Celebrity Charades (Icebreaker)

This super fun icebreaker gets people up, moving around and having a ton of fun. You will only need some pens and some sticky notes. Have a list of celebrity names prepared or have each member of the group write one down before you start the game. Just make sure you have one celebrities name on a sticky note for every person in your group.

Seat everyone in a semi-circle. Go around and place a sticky note on the forehead of each person so that their celebrity is known to all but them.

Start with the person to your left. You and others around the circle will offer hints as to who his or her celebrity is. You can make a statement, act out a behavior, or perform some famous lines that the person is known for. Each person has 1-2 minutes to give clues and to get him/her to say the correct celebrity. Go around the room until the person guesses the celebrity or everyone in the room had had a turn giving clues. Follow along until everyone has had a chance to guess their celebrity.

This a really fun game that requires very little prep work and will have everyone giggling, bonding and just having a great time! Perfect icebreaker for the first day but can be used to energize and/or unite a group any time!

Enjoy!

Lorie

Invention: The Teambuilding Game

This is a fun teambuilding exercise. Divide your group in smaller groups of four to five. You will need a paper bag for each group that contains all the same items in each bag. Things like a piece of string, a couple of paperclips, a rock, some staples work best but use your imagination! For best results, make sure there are about 12-20 items in each bag and that each team bag contains identical items.

The groups separate as much as possible (suggest each take a corner of the room) and try to create an invention of some sort. Allow the teams about 10-15 minutes to come up with their masterpiece. When you call time, the finished project must be placed into the bag. No one is allowed to work extra time.

Draw straws or roll a die to see which group goes first, second, etc. Take the first group to the front of the class. One member of the team is appointed spokesperson and will explain the object and demonstrate its features, The other groups judge the effort on a score of one to ten.

The winning team gets a prize. Include all other teams for their effort. They are all winners for trying!

This exercise is great for teambuilding. You will enjoy seeing just how resourceful the teams can be!

Make sure you present and manage thisgame in a fun, lighthearted way. Do not allow any one to get too competitive or serious. Be encouraging.

End the game by thanking everyone for playing and throw out some chocolate.

Enjoy~

Lorie

Crossword Puzzles!

The Crossword Game
Don’t forget the tried and true crossword puzzles! Here are some new takes on an old favorite.

If you are creative with words and want something everyone will participate in and learn from, then use crossword puzzles. They are certainly not new on the adult learning scene, yet crossword puzzles are a hit every time. Who doesn’t enjoy a crossword puzzle!?

You will need a whiteboard or chalkboard and the tools to write with. You can use a variation as well by printing and giving the crossword on paper to everyone and have them each try to solve it for 10 minutes.

The clues to the crossword puzzle should be about words that are relevant to the topic you are teaching your group. The clues can be questions, answers, etc. Look at a crossword puzzle in a book or your newspaper to get an idea of how to format the clues.

If you do it up on a board as a group effort, then just let them blurt out the answers, but only give out one clue at a time so no one jumps ahead.

If you do this individually, you let each person work on their puzzle for 10 minutes, then have them pass it to their left or right depending on your seating arrangement so that the next person tries to finish the crossword puzzle. Do this again every 5 minutes until all the crossword puzzles are completed.

People retain the things they have to figure out and that they write down. The crossword is a great tool to get them familiar with your topic and to give them the basic information they need to get started with the training you are about to do.

Enjoy!

Family Fued for Trainers

It is always easier to learn something if you are having fun while you learn. For Trainers, Teachers, and Presenters, games can lighten up any learning environment and help you to reach and engage the group. If participants are having fun, they will learn more. Family Feud is really fun and can be altered to fit both the type of group you are teaching and the topic you want them to learn all about.

Family Fued!
Just like the popular TV show, but for a group session. You come up with ten questions that relate to the topic you will be discussing. Write down several possible answers to each question. Give each of those answers a number of points so that all the answers together total 100 points. This replaces the need to find a group of people to survey.

Divide your group into two teams. Have each team send one person forward. If you don't have a buzzer or bell have them tug your sleeve as soon as they have an answer so you will know who is first. Ask your first question. If one of them tugs your sleeve they get to go first and try to answer your question. If they give an answer that is on your list the associated points go up on the board. That team also gets to decide whether they will give the other team the chance to guess the rest of the answers or they will take it first.

Whichever team goes first you go down the line and ask the next person to guess at one of the other answers for that question. If they get it wrong it’s one strike. If they get it right the points associated with their answer get added to the board. Three strikes and that team is out and the other team gets one try at stealing all the points by giving just one right answer. They can discuss it among themselves.

The first team to gather 300 points wins the game. This game teaches them to work together in decision-making like choosing each different person they will send forward to grab the points. Which answer they can agree on is also decided on through teamwork. This game is so fun! It does require a bit of prep work but it will be totally worth it when they're finished. They will have a few laughs and learn along the way!

10 Reasons to Use Icebreakers in Training Programs

We all know icebreakers are fun! And icebreakers are used with great success to help people to get to know each other. But, did you know there are many, many more benefits to using them? Here are some other reasons why I think you should incorporate icebreakers into every training session:

1. Increase comfort level of participants
2. Identify similarities between participants
3. Foster energy and enthusiasm
4. Break down walls or barriers
5. Get participants moving, thinking and laughing
6. Act as a smooth transition between training topics
7. Creates an environment of trust
8. Connects everyone in the room
9. Helps identify and appreciate differences
10. Sets the tone for a fun, safe, comfortable training session where participation is encouraged and embraced.

Well, those are my top ten reasons for incorporating icebreakers in every training program. I am sure you can think of many more. I will be posting some of my favorite 5-minute icebreakers in the coming weeks so be sure to check back soon. Thanks for visiting!