Rock Paper Team – 7 Favorite Team Building Icebreakers

Welcome to our first “What Can I Do At Work” Blog. Rock Paper Team is a team building company dedicated to your success. We build our events around your goals and desired results. At Rock Paper Team, we believe that team building is more than a game. It is based on the relationship between you and your teammates, building the strength and stamina that will lead you and your company to success.

You are at work, getting over the winter blues and you want to spice up the group – get energy flowing. Try these icebreakers to help boost morale

1. Zip Zap Zoom – This is an Improv exercise to help teams support and listen to each other better. It’s like “Hot Potato” but with words and actions. Get your team in a circle (no more than 15 people to a circle). First person starts with their hands clasped together and, to anyone in the circle, says and passes Zip. The person catches the Zip by clasping hands and chooses another person to pass and say Zap. The third person catches the Zap by clasping their hands and passes the Zoom to the fourth person. The fourth person catches the Zoom like the others and says and passes Zip – starting the whole cycle again. See how quickly your team can do this exercise. Be prepared to laugh.

2. Who Am I – This exercise is like 20 Questions. You need to create a list of famous people and cut each name into it’s own strip. Have someone tape the names on the back of each person – Don’t tell them who they are! Make sure the person taping the names gets one too. Start by going to a different person for each of the questions you ask – don’t go to the same person (unless you are a small group). Even if you figure out who you are, others need your help. This exercise helps in creative thinking and deducing, plus listening skills.

3. Name Game – Before a meeting, or if you are having a team celebration at a bar/restaurant, break people into teams of 5 – 7 people. Give them a printed sheet of paper where you have created a table of 4 columns. The first column is the name of your company or a motto with each letter in it’s own row.   The second, third and fourth columns are titled with topics. With each corresponding letter on each row, the team has to come up with a name for each topic. The topics could be celebrities, drinks, movies, sports, etc. Have fun getting to know your teammates pop culture references.

4. Musical Chairs – In a good-sized space, make an outer and inner circle of chairs that face each other. Turn on some music and let the outer circle go one direction and the inner circle go another direction. Stop the music and each person sits in a seat. Give them a question – start easy, then get more difficult – that they have each have to answer within a minute. You can give more time if you ask a more involved question towards the end. After their minute, start the music and people get up, continuing in the direction they were walking until the music stops. Then it starts all over again.

5. People Bingo – Make up 30 blocks in a table on a Word document. Fill in each box with something that each teammate could answer at least one box. Examples – I speak 3 languages. I’m the youngest in my family. I have traveled to 5 countries. I like Italian Food. My favorite color is Blue. I have performed on stage. When the game starts, tell the participants to find people who match the description in the box. A different person should fill out each box unless you don’t have 30 people.

6. Informal Icebreaker – Don’t email or IM your co-worker on the same floor as you. Get up and see them in person – take 5 minutes to see how each other are doing.

7. Eat lunch or go on a break with a co-worker you don’t interact with during the day.

Go to www.rockpaperteam.com for more ideas about team building.

Thank you for your time!  We look forward to working with you!