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Elevator Air
Powerful icebreaker game to reveal group dynamics through movement.
- Simple
- Non-threatening
- Inspires powerful metaphors
- Sets the tone
- No props
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Powerful Icebreaker Game
This fascinating exercise reveals how our intentions dramatically shape social interactions and group atmosphere. Elevator Air invites participants to experiment with different emotional contexts as they move across a designated space. The striking contrast between each crossing sparks meaningful discussions about nonverbal communication, social expectations, and how our inner state influences the environments we create together.
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Original post October 2015, last updated September 2025.
Comments (3)
Leave a Reply to Nick Atkin Cancel reply
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I just use this after I read through your recent blog post. I honestly was a little nervous I wasn’t sure how it would come off. I had a group of 14 adults who actually worked in an office building with an elevator so that was perfect.
The difference in each of the three rounds, the behaviors in each of the three rounds was dramatic. They are in an office, all in their separate cubicles and they really wanted to carry forward that energy of the third round into their year. The boss even commented that often in their workplace it feels a lot more like elevator air.
Thank you for sharing this great activity. I plan to use it again
Jen, this is so fantastic to hear. I agree, it is often a very powerful learning for many groups and I’m glad you had a similar experience. Tip: it gets better and better the more you use it because you start to see more connections between the message of this exercise and the behavioural norms of the group I am working with.
One of my all-time favourite, go-to activities. Great for helping to frame a multi-day expedition or outdoor program, I often use it on the first or second day if people are grumbling about needing to hike up that hill or (insert grumble topic here)…
Certain things on an expedition are out of the group’s control (distance, terrain, companions, weather etc.) these can be compared with the distance across the circle and the group of people involved. Ultimately, the distance and group don’t change, but the collective attitude does and this is ultimately the decisive factor (contrast elevator scenario vs room full of friends scenario).
Takeaway – attitude trumps circumstance