Fun 30-Minute Get-To-Know-You Session

Across the southern hemisphere, millions of schoolchildren are returning to school soon, not to mention just as many adults returning to work.

In many cases, new members will be welcomed into these groups. The best teachers and trainers in the world will know that this is the perfect time to invite their groups to interact, share and have fun to build and strengthen their relationships.

Indeed, the research shows that the more time and energy you invest in building relationships, the more participation, productivity and a stronger community you will generate.

30-Minute Get-To-Know-You Session

There is a danger in being too prescriptive that you may follow the sequence I share without paying too much attention to the unique needs and abilities of the group you serve.

So, with this in mind, look at the following sequence of activities and adjust accordingly.

Ideal for 30 people looking to get to know one another better.

Props: Set of alphabet letters

1. Crossword Names – A wonderful unofficial start. Simply scatter the letters on the ground/table, brief and step back.
2. Who – This has got to be one of the simplest and easiest name games I know. The only prerequisite is to know your own name, so it’s ideal for those who say they’re not good at remembering names.
3. Categories – A fun, non-threatening mixing exercise that helps to celebrate diversity and those things we have in common with others. I presented this activity in almost every program during my early years of facilitation because it worked so well to relax my group and make them laugh.
4. Psychic Handshake – Use this exercise to randomly split your group into 3 or 4 groups to invite interaction and mixing. Having presented this fun exercise a squillion times, I’m going to bet that you get more people standing in the 3s and 4s and not too many in the 1s and 2s. Let me know what you discover.

My strongest recommendation is to start with this basic framework and then swap one or more activities with those you discover in playmeo’s activity database that you believe would be more appropriate for your group or program needs.

This template is drawn from my book Serious Fun, in which I include 40 x free program templates, all with simple step-by-step instructions. Click the link below to purchase today.

Buy Serious Fun > playmeo    Buy Serious Fun > Amazon

Stay tuned for more.

A new program template is published each month.

Contributor Mark