TEAMBUILDING EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Hula Hoop Pass

Needs: Hula hoop

Set up: None

Directions:
Have the team form a circle holding hands. Ask two people to let go of their grip long
enough for them to place their hands through a hula hoop before rejoining them. The
team task is to pass the hula hoop around the circle in a specified direction until it
returns to the starting point.

Additional Challenges:
Have the team complete the challenge without talking.

Processing:
1. Was this activity easier or more difficult that you imagined?
2. It required a lot of teamwork and cooperation in order to complete this task. How
did it feel to be able to successfully complete the task as a team?
3. What did you have to do differently when there were two hula hoops?


2. Chaos Toss

Needs: Assortment (5-10) of tennis balls, Koosh balls, Beanie Babies, etc.

Directions: Ask everyone to stand in a circle, facing inward. The facilitator calls the
name of a participant across the circle, and then tosses them the ball. Participants
continue to throw the ball to a new person, each time calling out their name. Repeat
until each person has received the ball once. The ball then returns to the facilitator.
Repeat this exact sequence until it becomes somewhat smooth and the ball is not
dropped. Eventually, as the exercise is being repeated smoothly, add another ball
without warning. The group must decide how to manage these items in the same order
without dropping them.

Processing:
1. What were your overall thoughts about this activity?
2. How did the activity change with the addition of a second ball?





3. Fingertip Hula Hoop

Needs: Hula hoops

Set up: none

Directions:
Have each member of the group put the tips of both of their index fingers under the hula
hoop (one finger tip if group is large). The object is for the group to be able to lower the
hoop to the ground without anyones fingertips coming off. Their fingertips MUST be in
contact with the hoop at all times.

Additional Challenges:
Complete challenge without talking.

Processing:
1. What challenges did you face as an individual when doing this activity?
2. What challenges did you face as a team when doing this activity?
3. What creative solutions did you come up with in order solve the problem?
4. Why was the activity challenging or not challenging for you?
5. What was the most frustrating part of this activity?
6. How can you relate this to your group dynamics and teamwork?


4. Call of the Wild

Needs: List of animals: cat, cow, dog, donkey, duck, frog, horse, lion, owl, pig, sheep,
wolf, etc

Set up: Using the list of animals, whisper in each participants ear the name of an
animal. Keep track of which animals you assign, and give each animal to two people.

Directions:
Instruct participants to keep their animals secret. Have everyone stand in an open area,
close their eyes and begin making the sound of the animal they selected. Everyone
must roam around, following the sounds of others to meet up with the other players who
were given the same animal.

Processing:
5. How did making the animal noises make you feel? Were you out of your comfort
zone?
6. Were some animal noises harder than others to distinguish?
7. How did the volume at which people made the noises affect your ability to find
your match? (Did being loud help them to find to find their mate and inhibit
others?)





5. All My Friends!

Needs: Placeholders (rubber mats or bandanas)

Directions: Have everyone get into a circle. One person will stand in the middle of the
circle and make a general statement that applies to them, such as all my friends are
wearing jeans. Anyone for who the statement is true must move to a new place in the
circle, including the person in the middle. They are not allowed to move directly next to
their current position. One person will not find an available space, and they become the
person in the middle making the next statement.

Additional Challenges: This can be used as with a new group that doesnt know each
other well and have them introduce themselves when they are in the middle. You can
also make the statements specific (for example they have to pertain to involvements on
campus).

Processing:
1. How did it feel to be the last person in the circle?
2. What did you like about this activity?
3. What did you dislike about this activity?
4. Did you have any particular strategy so that you werent the last person in the
middle?



6. Blind Drawing

Needs: Photos, writing utensil, paper, clipboard

Set up: None

Directions:
Select one person to draw. The rest of the group will instruct him/her on what to draw.
Give the drawer a writing utensil, a piece of paper and clipboard. Give the group a
photo. Have the drawer turn their back to the group. Instruct the group to give verbal
directions to the drawer, who then attempts to draw an exact replica of the photo. The
group will have to decide together how to describe the picture, and the drawer will have
to interpret the groups explanation. Once the drawing is complete, have the team
compare their drawing with the photo. Switch drawers and photos.

Processing:
1. Does your drawing look similar to the photo?
2. How do you think you could have improved what you were doing in order to
produce a drawing that is closer to an exact replica of the photo?
3. What was the most challenging aspect of this exercise?
4. (If you had them switch roles) Which role did you prefer drawing or giving
directions?






Additional Exercises

1. Motor Mania

Needs: None

Directions: Assign each team an appliance from the list below. Tell the group they
have two minutes to become each appliance. The team should form themselves in
such a way that resembles the appliance, including sounds and motions.

Fan, Blender, Telephone, Toaster, Coffee Grinder, Waffle Iron, Vacuum, Dust Buster,
Polaroid, Camera, Hand Mixer

Processing:

1. How difficult was this activity to perform?
2. How do you think time played a factor in how your motor developed?
3. What was your favorite motor that your group came up with?


2. Human Knot:

Needs: None

Directions: The group starts out in one tight circle. Everyone in the group reaches
across the circle with their right hand to grab another group members right hand. The
group then reaches in with their left hand to grab a different group members left hand.
The object is to untangle the group without letting go of hands until a circle is formed. If
the group is having extreme difficulty, you can administer knot first-aid and break one
set of tangled hands (with group consensus), otherwise group members may not let go
at any time. You may have to decide as a group that the knot is not solvable, after a
prolonged attempt.

Additional Challenges:
Have the team complete the challenge without talking.

Processing:
1. How well do you think your team worked together with this activity?
2. What made your group successful or unsuccessful?
3. Can you relate the communication that was needed to succeed in this activity to
any real-life situations where the right type of communication would be very
important?









3. Body Spelling

Needs: None

Set up: Come up with words. For larger groups, break into teams.
Word suggestions: SERVE, CAMP, TEAM, BUILD, LOVE, HELP, WORLD, LEAD

Directions:
Participants must spell a word using their bodies. This can be done in two ways: they
can lie on the ground and form the letters, or they can form the letters standing up. As
the facilitator, time them (use a watch, phone or just count) and challenge them to
improve their time with each word.

Processing:
1. What things are necessary in order to effectively form the letters? (good
communication, leadership, cooperation, etc.)
2. Did your teams strategy change as the game progressed? If you could redo the
game, what would you have done differently?


4. As Simple as ABC

Needs: None

Set up: Form group into a circle.

Directions:
Select a letter of the alphabet and share the letter with the group. Select a player to
begin the challenge. The first person must give a word that starts with that letter.
Players then go around the circle listing words that begin with that letter. The group
should work as fast as possible to list as many words in the allotted amount of time.
Keep track of time with a watch, phone or by counting. When time is up, share the total
number of words, then select a new letter and a new first player and repeat. Challenge
the group to beat their record.

Processing:
1. How did you feel about being in a group, but having a role as an individual?
2. Was there anything frustrating about this activity?
3. What techniques did you use to improve your record each round?