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Need a quick boost for your team? We’ve got team-building activities that fit perfectly, whether you’ve got 5, 10, or 15 minutes. These mini activities are perfect for time-strapped teams, no matter where you’re working from—office, virtual, or hybrid.
Team building tends to have a bad reputation. In most companies, when the boss says, “Let’s do some team building!”—you can almost hear employees groaning and picturing scenes from The Office. It’s funny to watch on TV, but in real life, no one wants to see their manager trying to pull off a Steve Carell-style, awkward bonding session.
But here’s the thing—despite its “lame” reputation, team building is actually one of the best investments for your team! It builds trust, reduces conflicts, improves communication, and encourages collaboration. Here’s why!
A good team-building activity isn’t just for the loudest folks in the room. The best activities create space for quieter team members to chime in. If you notice the usual silent ones sharing their thoughts or getting more involved, that’s a good sign you’re onto something that really works.
Nobody likes feeling confused about why they’re playing some random game. Make sure your team knows why you’re doing it and how it’ll help them work better together. If the purpose makes sense, you’ll get way more buy-in, and less of those “Is this necessary?” vibes.
Good team-building is all about breaking down walls. If folks are comfortable enough to share a laugh or a story, it’s working! When you see genuine connections happening, you know you’ve nailed it! It’s not about forcing people to overshare, but making them feel okay about being themselves.
No one’s inspired by a leader who’s just observing from the back. If the boss is actively participating, it shows that team-building isn’t just some random fun day—it matters. When leaders get involved, it levels the playing field and brings everyone closer.
A good activity is like a well-chosen playlist—it fits the mood. If your team’s still getting to know each other, start light. If they’re already tight, go for something more challenging. When the activity feels right for the team’s stage, you’ll see real benefits.
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This game never fails—it’s always fun, super easy, and gets everyone talking. Plus, you’ll get to know your teammates better, maybe learn some surprising things about them. If your group’s a bit too big (say, more than 20), just split into smaller breakout rooms for a smoother experience.
How to Play:
1. Prep Your Statements Before the meeting, ask everyone to think of two true things and one lie about themselves. No work stories, okay? The juicier, the better—fun facts, embarrassing moments, or weird hobbies are all fair game!
2. Write It Down Tell everyone to jot down their two truths and one lie on paper or type it out. This helps avoid last-minute blank outs.
3. Start the Game During the session, read out each set of statements (don’t say whose they are yet!) to the whole team. Keep it mysterious, so everyone has to guess together.
4. Guess and Discuss Each teammate gets a chance to guess which one’s the lie. This is where the fun begins—expect some playful accusations and a lot of “Really, meh?”
5. Reveal the Truth Once everyone has guessed, the person reveals the correct answer. Cue the laughs and surprises! This is a good moment for a quick story behind each fact, especially if it’s funny.
6. Declare the Winner Keep track of scores throughout the game. The person with the most correct guesses wins! No need for fancy prizes, just some kudos, bragging rights, and maybe a virtual clap from the team.
Hot Seat is an easy, no-stress way to get everyone chatting and laughing. Perfect for breaking the ice during virtual calls! Just get everyone on a video call and take turns putting one person in the “hot seat.” The rest of the team fires off some fun questions to learn more about them. Keep it friendly—no hard-hitting questions here, just good vibes!
Try these questions to kick things off:
Meme Chat is a fun, quick five-minute activity that always gets the team laughing. It’s simple—ask everyone to share a meme that best represents the company, their day, or the project they’re working on.
You can do it in a meeting, with everyone explaining their meme in under five minutes (keep it snappy!). Or, if you’re on Slack, have everyone post their memes in a channel, and the rest of the team can vote for the best one using emojis. Easy, right?
This or That is a super easy way to break the ice and get everyone chatting! It works with any group size, whether you’re on a video call or using your favorite chat tool. Just ask a fun “this or that” question every week, and let the conversation flow.
You can set a time limit to keep things moving, or start a dedicated Slack channel where people can jump in whenever they’ve got a spare minute.
Guess the Movie with Emojis is an easy and fun game where everyone tries to guess famous movie titles using only emojis. It’s perfect for getting the team to think creatively, have a laugh, and bond a little—whether you’re all in the office or working remotely! How to play this:
1. Prepare your emoji list: Before the game begins, create a list of well-known movies and translate the titles into emoji form. Here’s some inspiration:
2. Form teams or play individually: Depending on your group size, you can either play individually or divide participants into small teams (2-3 people).
3. Display the emoji clues: Share the emoji puzzles with your group one at a time, either by displaying them on a screen or sharing them in the chat.
4. Guess the movie: Give each team or individual a minute or so to figure out the movie title. Encourage them to think creatively—some of the emoji clues might not be obvious!
5. Reveal the answers: Once all guesses are in, go through the answers together and see who got it right. Feel free to share some funny or unexpected guesses!
6. Announce the winners: The person or team with the most correct guesses wins!
Need a quick pick-me-up for the team? A Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament might sound basic, but it’s the perfect burst of energy and fun, especially when you’ve got just 5 minutes to spare. It’s easy, gets everyone in the mood! Here’s how it goes:
1. Start with a partner: Get everyone to pair up quickly. No overthinking—just grab the nearest colleague.
2. Play one round: Each pair plays a round of rock, paper, scissors. Just a single game, no best-of-three, to keep it snappy.
3. Winners advance: The winners move on to challenge another winner, while those who lose can cheer on the rest.
4. Repeat until one is left: Keep playing until you’ve got a final champ—someone who’s crushed all the rocks, papered all the scissors, and so on.
Seman Drawkcab (which literally means “Backward Names,” in reverse) is a fun icebreaker for new team members—especially if you’re working remotely! Each person will pronounce their name backward. Try to keep a straight face—it’s trickier than it sounds!
Once someone says their name backward, the rest of the team has to guess what the real name is. To make it more fun, set a timer and give everyone only 10 seconds to guess each name.
Hot Seat is an easy, fun way to help your team members get to know one another better. It’s perfect for virtual meetings or even as a quick break during a team catch-up! How to play, is to get everyone on a video call and designate one person to sit in the “Hot Seat.”
Ask light questions about the person’s background, interests, or fun facts. Keep it friendly and casual—no tough questions allowed! Each person on the call gets a chance to be in the “Hot Seat”!
Dinner Party is a laid-back trivia game that helps your team share fun bits about themselves. It’s perfect for a quick five-minute icebreaker, but if the chat gets interesting, no harm in letting it run a little longer!
Kick things off by asking, “If you could invite three people—living or dead—to a dinner party, who would they be?”. The wilder, the better. Maybe they’d pick their grandma, their childhood idol, or even Mr. Bean—just to keep things interesting!
Get to the ‘why’ and ask them to explain their choices. Is it for wisdom, a good laugh, or maybe even a cooking lesson from Gordon Ramsay? Feel free to add a few jokes. If someone picks an unusual guest, you could tease them with, “So, is this about learning to cook, or just getting shouted at in style?”.
Articulate is a fast-paced game that’s perfect for small teams of up to 15 people. It’s quick and can be played in just five minutes—great for livening things up without taking too much time. You can even keep the game running over several weeks, taking turns as the “main player” each round. How to play:
1. Pick a main player: Start by choosing one person to be the main player for the round.
2. Give 10 words: Hand the main player a list of 10 words. These could be anything from “ice cream” to “ketchup.” Keep it fun and random!
3. Describe the words: The main player needs to describe the words to the rest of the team—without actually saying the words themselves. Think of it like explaining “beach” without saying “sand” or “waves.”
4. Guess it right: The rest of the team has to guess what each word is based on the clues. If they get one right, the main player moves on to the next word.
5. Keep it rolling: Once all 10 words have been guessed (or as many as possible in the time limit), pick a new main player for the next round.
6. Add a twist: Want an extra challenge? Make the main player act out the words instead of describing them—yes, charades style!
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