Team Building Exercises

Whether you run a daycare, a Sunday School, you're a public speaker, or you just want to bond a bit more with your family, team building exercises are a great way to establish bonds and learn what it's like to think as a team. You would be surprised at just how many people across the country learn to be shy, secretive, and distrustful of large groups. By establishing these activities, you are doing more than just having fun, you're teaching lifelong lessons.

What are team building exercises? Essentially they are physical and mental games that allow the group to work as a team. These include games such as crack the whip, parachute games, tug of war, and others. You may also include conversation starters in which everyone must contribute. These include call and response games and storytelling games. Both of these team building exercises discourage shyness and encourage group participation.

Team building exercises are also useful for establishing trust. These include games and activities such as relay races, creating and untangling a human knot, or group versions of blind man's bluff. These games not only encourage team interaction, but they avoid putting emphasis on the individual as well. This means that no one person is singled out to follow or lead.

Keep in mind that team building exercises are established to be fun and rewarding. Avoid games that have the potential to humiliate any one person. Other games, such as the classic one involving trusting the group to catch you when falling backwards, should only be established after solid bonds are made. Additionally, be sure that everyone in the group is capable of these more advanced team building exercises. This not only prevents participants from being embarrassed; it also prevents them from being hurt as well.

These games disguised as learning are useful for many reasons. Whether you wish to use team building exercises to establish lifelong lessons about cooperation and teamwork or you simply use them to warm up a crowd and encourage communication and empathy, these activities are sure to create a lasting bond throughout your group that will have dramatic effects.

Learn more today about how team building exercises can benefit you. Regardless of the age group involved, anyone can start learning about the value of cooperation, communication, and trust. You can find more ideas for group activities such as these by searching online or looking through your local library. Act now and see what fun you and your audience can have together!