Unusual team building activites
March 11, 2021
If you want your team to be successful, productive, and happy in their work, a strong bond and positive team relationship is key.
However, all too often, team building activities are dull, repetitive and uncomfortable. The good news is it doesn’t have to be that way.
There are plenty of team building activities, both real-world and virtual, that will bring your team together while giving everyone a great time in the process.
Why team building activities?
Team building activities are not only fun, but they also offer a host of other benefits, including:
- Improving communication
- Boosting morale
- Increasing motivation
- Developing trust
- Unleashing creativity
- Improving confidence levels
- Boosting mental health
- Improving physical health
Looking for inspiration? Here’s our favourite unusual team building activities.
Battle of the Airbands
This is a fun activity that can be done without too many props. Split your team into ‘bands’ of 3-4 people.
Each band will decide who is taking on each role in the band and what song they will perform a lip-synced, air-guitar style version of the song. Give them time to practice and then bring everyone back for the performance and vote on a winner.
You can also add costumes and props if time allows.
Show and tell
This is a super simple activity that can be done virtually or in person. Get each team member to bring in their most prized possession and tell everyone else about it. It worked in primary school, so why can’t adults do it too?
Office trading cards
Many of us will remember collecting Pokémon cards when we were younger. Well now your team can be the stars of the show.
Simply give out blank cards to each team member and ask them to get creative and make their own trading card. They will need to include their name, a self-portrait, nickname, and a fact about themselves.
Then collect the cards back in and hand them all out at random. Once everyone has a card, they can read the fact, keep it and approach the team member to find out more if they find it interesting, or trade it to find out more about someone new.
Colleague Cribs
Remember MTV Cribs or Through the Keyhole? If you’re looking for a virtual team building activity, why not recreate the concept with your employees?
Ask each employee to record a fun tour of their house or work area – they can be as creative as they want. This is a great way for team members to show their personality and allows everyone to get to know each other a bit more.
Escape Rooms
The beauty of this one is that it can be done in real life or virtually, depending on how your team is working right now. There are several real and virtual escape rooms available, with different themes and difficulty levels, so you’re sure to find one that your team will love.
Jigsaws with a twist
Put your team’s bartering skills to the test. Divide the workforce up into smaller teams and give each one a jigsaw puzzle to work on together.
But, before you dish out the jigsaws, remove a few pieces from each one and give them to one of the opposing teams. The teams will then have to negotiate to get the missing pieces they need – this usually ends in the trading of pieces and even team members.
Office trivia
A classic quiz with a twist, this is a quick and easy team building activity that can be done in the office or virtually. Put together a set of questions about the company and the workplace that will test the team’s observational skills – questions like how many windows there are in a certain room, the colour of the carpet in the hallway, how many people sit in a certain area etc.
Cooking class
Food brings people together, so take your team off to a cooking class at a local restaurant or cooking school or plan a virtual one where everyone cooks along at home.
Self portraits
All you’ll need for this is pens and paper. Get each team member to draw a self-portrait. Then, collect in all the portraits and display them on the wall. The team then has to guess which portrait belongs to which team member. Once the correct person has been found, get them to describe why they drew themselves the way they did.
This not only encourages your team to unleash their creativity, but it will also help team members understand how others on the team see themselves.
Get in touch
The Brewery is a premium London event venue that’s ideal for hosting team building events for businesses of all sizes. Get in touch to find out more about our available spaces.
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