Divide the class into small teams. Instruct teams to identify their challenges in the topic and their objectives for the training. Post work on flip charts. Have them introduce their team and share their work with the rest of the class.

Have each person write a question they want answered in the training on a Post-itâ note. Have them introduce themselves and their question. Then post all questions on a wall chart. During or at the end of training, ask the group to answer the questions.

Have each person identify someone who is a role model for the topic being discussed. Have them share the person’s name and the qualities or characteristics that make them a good role model. Post characteristics on a flip chart.

Have participants introduce themselves, sharing their name, department, and either a "Do" or a "Don’t" tip for the topic being discussed. Post tips on a flip chart.

Have participants work in teams to identify five rules for dealing with difficult people (or the topic under discussion).

Have class work in small teams of 4-5. Instruct teams to identify one type of person they all find difficult. Then have the team act out that type of person while the rest of the class tries to guess what they are acting. This can be a fun activity and can lead to a short discussion about needing to keep a sense of humor when dealing with difficult people.

Have participants introduce themselves and share the emotions they feel about their difficult person (for example, "They drive me nuts!!"). Have them say it with feeling. At the end of the introductions, have them all scream the feelings at the same time.

Have participants identify someone who has contributed to their professional development. As they introduce themselves have them explain their relationship to the person that contributed to their development.

Have each person introduce himself and share one action they have recently taken to develop themselves (other than signing up for this class). This can be done as a group or in small teams.

Have participants introduce themselves and thank someone who has contributed to their professional development. They should thank the person as if they are receiving an Academy Award. You may need to limit speeches to 30 seconds.

Have participants introduce themselves, sharing their name and something they learned on their first paying job.

• What are the names of the planets, starting from the one closest to the sun?
• What is the most populous state in the U.S.?
• What 8 states begin with the letter "M"?

Have each person complete the following sentence:

Ask each participant how long they've been with the company or in their current job. Total the number of years. Point out that the class will have X number of years of experience on which to draw.

Ask each person to share something good or new they have experienced in the last 24 hours.

If participants have made commitments in a previous workshop to change behaviors, ask others to share one thing they've noticed another person doing differently. As an alternative, have each individual share one thing he/she has done differently since the last session.

Ask each person to share one thing that makes him/her unique.

Explain that many companies have slogans or "mottoes" which reflect their values. For example, Ford Motor Company uses the slogan, 'Quality is Job One.' Ask each person to write (or borrow) a slogan to describe him or herself and share that with the class.

Have each person share a description of the worst team they have ever been on and why. Post characteristics on a flip chart. Debrief this exercise by having the team identify ways to avoid the "worst team" characteristics.

Give each individual a 3x5 card and instruct them to write 4 statements about themselves: one of the statements should be false while 3 should be true. Explain that the goal is to fool people about which is the lie. Allow 5 minutes to write statements; then have each person read the 4 statements and have the group guess the lie. Award a prize to the individual who makes the most correct guesses.

Divide the team into small groups of 4-6 people. Have each group discuss and identify an analogy for their team. For example: "We are like a 3-ring circus -- because we have many things going on at once and it feels chaotic at times." Allow 10 minutes to discuss; then have teams share.

Ask each person to share his or her greatest concern about participating in the team building or training. Post fears on a flip chart. At the end of the session, revisit the list and ask the group to share whether their fears were realized.

Divide the class into teams of 3-4 people. Assign each team a different flip chart. Explain that each team will be assigned another team about which to share information. For example:

Team A: Mary, Chris, Pat and Terry

Team B: Jane, Frank, Phil and Sharon

Team C: John, Mike, Andrea and Larry

Team A is assigned Team B; Team B is assigned Team C; and

Team C is assigned Team A.

Have the team divide their flip charts into sections, one for each person in their assigned team. Allow them 5 minutes to record everything they know about the people on their flip chart (both work and non-work related). After 5 minutes, have teams rotate flip charts and add information on their new flip chart. Continue rotating until they come to the flip chart with their own names on it. Have each person comment on what was written about him/herself.

Prior to the session have each participant complete and return to you a survey with 5-7 questions about him or herself. For example:

• Favorite type of food
• Best all-time TV show
• Last movie you saw
• Last book you read
• Dream vacation

During the session, read the clues and have the rest of the class guess which person is being described.

Have each person on a team draw a picture or series of pictures to represent their current view of the team. (They can draw on pieces of paper or flip charts posted around the room.) Allow 5 minutes; then have the rest of the group explain what they see in each other's pictures.

On the second day of a team building meeting, ask each person to share one thing they learned about someone on the team in the last day. Have the rest of the group try to guess who is being described.

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