Dear Krishnan,
Some of the most exciting games which we have also implemented in our organization for picnics and tours are :
1] Take up the Challenge
Objective
For people to contribute their individual talents and skills to the group.
Group Size
10 or more (more is better !)
Materials
Paper
Pens or pencils
Description
Divide the group into teams of five to fifteen members each (the bigger the teams the better). Give each group paper and pen or pencil and give them five minutes to come up with five challenges for the other groups to attempt to successfully accomplish.
The group creating the challenge must be able to demonstrate that they can do it before another team is challenged. The challenges may be physical (build a pyramid, one person can carry five people, everyone stands on his/her head, etc.) Or the challenge may be anything else (our group has the most birthdays in one month, our group can sing any TV theme song you name, etc.). The challenge must not be obviously impossible for the other groups to accomplish (our group has the person with the longest hair).
Once the challenges are written down, each group gives out one challenge at a time and demonstrates it, then the other groups get a chance to try to accomplish this task in a given amount of time. you may give points to teams who can "take the challenge" successfully.
Discussion Prompts
1. Was it easy for your group to find things that everyone could successfully do? Why or why not?
2. Did you have to rely on the talents of the group members?
3. Did any team feel like it was hard to find talents within your group? If so, why?
4. How much do you rely on the talents of others or of yourself when you are in a group?
5. Do you always let your talents be known? Why or why not?
2] Boom
All participants should sit in a circle. They are instructed to count out loud around the circle. Each person whose number is a multiple of 3 (3-6-9-12, etc.) or a number that ends with 3 (13-23-33, etc.) must say BOOM! instead of the number. The next person continues the normal sequence of numbers.
Example: The first person starts with 1, the next one says 2, and the person who should say 3 says BOOM! instead, and the next person says 4.
Anyone who fails to say BOOM! or who makes a mistake with the number that follows BOOM! is disqualified.
The numbers must be said rapidly (5 seconds maximum); if a participant takes too long to say her/his number, s/he is disqualified.
The last two participants left are the winners.
Note: You can have the participants “clap” once instead of saying Boom.
Note: To make this energizer more interesting, when a specific number is reached (e.g., 30) have the participants count backwards towards zero. The game can be made more complex by using multiples of bigger numbers, or by combining multiples of three with multiples of five.
3] Tell A Story
The participants should stand in a circle. The purpose of this activity is to build a story with each participant contributing one sentence that must:
• Make sense and at the same time add some fun to the activity,
• Build on to the last sentence, and
• Be grammatically correct.
For example:
#1: “I was walking to breakfast this morning.”
#2: “A dog came up to me.”
#3: “I said good morning to the dog.”
#4: “The dog asked me what I was going to have for breakfast.”
The activity continues until all of the participants have contributed.
4] I's Have It !
Objectives: To illustrate how we tend to be more self-centered than we may have thought, and to demonstrate the importance of focusing on the other person.
Procedure:
After a discussion on inter-personal skills or any aspect of communication, casually mention that many of us forget about focusing on others and instead become somewhat self-centered, albeit not in a conscious way. With this in mind, ask the participants to find a partner and for the next 2 minutes, they will be allowed to talk about anything in the world they want to discuss. There is, however, one rule - THEY CANNOT USE THE WORD 'I'. They can do anything else they want; they just can't say I. After 2 minutes, call time out & lead the discussion.
Discussion Questions:
• How many of you were able to talk for those 2 minutes without using the pronoun 'I'?
• Why do so many of us have difficulty avoiding the use of 'I' in conversation?
• How do you feel when talking to (listening to) someone who starts every sentence with I?
• How can we phrase our communications to better focus on the other person?
• If you did not use the word 'I', what strategies did you use to avoid it? Could you do those things more often in your work (or social) environment?
Time: 3-5 minutes
Let's hope some from these shall be as exciting a game as they were for us. Do let me know if you decide to implement any games.
Regards,
kaushik
