Resources: Tennis Ball Game
The Tennis Ball Team Building Game: Divide the participants up into small groups of about six to eight people. Then, have them arrange themselves in a circle.
Give a tennis ball to one person and explain the rules of the game:
- Each group is in competition with the other groups in the room. The group who can complete the most “circuits” in a given time will be the winner.
- A completed circuit occurs when every person in the group has touched the tennis ball.
- Only one person in the group can touch the tennis ball at one time. (Therefore the ball must be tossed rather than handed off.)
- If the ball ever touches the floor, then production must stop for one-minute.
Have the teams complete a few circuits to get comfortable. They will begin creating patterns that make the process more efficient. The facilitator may want to stop the groups and get feedback as this happens. Also, help them understand that this is a natural progression in business as well.
Have the groups continue to complete circuits, but as time progresses, the facilitator will add additional rules to make the process more difficult.
Additional Tennis Ball Team Building Game Rules.
- A Co-Worker calls in Sick. — Remove one of the group participants. Then, tell the group that the participant called in sick. After they complete a few circuits, remind them that just because someone calls in sick, doesn’t mean that that person’s work doesn’t need to be completed. (They will probably have just continued to complete the circuit just as they had before the person left.) Remind them that each of their last few circuits has had one fewer touches than before, so they do not count. Someone will have to pick up the slack for the absent person. After a new pattern is established, have the person come back.
- Double Production — Throw a second ball into the mix and tell the group that our client wants us to double production. Only one ball can be held by any one person at a time. You can add a third or even fourth ball later.
Use your imagination to come up with other rules and be sure to have a prize for the winning team. At the end of the game, ask the group how did the game relate to things they face in the business world
