Maximize Team FUN & Connection
In the modern workplace, team connection has become even more vital. With more teams working remotely and/or in a hybrid setting, team members are feeling more disconnected than ever. People are feeling the monotony & isolation of WFH. Zoom fatigue is real.
It is important now, more than ever to create opportunities for teams to have fun, get excited and to connect on a more personal and human basis. 🔗😊😊 When team members feel connected, they are happier, more engaged & more productive.
Best Tool: Run Team ‘Pecha Kucha’ Presentations
Even though there are numerous activities or tools you can use to increase connection – this is my favorite. The beauty is it works for all teams remote/virtual teams, hybrid teams or in person teams) just the same.
First thing first – find a meeting or something that you are already doing consistently and allocate 10-15 minutes to this activity. If you can’t carve that out, then find another meeting that works, create a seperate one or add in some buffer time to an existing meeting to make it happen. Trust me, it’s worth it.
Once you’ve allocated the time – announce to your team that you will be running FUN ‘Pecha Kucha’ presentations at this meeting moving forward and explain what it is (see below). People can sign up for 5-7 min time slots (suggest 1-3 people at most per meeting).
The Rules of a ‘Pecha Kucha’
Whoever is presenting will use slides (Powerpoint, Slides, etc). There are only two main rules to a ‘Pecha Kucha’:
- The presentation’s subject matter can not be about anything related to work
- There can be no text on the slides (only images)
Leave Topics Open to Creativity & Individuality
That’s it! People can get as creative as they want with their topics. If you want to provide some guidance, you can encourage topics around:
- Unique hobbies they may have
- Cool experiences or journeys they’ve had
- Topics (non-controversial) that they feel passionate about.
Rotate through team members with whatever cadence you want. You can make it optional but you can also boldly make it mandatory for all. Those that have stage fright will quickly get over it with the excitement of realizing they can share anything that has meaning to them.
What would your ‘Pecha Kucha’ topic be? 🤔
Start Powerful Conversations
All of sudden, the team is learning some cool and unique things about each other. You’ll notice new conversations forming outside of your meeting. New topics of conversation are formed besides ‘how’s the weather?’
Instead maybe it’ll be:
- ‘Hey Julie, tell me more about that trip to Machu Picchu, I really want to go’.
- ‘Hey Martin, I play spikeball too! What a cool, new sport…wanna play sometime?’
- ‘Hey Sandra, I also love helping others, I volunteer at a homeless shelter, do you want to ever join?’
BOOM! New connections. Deeper connections. More powerful conversations. Stronger Relationships
Variations
As long as you use the two main rules above, you are guaranteed to create some team magic. However here are some fun variations you can experiment with:
- Having a strict time limit (e.g. 5 minutes)
- Having a set # of slides they have to use (e.g 20 slides)
- Having a time limit for each slide (10 slides, 20 seconds on each)
- No slides, only physical objects (this can apply to both virtual or in person)
- Partner presentations (if people want to present on same/similar topic)
✨ Try it out and see the team magic unfold! ✨ Your Welcome! 😁
Looking for some FUN, connection and growth for your next team event, social or learning opportunity? We teach modern day business skills through the power of PLAY! Check out our Virtual PLAYshop or Live PLAYshops offerings and get in touch!
