Skip to main content

Let's play!




Last week I asked my partner to get our son dressed for daycare. 
After 10 minutes they still weren't back. I decided to wait another 5 minutes. Then I started to get annoyed. What was taking so long?

I opened up the bedroom door and there they were. 
My partner, covered in a sheet, crawling over the floor, pretending to be a tiger. And our son hiding in the wardrobe, giggling out loud. 

Needless to say, my son was still in his pajamas. 

When we were young, we used to do it all the time: Playing games with others. 
And I remember vividly how it made me feel. 
School was just an annoying interference with my play time.

Now, as adults, unfortunately we don’t play that much anymore. Yes, we play with our kids, but when it comes to work we don't play tag during our lunch breaks. 

And you know what? 
That’s a shame because play gives energy, boosts creativity and is lots of fun. 

Fortunately, more and more people rediscover the power of play and they even have their own professional name: Energizers!

Energizers are exercises to get the fire back into people when there are drops in energy. This can be during a meeting, training workshop or presentation. Or even during a lunch break. 

Often energizers include a physical element so that people literally have to move. And personally I think energizers are an invaluable tool for any business.

So here are four simple energizers you can start using today: 

Line up

A very simple exercise. Make people line up accordingly to age, years of experience, height or even level of power in the group. To make it more fun: Do it blindfolded or without speaking.

Murder murder!

Give everyone a note. One person will receive a note with a cross on it, making him or her the murderer in the game. Everyone gets a blindfold and moves around. If you meet someone you shake their hand. Everyone squeezes once, except the killer, he or she squeezes twice. If you feel you're being squeezed twice: you're dead. You need to give a short, sharp yell as proof that you're killed.

Untangled

Send one person to wait outside. Let the rest stand in a small circle putting their hands in the air. Let everybody grab two random other hands making a human knot. The person who was standing outside has to untangle this knot.

Walking and standing still

Sometimes it is difficult to bring back the concentration after a group energizer. This exercise is focused on concentration. The whole group walks through the area. Without it being said out loud, the whole group stops at once. Then the group tries to start walking again without it being announced. This exercise requires a high concentration of the group. Everyone should watch each other constantly. 

If you like to discover more energizers have a look here for 100 ways to energize groups in workshops and meetings.

By the way: Needless to say we were late for daycare that day. 
But we sure dropped of a happy boy! :)

Would you like to know more about how InterACT WA keeps the energy alive during Training Workshops and Coaching Sessions? Visit our website here or just give us a call on 0487 693 349.

Popular posts from this blog

Practice makes you 60% better!

Be honest: when you have a challenging conversation ahead, how much time do you spend practising it? I mean really practising—sitting down, speaking out loud, positioning your hands as you want them, and using the appropriate tone of voice—as opposed to just thinking about how to approach it. I spent nearly ten years in sales, and I used to rehearse my negotiation skills in my car. While I was mentally preparing, I realized that wasn’t real practice. You truly need to say it out loud and act it out. Take it from someone who has spent a lot of time rehearsing like an actor. There are two forms of long-term memory to consider: 1. **Explicit Memory**: This type stores facts, events, people, places, and objects. 2. **Implicit Memory**: This retains perceptual and motor skills, such as riding a bike or typing on a keyboard. To recall explicit memories—like the script of your message—you need to consciously focus on the process of retrieval, which can be challenging. In contrast, implicit m...
Read more

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

We often perceive Leadership Communication as a purely verbal and intellectual exercise, but that’s not the complete picture. Leadership Communication is less about the words you use and more about how you convey them. As you present your message, your physical presence plays a crucial role. Your body sends its own signals through gestures and tone of voice, which can differ significantly from your spoken words. Unfortunately, it’s often your body language that resonates more with your colleagues. This brings us to a fundamental truth: when it comes to body language, actions do speak louder than words. Your body language can either enhance or undermine your Leadership Communication. Your eyes, mouth, hands, head, and various body movements all provide insights into your mental state. While gestures can emphasize your points, excessive or exaggerated movements may come across as overbearing or aggressive when your intention was simply to appear "strong." Certain gestures, like...
Read more

How I Failed in Feedback...

Research is finally showing the link between free-flowing feedback and better business results. In workplaces where managers don’t give and receive feedback, employee engagement rates limp in at 29%. On the flip side, when feedback is regularly exchanged between managers and employees, engagement jumps to 79%. But let’s face it, we’re human — and we find it tough to engage in feedback. Many of us —including myself — get defensive when we hear it, or we assume nobody wants to hear it. So feedback gets chronically buried and put off. But it doesn’t have to.  In my experience, there is a simple principle that can play a key role in unlocking feedback: It’s not who you are, it’s what you do As a communication trainer and role play actor, I assume that everyone wants to, and can, get better. When I take this approach I find myself able to engage in discussions about areas for improvement with an optimistic and open heart. But even though I always try to take thi...
Read more