One of my favorite team-building activities of late has been the “Line Up.” It’s an exercise that involves all of the participants lining up single-file according to a specified criteria. As an example, you might have everyone line-up alphabetically by first name. As you specify different criteria, you can add conditions like not being able to talk or having everyone close their eyes.
The normal exercise is great for large groups–you get people moving around and visually learning about their peers through where they stand in each line. However the real fun I’ve had with the exercise is with smaller teams. Having 7-10 people go through the exercise gives you time to discuss the different challenges and really get to know each other.
If you’d like to incorporate the Line Up team-building activity into your next gathering, you can follow the instructions in the following presentation, or download it and take it with you. The presentation provides instructions, an example, and a set of 8 criteria that build trust each step of the way. Some additional team-building tips are included after the presentation.
Some additional tips to make the most of this team-building activity:
There are countless other criteria you could use; if you decide to switch them up, think about what topics the participants would gain from learning about each other.
The order of the slides is important as the challenges should slowly build in amount of discussion and intimacy of questions.
The last challenge allows you to gauge the effectiveness of the exercise. Regardless of how people respond, you can share with them one of my favorite notes about team-building:
“Studies show that people become closer when they share emotion and experiences. So if you guys love this exercise, then I’ve done my job because you’ve become closer over the activity. If you guys hated this exercise, I’ve still done my job because you’ve become closer together over all hating me for making you do it.”
Done this activity before? What’s your favorite criteria to use? Share it in the comments!
The most recent Old Spice campaign has generated over 100 million views online; the Old Spice channel on Youtube has over 100,000 subscribers; there are nearly 700,000 fans on Facebook. What started out as a well-done commercial for Old Spice has turned into a hilarious internet phenom–and all of this for body wash and deodorant.
Isaiah Mustafa, aka The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, has helped launch the Old Spice brand into social media stardom with one of the most popular social media campaigns of all time. The original video (shown below) generated 15 million views on Youtube and over 20,000 comments. But the Old Spice group wasn’t done. They’ve since released another video (now with over 10 million views) and have made over 180 video responses to social media comments–generating thousands more comments and over 100 million views online.
The entire campaign has been a showcase for the power of humor. The reason the videos have exploded into popularity is, simply put, they are hilarious (although I’m sure having an attractive, athletic man with no shirt on doesn’t hurt).
What’s so Humorous
I could try to describe all of the intricate details of what makes the videos work, but a picture is worth a thousand words, so the video is probably worth a million:
Why the Humor Works
The collective humor of the entire Old Spice campaign works for a number of reasons, many of which are re-applicable to a variety of work contexts (not just marketing):
They know their audience. The commercials speak directly to women (“Hello Ladies”) but are targeted to both men (the amount of humor and assumptions about what women want) and women (making a man smell better and a man with no shirt on). What’s more, when the original commercial went viral, the agency realized the most receptive audience wasn’t people sitting on a couch watching TV but people at their computers, so they went to the interwebs with direct video responses to comments made by influential social media moguls.
They are confident. Part of the reason the commercials are so successful (and why Mustafa now has a development deal) is because Mustafa plays the role perfectly and is confident with everything he is saying. If he meekly tried to deliver these lines, it would never have worked–it’s his swagger that defines the humor.
They have the element of surprise. Laughter is caused by a break in expectation, and the videos are one surprise after another. The flowing changes in scenery and objects constantly surprises us with delight as we see The Man Your Man Could Smell Like go from a shower to a boat to riding a horse in one seamless take.
Of course there’s more than just those 3 elements to consider–such as the hard work by the agency to do clever writing, proper promotion, and the shear work required to create over 150 videos responses, but those basics are something we can all learn from the videos. And if you’re wondering how they could create so many videos (shooting as many as 40 in one day) in such a short time, the answer is improv. In a talk with GameChangers, Dean McBeth, Digital Strategist on the Old Spice brand said “Improvisation is the single most important factor in the success of the Old Spice Guy campaign.”
Want to get to know me better (or anyone really)? Just ask one of the below “get to know you” questions… they’re meant to be fun, interesting questions that can help you learn more about the person you are talking to. These questions can be great for team-building, learning more about your fellow co-workers, and for spicing up your standard introductions.
A quick caveat: there are thousands of interesting questions to get to know someone, but I’ve found that the below questions (pulled from games like “Table Topics“, shows like Inside the Actor’s Studio, and from my own brain) are unique or interesting enough to force a person to think. If they’ve been asked the same question a thousand times before, it’s not as effective in engaging the person in your conversation. And these are just a starting point; take these team-building questions and modify them to meet your needs and situation.
Favorites Questions
Asking someone about their favorite blank is a great way to get know them better and learn about their preferences and opinions. These questions are good for when you are first meeting someone and are easy to incorporate as part of introductions in a larger group, such as asking each person to say their name, role, and favorite food as a child.
What was your favorite food when you were a child?
What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod?
What is one of your favorite quotes?
What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity?
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
What is your favorite form of exercise?
What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?
What’s your least favorite mode of transportation?
What is your favorite body part?
What sound do you love?
If… Questions
Hypothetical questions help you learn more about another person’s personality, as well as their ideal state of the world. Since many of these questions might evoke longer responses, they are better suited for one-on-one conversations or smaller group discussions.
If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for?
If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint?
If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?
If you knew the world was ending in 2012, what would you do differently?
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be?
If you were immortal for a day, what would you do?
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
If you were reincarnated as an animal/drink/ice cream flavor, what would it be?
If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be?
If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
Personal Questions
Asking personal questions gets right to the purpose of getting to know someone and can be used in smaller groups with elaborate answers or larger groups with quick responses.
Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time?
What would you name the autobiography of your life?
What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life?
Personal History Questions
Questions involving people’s past help give you insight into their character and background by revealing memorable moments from the person’s life. These are great for one-on-one interactions or for smaller, more intimate groups. These questions help build trust as they are more personal than some of the other types of questions.
Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best?
What was one of the best parties you’ve ever been to?
What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up?
What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
What was the last experience that made you a stronger person?
What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?
When was the last time you had an amazing meal?
What’s the best/worst gift you’ve ever given/received?
What do you miss most about being a kid?
What is your first memory of being really excited?
What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
When was the last time you were nervous?
What is something you learned in the last week?
What story does your family always tell about you?
At what age did you become an adult?
Random Questions
Random questions can be a great way to add some quirkiness to introductions or a conversation. These are best used when each person gets a different question because they intentionally break people’s expectations with an abstract question in the midst of a variety of other questions.
Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.
Where’s Waldo?
The best part of waking up is?
How now brown cow?
Whasssssuuuupppppp?
What’s your favorite question to get to know someone? Share it with the rest of us in the comments.
When you take a look at all of the benefits of humor, it’s hard to understand why there isn’t more humor at work. This is getting better (I don’t think they were having a whole lot of fun in the coal mines, but I could be wrong), but there is still far too little fun in the workplace.
photo by sarej
So what’s preventing work from actually being enjoyable? Here are 5 things people believe that are stopping them from having more fun.
1) Humor at work is inappropriate.
The biggest reason most people don’t have fun at work is they think it’s inappropriate. They believe that “business is serious, so we better be serious.” Apparently no one told Google or Zappos this.
The reality is that humor in the workplace leads to happier, healthier and more productive employees.
2) No one will take me seriously.
Some people worry that if they use humor in the workplace, no one will take them seriously when it comes to actual business. Luckily, this isn’t true. In fact, leaders use humor, not ignore it. As Mr. Smith (that’s Sydney Smith, not Agent Smith) said:
“You must not think me necessarily foolish because I am facetious, nor will I consider you necessarily wise because you are grave.” – Sydney Smith
3) There’s nothing fun about what I do.
Many people refuse to believe that there job can be more fun. And while I won’t deny that some jobs are less fun than others, it doesn’t mean any job can’t be improved. Whether you work at a fast-food restaurant, do data entry or manage a small company, your work can be more fun, it’s just a matter of finding out how.
Simple challenges to yourself or coworkers can help you get you through your day; setting your desktop background to something you want to achieve can give you inspiration; playing with a slinky during downtime can give you something to do–there are hundreds of ways to have humor at work.
4) It takes too time / cost too much money.
Some people fear that incorporating humor in the workplace means huge effort and spending money. Humor at work doesn’t require elaborate events or special props–phone calls can made more fun by playing some music or sharing some pictures.
Keep your humor effort simple and you’ll have fun without any additional overhead.
5) No one else cares.
People desperately want you to help them have fun. Think about who you like to spend time with in the office, it’s the people who always have that interesting story to share or that funny video from YouTube.
Using humor at work requires leadership, and you’re a leader aren’t you? Even if you are in the lowest position at your company, you can take the initiative to make the workplace more enjoyable. All it takes is a little creativity.
Need ideas on adding humor at work? Check out some posts on how to use humor in the workplace. Got a few ideas of your own? Leave ‘em in the comments.
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The most recent Old Spice campaign has generated over 100 million views online; the Old Spice channel on Youtube has over 100,000 subscribers; there are nearly 700,000 fans on Facebook. What started out as a well-done commercial for Old Spice has turned into a hilarious internet phenom–and all of this for body wash and deodorant.
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