Hobbies And Interests
Best Friend Introductions
Have everybody stand in a circle and begin talking about themselves as if a best friend was introducing them. They will be speaking in the third person and telling several facts about themselves. Some instructors of this game have found that by "talking about somebody else" the participants will open up more to the group. Go around until everybody has a turn. You can spice up the game by having an interview portion where people ask "the best friend" questions about the person.
The Truth Chairs
Two members sit in the front of the room in two chairs. They are given a topic to discuss truthfully. The topics can be anything you want, whether it be related to the group or not. When another person has something to add to the conversation, he can tap out one of the two seated players. This game allows people to really understand each others' philosophies and makes them more comfortable being open in front of a group.
Positive Bombardment
If your group has worked together for a little while and at least vaguely knows about each other, try playing this game. One player sits in the middle of the circle and the rest of the group says extremely positive things about them. Keep switching out the person in the center so that every player gets a chance to get this positive reinforcement. Both the people making the compliments and those receiving them get the benefit of openness and confidence.
2 Truths and a Lie
This classic team-building game gives players another opportunity to be open about the kind of people they are. Have a player come up with three statements about things he has done in his life. Tell him to try to make the "facts" as interesting as possible. One of the statements must be a lie, while the other two are truths. After the player has come up with the statements, have each member of the group guess which statement was false. This game can teach the players facts about each other that they never would have known otherwise.
What Do You Want?
Have your group stand in a circle and go around to select one person at a time. Each person will tell the group his three major life goals. The group can ask questions about the goals such as "By when do you want to achieve that?" or "What's your first step?" This is a fun way to get the entire group involved with one another's life goals. It may even lead to members of the group gaining inspired passion from one another's desires. By having each member see what other people want, the group can truly begin to understand each other.