This type of activity helps break down the barriers and allows members to get to know one another on a more intimate level. It is very appropriate for groups where people will be working together closely and/or for groups where members will be together for long periods of time.
Intimate Interviews: Members pair off and interview one another for 5 minutes each. One of the partners introduces the other to the group speaking in the first person as if he or she was the person being introduced.
Personal Crest: Members make a personal coat-of-arms in which they express important aspects about themselves through drawings or short phrases. Possible topics or questions to include in the crest: the most significant event in your life, how you react when upset, your primary goal for the year, where you would like to be in 5 years.
Trust Building: These exercises generally rely on some form of physical contact but have the added element of requiring participants to trust one another in order to complete the activity. They are appropriate in most any group; but be careful that if someone is really afraid, he/she is not pressured into participating.
Trust Walks: Members take turns being blindfolded and led by another on a short walk.
Physical exercises help eliminate tension and distance between people and make them more relaxed and comfortable with each other. These are appropriate in most groups; but beware of individual reactions to touching/being touched.
Human Knot: Members stand in a circle and extend their right hands into the middle and clasp the hand of another. Repeat using the left hand. Untangle the knot without unclasping hands.
These exercises help people learn to work together and can give an indication about the roles members will play in group situations (thinker, leader, organizer, dominator, follower, etc.). These are appropriate in any group particularly if tasks demand teamwork.
Perfect Square: Squares of construction paper of different colors are cut into odd shapes. Members each take a piece and then work with others who have the same color to form a perfect square. This exercise is often done in silence without talking permitted.
Brainstorm: Members are asked to contribute ideas regarding a specific problem or question facing the group. Ideas are recorded without judgment.
Other: Parties, potlucks, meals and retreats help break the monotony of regular meetings and provide an opportunity for members to get back in touch with each other on a social basis. These are appropriate anytime in a group and are particularly helpful when motivation is lacking, morale is low, or members are drifting apart.
Similar to Post service reflection after you have completed your team building exercise, it is necessary to spend time as a group discussing this experience. Part of any team building process is sharing what has been learned and experienced; what members liked and disliked; and, most importantly, how they felt while participating.
