As an experienced event planner, it is highly likely that you have incorporated ice breakers or scavenger hunts into your team-building activities at some point in your career. And while they are interesting, the thing is, they are so passé. These activities don't excite attendees anymore. 

To engage attendees, you need to incorporate some creative team-building event ideas that help them connect and collaborate. And, in this blog, we'll share such ideas that go beyond the ordinary.

10 Must-Try Team-Building Event Ideas 

Mindfulness

A mindfulness session is where you focus on your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations without judgement. This can be led by a trained facilitator or through a guided audio. 

Mindfulness activities could be group meditation, a gratitude session, or a design thinking workshop. These have been proven to reduce stress, improve focus, create a more relaxed and positive atmosphere, and get everyone connected.

Human Bingo

Human Bingo is a variation of the classic Bingo game where each square on the Bingo card has a unique trait, fact, or question instead of numbers. The aim of human bingo is to find someone in the group who fits the description in each square. 

The result: your team will not only socialise with the larger group but will also learn more about each other. To do this, team members must talk to each other and ask questions about the topics to see if they match the trait or fact on the card.

Dragons' Den

In this activity, inspired by the TV show Dragon's Den, divide attendees into teams and ask them to create a product, service, or solution to a problem. Their aim is to encourage teamwork, creativity, problem-solving, and communication. 

Now, ask each team to create a pitch to present to a panel of "investors," which can be other team members or managers. The panel can ask questions, give feedback on the presentations, and choose a winner based on the idea's viability and creativity. 

Human Knot 

Sometimes, it's the simple things that offer the best learning. The human knot is one such activity. 

Ask everyone to stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle. Now, each person needs to lift their right hand and grab someone else's hand in the circle, not the person next to them. Then, everyone lifts their left hand and grabs a different person's hand. The group, then, has to untangle the knot without letting go of anyone's hand.

Human Knot is an excellent team collaboration and also encourages communication, negotiation, and teamwork.

Egg Drop Challenge 

The egg drop challenge is an interesting team-building activity that encourages dexterity and a team-player spirit in each participant.

Divide your team into small groups and challenge them to create a container to protect an egg from breaking when it is dropped from a height. Provide everyday materials to make the container, such as plastic bags, tape, shoe boxes, newspaper, toilet paper rolls, lolly sticks, string, balloons, and elastic bands. 

Before the teams start building the container, ask them to sketch their design. Once the containers are built, put the eggs in and move to a balcony overlooking a drop zone. If the egg survives the drop, give prizes. If the first design doesn't work, encourage the teams to improve it and try again, focusing on creating a better parachute or a more secure seat for the egg.

Sneak a Peek 

This team-building activity helps team members practice project management and is a fun way for team leaders to see how well their team members retain information. Divide team members into groups and choose team captains. 

Ask the captain to create a hidden object or structure using LEGO, clay, or building blocks, and their team members will then recreate it. One member of the team will have 10 seconds to sneak a peek at the creation, go back, and describe to their team what they saw. 

The team must then recreate the object as accurately as possible using the same materials. If the team is stuck or unsure of any detail after a minute, another team member can sneak a peek before returning to the team to give further instructions. 

This rotation continues until the team is confident that they have recreated their leader's creation exactly. You can play multiple rounds with different team members, creating a hidden object so that team leaders can see how their team communicates. 

(Mock) TED Talk

One of the best office team-building event ideas is TED Talk. Here's how it works: 

A team member or guest speaker delivers a presentation in a TED Talk-style on a topic relevant to the team or organisation. Someone can share their expertise, insights, or innovative ideas with the group. After the presentation, participants can have a discussion or Q&A to dig deeper into the topic and share their thoughts. This activity promotes knowledge sharing, critical thinking, and open communication.

Virtual Escape Room

If you are hosting a virtual event, consider a virtual escape room—an online interactive game where participants work together to solve puzzles, decipher clues, and complete challenges to "escape" a digital room or scenario. You can host this activity using Zoom or other video conferencing platforms.

Some popular virtual escape room games are The Grimm Escape, Mystery Escape Room, Cofundrum Escape Rooms, Trapped in the Web, YouEscape, and more. The purpose of this team-building activity is to promote teamwork, problem-solving, and communication.

QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Add excitement to your registration website by adding hidden pages. Fill these pages with clues for teams of four. Split each team into two pairs. The first pair will find the clues by scanning QR codes around your venue or local area. 

Once a clue is found, bring it back to the team's HQ, where the second pair can decipher it before they head out to find the item. This is a timed race and requires trust and teamwork to unlock the clues and get the items before the other teams.

Hackathons

Hackathons are events where individuals or teams work on a project, usually within a short timeframe, to create innovative solutions or prototypes. They can be tech, programming, or even marketing-focused. To get the most out of a hackathon, define the objectives, include diverse teams, provide the resources, and set a time limit and recognition for the participants.

Final Thoughts

Creative and energetic team-building events can increase employee satisfaction, organisational success, and engagement. These events create stronger bonds and confidence so team members can work better together. 

Whether you’re hosting them online or offline, include some of these activities to make a more cohesive and productive work environment that drives your business forward. And if you're looking for the perfect venue, check out venuedirectory.com to find one that suits your needs.