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Activities for Learning Names & Getting to Know People

In many groups and teams, communication is important. One of the first steps to establishing healthy communication with such groups is to learn names and other important and interesting facts about group members. Activities and games may help to foster communication and relations between group members while still allowing them to have fun and to be creative.

The Memory Snap
- Games like Memory Snap can help group members recall names. To play, sit the group in the circle with the group leader's chair as the goal. The members must then create a rhythm by clapping twice and snapping once. While the group maintains the beat, the leader will start by clapping twice, snapping once and saying his or her own name. Then the leader will clap and snap again, this time saying the name of a group member. That group member must respond by saying his or her name while clapping and snapping, then calling on another member. Anyone who forgets a name or hesitates must move to the chair behind the leader.
The Hobby Game
- The Hobby Game helps people remember names by associating them with their hobbies. To play, have group members sit in a line or circle. Have the first in the line or circle begin by saying his or her name and two favorite hobbies. Then have the second in line state the first's name and hobbies, as well as his or her own name and hobbies. The third must state the first's and the second's information before continuing, making the game increasingly more challenging and exciting.
The Imitation Game
- To play the Imitation Game, have group members line up. Then, one by one, have them say their names and act out their favorite hobby or pastime. Once everyone has acted, have volunteers come up and act out another member's hobby while the group tries to guess whose it is. Whoever owns that hobby may not guess his or her own, but may try to throw off other members by guessing incorrectly.
The Story Game
- The Story Game requires group members to be creative and to work together to create a finished story. To play the game, the group should sit in a circle. The first in the circle begins the story by saying a phrase out loud. Phrases should generally be only a few words long. The second in the circle continues the story, and so on, until the entire group is satisfied that the story is completed. The group leader should be responsible for calling on the name of each individual as the story circles to improve name recollection.

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