Simple Team-Building Activity to Build Community Among Program Staff

Breaking the Ice Among Program Staff

To promote respect among students, staff members must model respectful behavior and attitudes with one another. The following activity can be used to break the ice and help staff get to know each other better.

Great staff connections help to establish positive learning environments. Students tend to imitate adult behavior, and negative interactions among staff may influence the way students interact with peers. To promote respect among students, staff members must model respectful behavior and attitudes with one another.

Team-building activities are great ways to support community among your staff. The following activity can be used to break the ice and help staff get to know each other better. Staff members will learn each other's strengths and weaknesses and will improve communication.

Two Truths and a Lie

Time Required: 15-30 minutes

• Have every staff member secretly write down two truths about themselves and one lie on a small index card. (Be sure that staff members do not reveal what they have written!)
• Allow 10-15 minutes for staff to converse and quiz each other on their three questions (much like a cocktail party). The goal is for staff to convince others that their lie is actually a truth, while simultaneously asking their colleagues questions to guess their truths and lies.
• Gather in a circle, and have each staff member repeat her three statements, and ask the entire group to vote on which statement is the lie. Staff will learn new things about their peers and what they may have in common.

Play a competitive game by separating your staff into two teams and awarding points for each lie that a team guesses correctly or for successfully convincing the other team that their lie is a truth.