Team Building Activity for Remote Teams – Show and Tell
The foundation to good teamwork is trust. Trust is increased as people get to know each other more personally. Building trust on remote teams can be a challenge. I will be sharing with you in the next few months some of the successful remote team building activities that I have used on teams that I have led. Below is the first in this series.
Show and Tell – Remote Team Building Activity #1
Purpose: To have team members share something they love and is very personal and important to them with the rest of the team and to get to know one another better.
When: Good for any new or experienced team when there is a need to foster team unity and trust.
Materials: Each member of the team needs access to a computer with technology that allows them to meet remotely (e.g. Live Meeting, WebEx). Team members will also need a web cam and web conference technology that allows for the use of web cams. Variation: If web cam technology is not available see “Note on Variation” in the below instructions after each step.
How:
- Send out an email several days before the start of the meeting or team building asking participants to be prepared to share something meaningful to them on the web camera (e.g. baby, award, toy, photo, hobby etc…). Ask them to be prepared to talk about what they are sharing. Note on Variation: if web cam technology is not available ask them to send you a photo by way of email of something meaningful to them.
- When you are ready to begin the activity create an order that team members will go in.
- Instruct team members that they have less than one minute to show what they are sharing on the web cam and tell about it. Provide an ample opportunity for other team members to ask questions. Remember that the purpose of the activity is for team members to get to know each other and increase trust. The asking of questions is a good sign it is working. Note on Variation: If you don’t have access to web cam technology, then simply share each of photo that was sent and have team members share.
Outcome: This activity should result in a lot of stories, laughing and fun. The ultimate outcome is to increase unity and trust on the team.
Things to note: Ensure you budget your time appropriately for this activity. The more participants, the more time you will need. Each participant will need about 3 minutes to share and answer questions.
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