team building activities to increase knowledge between team members

Do you need to increase synergy and trust within the team? Here are some activities that will help you improve the team coalition and knowledge. All of the activities are suited for both distributed teams and on site teams.

Open water challenge

This activity requires preparation on the facilitator part. It will provide an opportunity to engage in productive debate, learn how to power one another's knowledge, and experience the benefits of team work. This activity should be done in groups with 5-8 people.

Scenario: Your team has escaped a sinking ship by setting out on a life raft that will hold up to eight persons. You are in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. You have a limited items on board your raft that may be useful. Each team member has just enough time to grab one personal item before the ship goes down. Using all the available resources, your team will work together to survive for as long as possible until you are rescued.

Procedure:

1. Have each team member think about one item he to bring on a cruise. Do not give details about the scenario because it will affect the item each team member chooses to bring. Invite them to think creatively and to send you a photo or image of the item they selected.

2. Create three PowerPoint slides or shared online documents containing information below.

• Slide 1: Create a slide with the scenario. Include the images of all the life-raft inventory, provided at the end of this game as well as the following text: “You are the survivors of a ship that has just sunk. You escaped on a life raft big enough to hold eight people. The life raft has the following items on board, which you may use however you choose: 100 yards of fishing line with no hook, flashlight with 24 hou...

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...ate interactive customized map (there are several free options online) where your team will login to pushpin their info. Team members can include as much or as little detail as they would like to each location.

2. Once finished, team members can click on the locations indicated by their teammates to learn more about them.

3. Each team member should include in the map:

• The place where you currently work

• Hometown

• A place you would like to live

• A place in the world that intrigues you

• Sites of the three most significant experiences in your life

• A place you have visited several times

• The farthest place to which you have ever travelled

• The location of your favourite restaurant

• The location of your first job

• The manager should include the location(s) of key vendors, customers, or clients

4. The answers should be shared during a meeting.