope to keep you posted on our upcoming projects and event launches, introduce you to the team and provide you with some great photos and videos of us in action, helping to paint a picture of what to expect when you work with us.

Take a look at our client list, explore the website or just get in touch right away!