Team Building Activities & Exercises

Team building exercises

For the past ten years we have facilitated groups to transform their team performance, delivering sessions that use a range of methods. We offer over 15 different teambuilding sessions, any of which can be custom built to bond and motivate teams, fast-track learning and embed strategic messages. Of our corporate team building activities Drumming, Singing, Storytelling, African Village and Boomwhackers are the most popular. Some of the benefits of group drumming are that it stimulates team performance by tapping into people’s core energies, sharpening listening, focus, concentration and risk-taking. In practice, delegates see an array of drums and percussion instruments when they walk into the room. Depending on group size, the team may be divided to learn different drum rhythms, before combining them as a whole. The result is a powerful sound that gives participants a real sense of achievement and crucially leaves them with the knowledge that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A similar form of creative team building is group singing. We have a choice of activities in this category, the most popular of which is African Harmony Singing. Outcomes of this exercise include improving confidence in giving presentations, enhancing listening skills and experiencing achieving a common goal through collaboration. Many people believe they can’t sing, so when they discover they can they are both surprised and delighted. On a deeper level they’ve just broken through a limiting belief they may have held for years. A memorable experience.

Team building activities

One of our most popular activities is African Village which delivers a range of outcomes. These include a willingness to take risks, something that is increasingly important for many businesses; a better understanding of the benefits of group participation; and the celebration of team spirit. During the event, delegates are able to get a real taste of an African Village’s culture by undertaking workshops of drumming, dance, harmony singing and mask-making, after which the drummers, singers and dancers are orchestrated in a final performance worthy of a Broadway show. Another engaging and effective team building session is Storytelling, which is a powerful way to experience sharing knowledge at all levels. The aims of this session include creating a common language, building lasting bonds, and developing and owning strategy. The delegates gradually create their own heroic story. Within a mythic structure, the story tells of a journey - set within the company - made up of past challenges, present battles and their future vision and hoped for achievements. What often emerges is an imaginative yet hilarious performance based on the team’s actual experiences. If you have a team that work together but do not spend much time as a unit this is a fun team building event for them to get to know each other. It also works well for teams who have recently merged, or a team that simply wants to celebrate a recent success. We provide guidance with themes, special effects and materials for costumes.

Bonding by having Fun

One of our most unusual management team building programmes is Boomwhackers. For groups as small as five and as large as 5000, a Boomwhacker session creates an instant event, using a form of tuned percussion. The instruments are plastic tubes between one and four feet long. By holding the tube in one hand and whacking it with the other, a musical sound is created.With our help groups can have lots of fun. The aim of this event is to work on team and personal coordination, help develop listening skills and increase alertness, all vital for the work place. We also know plenty of games for team building and we will make sure that you choose the right ones for your team. We have a professional team of creative people waiting to discuss your needs and make a recommendation. For example, if you have a team that are experiencing stress in the work place we would encourage you to book a Stress Buster event, which is aimed at encouraging a healthy lifestyle, boosting morale and reducing absenteeism. Stress can have a seriously negative affect on productivity and team spirit in the work place and this group team building exercise goes a long way to address the adverse effects of modern life. Mobile phones and computers are useful tools, but they are even better when balanced with breathing exercises, body work, yoga and the power of rhythm. We build work-based programmes to keep teams powerfully energetic.

Create a Connection

For teams looking for quick results in a short period of time Body Percussion is an office team building session and training tool that does just that. This session delivers improved connections and mutual understanding in a fun and enjoyable way. Delegates learn to embody messages, simultaneously stimulating the left and right sides of the brain and discovering what can be done with limited resources. Left (logical) and right (creative) synchronicity is a highly desirable state, allowing people to work in the flow, rather than against it. To achieve this, the main focus is on a willingness to try something new, which is totally different from the every day routine. No instruments are used, as participants slap, click, clap and stomp as a fun warm up exercise before learning simple parts that make up a complicated whole when performed at the same time. As one of the team building exercises, everyone in the group stomps their feet at the same time to create a common pulse. On top of this we add different clapping parts and a transformational connection is made as the different parts ‘lock’. As people become aware that what they are doing is improving their working relationships, companies find that employees who otherwise are not quick to interact with one another open up and a new side to their personality becomes apparent. As a team building company we know that this can only have a positive effect on the company’s productivity.

Lively Performances

Companies with corporate functions on the horizon can book Performances with us for a means of celebratory inspiration. For mesmerising entertainment it doesn’t come much better than Belly Dancing, which can also be booked as one of our team building days. Belly Dancing is a mysterious art form that can ignite all the senses of both performer and spectator. As a spectacle it is beguiling , as the dancers radiate joy and physical expression through this unique medium of dance. If you are looking at our team building corporate events and think you may be interested in using dance as the main theme of the event then we have several options. African Dancing is a perennial favourite and works very well with groups as a way of boosting their energy levels, and challenging preconceptions. Great as a group activity and suitable for partner and individual dancing, it is renowned for being one of the most addictive and energetic dances in the world. Accompanied by the rhythm of live African Drumming, participants learn some basic steps in no time at all, and by the end of the session start to get creative with them. It’s quite a workout, but it creates energy and is great if done the morning after a gala dinner. As team building ideas go, this is rated as one of the most challenging but rewarding events. Shared memories and a new-found skill help delegates to interact better, as this shared experience breaks down barriers.

Strengthen your team

Our team building activities stimulate team building by tapping into participants’ core energies. With a choice of African, Samba and Junkyard Drumming, your team will benefit from sharpened listening and concentration, and learn focus and risk-taking skills. Junkyard drumming is designed to encourage creativity, stimulate conversation and to realise a sense of achievement with few resources. This is a useful skill in today’s economic climate, and the point of the exercise is never lost on delegates. Making the most of simple household items such as baking trays, buckets, water butts, cheese graters and brooms to create inspirational sounds, this form of team building training results in powerful conversations within the team. The junkyard instruments become experimental tools for the group and once everyone has the chance to try them out a final performance is orchestrated. Delegates experience in practice that a successful team does not have to rely on fancy equipment; an innovative spirit is more important. Of the other similar team building activities Samba Drumming demonstrates the value of diversity, developing motivation and increasing team spirit. This is achieved by creating a high-energy carnival atmosphere, with participants playing a variety of instruments, such as agogo bells, tambourines, claves, rattling snares and massive surdo bass drums. Teams are often amazed by what they can create and always go away feeling powerful and re-energised. If you would like to create team building events yourself we are happy to offer you our easy to use Event Builder.

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• Team Building