Hobbies And Interests
Icebreakers
Divide your staff into groups of three or four. Tell each group they must find three things they all have in common and two things that are different. For example, they might all have a brother or worked for the company for more than one year. For a difference, maybe they all went to different colleges. The first team to come up with three things in common and two differences wins the game. Try a non-competitive icebreaker by writing everyone̵7;s name on a name tag and placing all the name tags in a bowl. Each staff member must draw a name tag and find the person whose name tag they drew. They must introduce themselves to one another. Place the name tags back in the bowl and play the game a few times. The name tag activity is ideal for a large group of employees who may not be familiar with each person's name -- for example, when you're bringing together people from different departments who don't often have a lot of personal contact with each other. Games of this nature allow the staff to get to know one another and communicate better in the workplace.
Communication
Write down pairs of words that go together, such as "ice" and "cream," or "peanut" and "butter," on separate index cards. Mix the cards up and hand them out to your employees. Each person must find the player with the corresponding word as fast as possible. The first team to find the correct pair wins the game. Alternatively, use opposite words like "black" and "white" or "hot" and "cold." Make the game more difficult by telling the players they cannot talk. They can only use their hands to try to explain the word they have.
Puzzles
Split your employees into two teams and give each team a puzzle. The first team to solve their puzzle wins the game. Alternatively, they can do this activity in pairs, and the first pair to solve the puzzle wins the game. Make the game more difficult by blindfolding one player. The player who is not wearing the blindfold must direct the blindfolded player on how to do the puzzle, using verbal communication only.
Listening
Listening games teach employees the importance of close-knit communication. Write down one or two sentences about the company. Have the staff members sit in a circle and whisper the sentence into the ear of the first player. Each player must whisper the sentence into the ear of the player next to him. The object of the game is to get the correct sentence all the way around the circle. Turn this activity into a game by dividing your staff members into two teams. The team who gets the correct sentence around the circle first wins the game.