We’re back this week with some additional energizer ideas. If you tried any of our quick, check-in energizers that we suggested last week, email us at innovation@ibx.com and tell us how you enjoyed it – did you have a favorite? Which worked best when? We love gifts, so if you email us, you can expect a surprise in your inbox!
This week, we are sharing some additional energizer ideas for when you want to get your colleagues moving…or drawing. We have found some of these to be great when used as a palette cleanser between more complex tasks. Look out for our next post where we’ll share some energizers that require more time and allow you and your colleagues to get to know each other better.
1. Squirrel Underpants 2.0
Think of one thing that starts with the letter of your first name and one thing that starts with the letter of your last name. Mash them together to make a new thing: Apple for Aaron + Sandwich for Smith = apple shaped sandwich. Now draw it, hold it up to your camera or share your screen and have your colleagues guess what it is.
2. Shake Down
Start by inviting people to stand if they have room. Staying seated is fine. It’s also worth checking with your participants that they’re in a suitable location! As a group, perform 8 shakes of the right arm, 8 shakes of the left, 8 shakes of the right leg and 8 shakes of the left leg. Each time counting each shake as a group from one to eight. After a sequence of four shakes, two shakes then one shake of each limb, you end the exercise with a big cheer while inviting everyone to do a signature move – whatever feels right for them!
3. Touch Blue
Start by having the facilitator call out something to touch such as “touch blue” or “touch something warm.” Each participant then has to move and touch something that is blue or warm. This might be something on their desk, an item of clothing, or something they have to go and find on their bookshelf. If you want to get your colleagues more involved, you can have the last person to find an object select the next attribute. If not, you choose them all!
If you want to make it a little more competitive, give everyone fifteen seconds to find something and eliminate those players who don’t find anything in time. Keep playing and make things more complicated or reduce the time until one player remains. It can also be effective to do quick-fire rounds of this energizer throughout a longer meeting to keep participants on their toes.
4. GIF Challenge
GIFs can be a great way of injecting humor and creativity into an online meeting. For this energizer, set-up an online whiteboard or shared Google Doc and post a phrase or statement that participants then have to search for a suitable GIF in response. Something like, “Let the Cat out of the Bag” or “That Monday morning feeling,” are fun. Something along the lines of “Good management looks like this” invites people to creatively respond to a more serious organizational topic.
After each round, you can invite everyone to comment or vote on their favorites and have additional rounds to crown a winner if you’re all having that much fun with it. One great way to use this energizer is by sprinkling several rounds of questions throughout a longer meeting to keep energy levels up and create some moments of fun and creativity as counterpoint to other exercises.
5. Finish the Drawing
Provide your colleagues with one or two lines that would be the start of a drawing. Consider emailing the image in advance or share it from your screen and have participants copy it on a piece of paper in front of them. Then ask them to finish the drawing. They can draw something that represents them or something more random. Have each participant share back with the group.
You may be eligible to apply for an affordable health plan today.
Get Medicare plans from Independence.
