Quick & Fun Energisers that Work with 12 to 100 People

We’ve all seen the signs.

People sitting back further in their seats.

Droopy eyes, occasional yawns.

Fidgeting.

Or, you simply need something to lift the energy of the group to segue between sessions.

My book Serious Fun compiled nine warm-up and high-energy program templates for 12 to 100 people. In this post, I will share my favourite activities (drawn from these templates) that will take no more than 5 minutes to achieve this outcome.

A later post will share a bunch of program templates that feature energisers that last for 10 – 20 minutes.

7 x Easy, Really Fun Energisers Under 5 Minutes

Gotcha

You could deliver one or more variations of this golden oldie to stretch from 15 seconds to 5 minutes oh so easily. No props are required, and if you think you know all of the variations, then think again. Click the link to discover some of the latest fun ways to introduce this fun energiser.

I’m an Animal Stretch

First presented by friend and colleague Nate Folan, this is a classic high-energy exercise that will inspire your group’s creativity not to mention elevate their heartbeats. You start the activity and when ready, hand it over to your group to introduce one or more animals. Suitable for all ages.

Clumps

Another no-props style exercise that is also highly interactive. Move quickly between the numbers, or invite a short amount of time for group members to connect with one another.

One Two Three

You may note that this activity gets mentioned a lot in my posts and features heavily in many of my training programs. That’s because it’s soooo good. If it’s still new to you, you must click the link to check it out. Enjoy the video and when ready, try it out with your next group. It is one of those few fail-proof activities I know, and as Karl Rohnke always said – a good idea doesn’t care who it belongs to.

Skipping Rope

So simple, yet so powerful and creative. Almost all of us have skipped rope in our lifetime, so there’s not much to describe or demonstrate, but the key to its success – and therefore to elevating your group’s energy – is to commit to being as serious as possible in your delivery.

1-2-3-4

This is completely different to One Two Three mentioned above. You start in small groups of 3 or 4 people and issue a challenge for each small group to achieve a particular result as many times as possible. No props, quick and highly-interactive and energetic. If it’s working, change groups regularly and in the space of a few minutes, you’ll have raised heartbeats and smiles.

Fill Me In

This one works well with groups of up to 30 people, so if you have a really large group, consider dividing into smaller groups first and then randomly moving different sections of each circle to other groups. It’s a name game, with a few twists. Ideal for new and intact groups because the pace of the exercise will always challenge those who think they know everyone’s name.

Looking for More Eneergisers?

To be fair, this list is only a fraction of the dozens of quick and fun activities that can be used to generate warmth and energy in your group. To explore many more options, click below.

And as always, if you need some help developing specific energiser ideas that work for you and your group, let me know.

Contributor Mark