Team Communication Activities

Team Communication Activities

“They don’t just seem to get along together. They just care about their individual growth”. Well, if you are one of those harried and frustrated managers who cannot get your team to come together and communicate, then this write-up should bail you out. With organizations expanding their wings across different geographies, the challenges of managers have increased manifold. With people hailing from multiple locations, cultures and backgrounds, getting the best on board may not be always easy. But then, as a manager, you can always invest some time to spot the team players and build on them. Sounds easier said than done, isn’t it? The potential of every organization rests on a powerful team and it takes more than complimentary skills to build a first-rate team. Communication is one of the core skills of any elite team. However, motivating your team to communicate may not be a cinch. Apart from some planning, you may need to steer your team towards a specific purpose and help them understand that working as a team would only boost their ability to deliver. Here is a list of few team communication activities to motivate your team members to shine as a team.

Group Communication Activities

Blind Organization

Assemble your team together and ask them to queue up in a line according to their birth date, starting from the youngest to the oldest. However, the real catch here is that the team will have to execute the task without any verbal interaction and with their eyes blindfolded. The team can use nonverbal communication and team effort to complete the task. Once done, make the team sit together in a group and discuss the obstructions faced during the activity owing to lack of verbal communication and their inability to see.

Gossip

Have the team sit down together in a big circle. Choose a leader from the team and ask him to whisper a gossip into the ear of the person sitting next to him. Make sure that the statement is no more than just one single sentence. Now ask the person to babble the gossip into the ears of the next person and so on. When the last person in the group picks up the message, ask him/her to tell the gossip aloud. Now compare the final statement with the original gossip. Debrief the team and discuss the necessity of verbal communication and the risk of miscommunication when too many people are involved in it.

Walk The Talk

To build a strong team, you need to have trust and for that you need to try this trust building exercise. Divide the group into two different teams. Blindfold one person each from both the teams. Now ask the other team members to guide the blindfolded person through the obstacles. Not only does this help in bringing out the leadership traits in others, but will also help in fostering a feeling of trust. At the end of the activity, make the group sit and discuss the hitches faced during the activity and how team effort eventually helped them sail through the obstacles.

Perceptions

Communication is the core of team building. Hand a picture to each of the team members and ask them to write their impressions about the picture. After they are done, make them sit and ask them to discuss their own personal takes on the picture. Doing so won’t just help the individuals come up with unique insights about the picture, but will also help them to be more assertive about their ideas.

These team communication activities won’t just help to break the ice between your team members, but will also motivate them to strive together for the best.