Activities

Virtual Team Building Events

Activity Description

Easy team building or group activity which is done in pairs as part of a interactive fun games day. The Back to back activity does not require any props and is great for energizing a group or as a time filler between other activities. 

Step by Step Instructions for Back to Back

  • This easy activity requires no props and explaining should not take more than 2-5 minutes.
  • Great for larger groups. Have them get together into pairs and stand back to back.
  • Ask a question that you would like them to consider and have them score their answer on a scale of 1 to 5.
  • After asking the question, have them turn around to face each other. Tell them to extend their fingers with the number they chose.
  • Let each pair compare what they scored
  • Have everybody discuss their score choices

How to play Back to Back in more detail

This activity is a quick and easy way to end off all other games and activities. The aim is to process how everybody experienced a particular game briefly. So, once the main game or activity is over, have participants pair off and stand with their backs to each other.

The next step would be to ask them a relevant question and tell them to score their answer on a scale of 1 to 5. One being the lowest and poorest score and five being the higher and better score. A simple question could be, think about what your role was in the activity and how much influence you had in the outcome of the game or activity? In other words, if you say 5, then you think you had a big influence, but if you say 1, then you feel you had no influence. Let everybody have a few seconds to think about their answer.

Once you have asked the question and everybody has a number, have everybody turn around and tell them to extend their fingers, displaying the number they chose. Each pair can now see what the other person chose, let them now consider each other’s answer.

After this you can decide what to do, you can leave it at that, knowing the group has done a short reflection on the activity, or go further and have each pair discuss their reasons for the score they chose. To have a broader overview, take everybody’s score into account and work out a group average. You can then discuss and understand how this score was attained.

You can also add a number of different variations for this activity, for example:

  • This can also be used for smaller groups of 4 up to 8.
  • Display Emotion: Have everybody display a certain emotion by using a non-verbal gesture. For example, a smiling face, which is a positive, a sad face for a negative emotion, or a fist can represent anger.

Facilitating Tips for Back to Back

There are many benefits of processing a groups experience after an activity is completed. The aim is to invite members into sharing their experience and discussing the outcomes. During this process many things can be learned, and it only takes a few short minutes to implement.

The best part about the Back to Back Activity is, each person cannot see each other and will therefore not be influenced when making a decision. So, when asking each person to turn around, make sure everybody only extends their fingers once they have turned. If people show their answer before this, others may see and might be influenced to change their answer.

Using the five scoring method is a wonderful way to quickly evaluate the groups experience. Sometimes groups can be quite large, which makes sharing a bit more difficult for some people. This is where pairing off helps, facing only one person and not a room full of people will encourage more people to share. You could also use 10 fingers for this activity but sticking to one hand and five fingers is the easiest and best method.

Acknowledgement to TBAE Team Building and Events for providing us with the images as for assisting us with the compiling of the blueprint for the Back to Back activity. 

 

Back to Back Game Ice Breaker

Basic Details
Property Type : Ice Breakers
Listing Type : Placeholder
Activity Type : Ice Breakers
Focus On : Communication, Collaboration, Having Fun
Outcome Based : Yes
Facilities : Indoor, Outdoor
Duration : 1 - 5 minutes
Exertion Level : Low
Group Size : 1 - 8, 9 - 16, 17 - 30, 31+
Age : Children, Youth, Adults