Let’s face it – team-building events and conferences can be fairly awkward affairs.
While the extroverts of the world might absolutely love them, many other people tend to shy away when it comes to opening up or talking about themselves. Whether this is because of a pre-existing anxiety, or a hatred of public speaking, it can often take a lot to persuade guests to open up.
While many event organisers may dream of having a room filled with smiling faces, positive energy and everyone talking to one other, this isn’t necessarily always guaranteed. Event attendees need to be encouraged to participate rather than feel it’s expected of them. Only by putting in the effort in advance will event organisers be able to reap the rewards.
So, how can you encourage groups of strangers to connect authentically with one another? Using the five ideas listed below, we can pretty much guarantee your team-building event will be a hit for all involved.
1. Present your partner
A great way of getting people talking comes via the ‘present your partner’ game. The idea of this game is to pair all the attendees up and then give them a short amount of time to get to know one another. Then, once the time is up, each person takes it turns revealing to the rest of the group what they found out.
This activity encourages people to speak to one another and ask thought provoking questions. It also provides an opportunity for everyone to hear about each person individually, making it easier for attendees to identify other group members who they share common interests with.
2. Get creative
It’s often said that laughter is the best form of medicine and this is certainly true when it comes to running a team-building event. Not only can making people laugh diffuse any pre-existing nerves or tension, it can also set a fun, jovial tone for the rest of the event as well.
The best way to encourage laughter is by getting creative with the activities. One great idea is asking questions which go slightly against the norm. ‘Would you rather’ questions like – would you rather be able to talk to land animals or animals that live under the water? – can be great, humorous icebreakers to help get the conversation flowing.
3. Focus on favourites
Whether it be food-related, travel-related, music-related, colour-related or football-related, everyone has an opinion – regardless of the topic. Why not encourage guests to discuss what they think about a certain topic by prompting a light debate? Ask attendees to talk about what their favourite things are – from foods and drinks, to artists and countries.
Podcasts like Off Menuand Desert Island Discshave made a name for encouraging these sorts of conversations with celebrity guests, so why not take a leaf out of their book? Talking about a person’s favourite things can spark lively conversations which give people a chance to get to know each other.
4. Speed ‘mating’
Much like the concept of speed dating, speed ‘mate-ing’ uses short and sweet conversations as a platform for people to quickly get to know each other. By giving participants only a few minutes to talk to each other, this encourages them to exchange contact information, disclose who they are and discuss where they’ve come from.
It also encourages attendees to get up on their feet and move around. This, in turn, helps keep them engaged in the event itself.
5. Get interactive
Sometimes the best way to encourage people to talk to one another is by throwing them in at the deep end, setting them a series of challenges and tasks to complete as a small team. Whether it be a problem-solving test, a jigsaw puzzle, a mini treasure hunt, or something else entirely, most people enjoy having the opportunity to use their brains to solve challenges.
Plus, by creating teams randomly, you’ll limit the likelihood of cliques forming which will effectively force people to get to know each other.
Final thoughts…
Team-building events can be incredibly beneficial when organised and run in the correct manner. While you obviously can’t force somebody to talk and get involved, ideas like the five listed here will help encourage people out of their shell and gently persuade them to join in on the activities.
