Fun and Effective Organizational Workshop Games

Having been a corporate trainer for 14 years, I can safely say my best advice is this: don’t bother with the “theatre-y” exercises. Most likely the attendees are not theatre people, and will only find them boring and pretentious. We find (and studies have conclusively shown) that what people need most in a business environment is to feel a sense of play. Adults grew up learning that play is for kids, and we must reintroduce them to the concept that play is good, and that they have permission to play. Yes, oddly enough, most adults feel they need to have permission to have fun.

“Lessons learned while having fun are lessons that endure.”

Here is a sampling of successful workshop activities:

• Pass the Clap – In our own corporate workshops we use the same exercises* we use for kids, and the men and women in their tidy business clothes love them. The first person turns to the person next to them and, making eye contact, they try to clap their hands together (once) at the same time. The clap is passed around the circle in this manner, getting faster each time around. If the circle is large enough, you can pass two or three claps at the same time. We do Pass the Clap early, as it teaches the value of eye contact and focus, and gets them laughing (just the name does it).
• Noise Chuck Suck – (known more pedestrianly as Sound Ball) is a wonderful game to get them out of their shells. In a circle, the first person makes eye contact with anyone else and throws a sound…any sound…to them as if tossing a medicine ball. The target person reaches out and draws the sound in, repeating it as best they can. They then make eye contact with someone else and throw a different sound, and the process repeats until you feel they’ve had enough fun and it’s time to move on. Emphasize that they should not think too hard, if at all, about what sound to make; any sound is sufficient. Work for speed and ensure that eye contact is being made.
• Scene In Four Frames – A great activity for small groups once you’ve got the warmup/introduction activities done. Split everyone into small groups (no larger than four or five) and have them create a narrative that can be told in four still frames, as in a comic strip. Emphasize there will be no movement or sound. Give them five to ten minutes to decide and practice their scene out of range of the other groups. When a group is presenting, they will have one person tell the audience to close their eyes while everyone sets up the first frame. Once the group is ready, the audience will be told to open their eyes. After a they have a chance to look briefly at the scene, the process is repeated until all four scenes have been shown. The audience will then be asked to guess what the scene was about. The answers may surprise you!
  • It works best if the scenes are not about a competition (for some reason a foot race is very popular), as the “story” tends to be very limited.
  • In the same vein, have them keep their stories short and concise. If they try to tell the whole tale of Little Red Riding Hood in four frames, they will not be successful.
  • Make sure you are visiting each group to coach them along in the process.
  • You may also want to recommend that any violence/weapon use be avoided, as this could upset some attendees.
• Words of Wisdom – In the circle, the object is to create words of wisdom that sound as if they might have come from a fortune cookie, one word at a time. This game is perfect for getting people “out of their heads” and being in the moment. When the participants feel the sentence is complete, everyone pats their fingertips together in front of themselves and says, “Yes, yes, yes, yes…” Whoever would have gone next begins a new sentence. This game is an excellent finish to a session; it gets everyone back into the circle and gets them to be serene and focused. Now is the perfect time to do your reflection, summary and wrap-up.

Business people work in stressful jobs wearing stressful clothes 5 days a week, day in and day out. Your workshops should feature activities that not only teach valuable lessons, but do so couched in the guise of play. Lessons learned while having fun are lessons that endure.

“Never persist if there is no joy” -Keith Johnstone, Impro for Storytellers