Conference Icebreakers

Another use of activities and events is the conference icebreaker. These sessions are usually run at the beginning of a conference to help delegates get to know each other and start the conference in a positive way. When these sessions are run during a conference they are generally 'energisers'.

The drumming event shown on the left is a good example of a professional icebreaker. It's fun and enjoyable and not corny, so people will want to participate.

Chocolate Making

Chocolate making is a relative newcomer to the team building market, and it's very popular. Teams are coached in the art of making fine chocolates and then undertake the challenge of producing a box of luxury confectionery.

A chocolate making event is different and appeals to many rather than being more popular with men. It can also be themed to Christmas, Easter and even Halloween.

Catapults

Catapults, or slingshots, are very popular on team building events, people see them as they approach the field and can't wait to pick them up to relive childhood fun and games.

A professional layout is set up using colourful targets and firing mini paintballs, which give a pleasing 'splat'.

This makes an ideal element in a round robin format where teams rotate around a collection of activities in round robin format on their away day. Other activities might include archery, quad bikes, laser clay shooting and so on.

Team Building for Schools

We've done a number of team building events for schools this year and it's been very successful. The activities are enjoyable and feel novel to the participants and they promote skills that will be very useful when they move on into the workplace, for example teamwork, planning and leadership.

It's something that we'd like to do a lot more of. The current generation of school leavers need all the positive experience they can get and having something like this that they could discuss in interviews is really useful.

Roman Numerals

When I started out over 20 years ago I used to use a conundrum as a time filler, when teams finished early or for extra points. What is this word?

100010001000UN1100AT100N

It's based on roman numerals and in those days I would say that half of team members would know what they were. They might not get it straight away, but they knew the principle behind the puzzle.

Nowadays people don't know and they look at you as if you're insane when you explain it. So, after many years of faithful service I am retiring this team building conundrum.

Team Technology

Team Technology is an incredible resource, full of information about team building theory. They do not deliver team building challenges as such, but their website is full of useful information on any number of team theories and management training material.

Team Building Blog

The blog at fun team building activities profiles some interesting team building activities one by one, including Go Mad In The Country, The Parmesan Job and Segways, the two wheeled ride on experience that is taking the event world by storm.

Falconry and Archery

Falconry and archery are good events for relaxed social team bonding. They can be part of a larger day and provide a moment of more sedate tempo. They are also very interesting. Experienced instructors can go into a bit of the history of archery.

Did you know that it's still written into the law that men of fighting age (over 14 years) must practice longbow for two hours every day under the watchful eye of the local clergy? More disturbingly it's still legal to shoot a Scotsman on sight with a bow and arrow in England (except on Sundays) and in certain cities you can shoot a Welshman within the city walls after midnight. I'm not sure how well your defence would stand up in court!

Archery has affected modern language with phrases such as bolt out of the blue, fast and loose, straight as an arrow, brace yourself and highly strung coming from the sport. Having more than one string to your bow is a sensible precaution for anyone, but particularly an archer.

Falconry also has interesting tales to tell. Stoop so low and one fell swoop are phrases from the sport. A 'fed up' bird will be reluctant to perform and when it's under control in the falconer's hand it's 'under the thumb'.

These activities suit certain types of events. They are enjoyable, fun and very interesting.

Teem Esteem

Team Esteem is about the self esteem of a team of people, or how they feel about the group they are in. It's something that we notice on events; some teams have a really good feel about them and enjoy each others' company and with others it's harder work. Generally most of the teams we meet on our team building days seem to have high Team Esteem. That may be because the days we run are enjoyed and looked forward to, or it may just be that teams who aren't like this don't do things like fun team building.

Whatever it is, there's no doubt that a fun team building event is great for morale and high Team Esteem.

Team Building Events

We've in the high season and although business has been affected by the economic situation we've been undertaking plenty of team building events around the country. Treasure Hunts are always popular and we've been doing a lot of our Crystal Challenges and It's a Knockout events.

Earlier in the year we got some Segways and they are very popular. Clients always enjoy them and typically it's their first experience of them. As one of our instructors said, we do these activities all the time and it's easy to take it for granted - but for the clients most of it is a new experience.

Corporate sailing events

Now that summer is coming many clients think about having a day on the water on a corporate sailing event. This is a very popular corporate option because you get a very powerful team building experience in a very nice environment, complete with glamourous locations (for example the Solent) and fabulous restaurants close to the water.

A real test of a team is to spend a couple of days living in close quarters on a yacht. Facilities on board are limited and you really do have to work together and learn to compromise to survive this event!

Solent Events are an excellent provider of corporate sailing events and we work alongside them for this activity.

Istanbul Treasure Hunt

March saw a crack Progressive team head out to Istanbul to carry out a spy themed treasure hunt. A day's travelling each way hat the team installed in the luxurious Hyatt Regency hotel. The event itself was centred in the Grand Bazaar and involved plenty of local interaction and even a visit to a Turkish bath.

The event was a great success in spite of rain and even hail at some points early in the event. Meanwhile, back at home everyone had enjoyed a glorious sunny Spring day.

We're good, but we can't control the weather! Mission accomplished:- client delighted.