60 Responses

1. Great activity. I am gonna try this in my session. Thanks.

2. Great! I will use it in my next programme

3. Great article! Very informative indeed!

4. This is excellent! I will try this in my next training!! Thanks for sharing. 😊

5. nice activity i will put in practice for my upcoming program and share the reflections of the participants,
   than you

6. Oooooh looks great! I particularly love the questions about legacy and also what I NEED from my job.
   Going to try this very soon

7. Love this! Its simplicity and the ways it can be adapted to your specific group are excellent. And I love that you nudge the group to not use WORDS in their descriptions but PICTURES…get them to actually be more honest and candid.

8. Will apply to my Training & facilitation. Thank you.

9. Seems very interesting. I will explore this today with the target audience.

10. Excellent! An interesting question to add might be “what skill/knowledge is most lacking on this team?”

11. Great ice breaker! It’s always good to have something quick yet meaningful to start of a meeting. I really enjoyed how you gave alternate questions.

12. Great Idea………I’ll try in my next meeting. Good Job……..please keep sharing the best practices…..

13. Great ice breaker! Another question that generates a bit of fun “one thing you didn’t know about me”

    1. Good one!

14. Thank you

15. Simple and Effective

16. Four questions that could be asked when working with a Leadership group:

    What does Leadership mean to you
    Why is Leadership important
    How would others describe your leadership style
    What values are important to you as a Leader

17. I love this… So useful for many different types of trainings! Just change the questions when needed… Thanks!

18. Yes I agree and based again on time avaluable, I would ask that the rest of the group to first do a quick brainstorm interpretation on what they see before them about their fellow participant presenter before the person them self talk/comment on their images. It kind of has a two fold objective for me:i)wakes the group up to participatory intent- think,involve and engage; ii) it challenges Perceptions of their interpretations of what they see in the images…fun and memorable imprints

    1. Carolyn – that is a very interesting idea. I will have to give that a try! Thank you

19. Brilliant! Earlier than this, one of my mentors used it for us as an ice breaker asking each participant to tell the group about the selves in picture without any alphabetical nor numerical notation…you’ve challenged my creativity there to adapt it in for a broader scope. Thanks!

20. Nice activity

21. I am going to try this in my next session!

22. Worked very well. Engaging in a team building session. Cheers.

23. Very good activity

24. This is super, can’t wait to use it in my next session. Thanks for sharing.

25. I read this couple of times before figuring out some bright aspects.To draw and express your self initiates the activity. Later, speech follows to explain what is what, how, why and so on…… ICE IS BROKEN with every one speaking out with enthusiasm ! Very good to emulate.

26. This is excellent. Simple and Effective.
    I will try this in my next training. Thanks a lot.

27. You have some really great questions listed already! Here are a few more:
    What is your strength/skill set you bring to the team?
    What is a skill opportunity for you?
    How do you best like to communicate?
    What annoys you most at work? (or in a team situation)

    1. Thanks Sharon for adding more questions to choose from- I like them!

    2. Sharon – thanks for adding to this list – I am going to publish a Part 2 and will include your suggestions – and give you credit, of course!

    3. Thanks Sharon – I hope you saw the new blog – Part 2. I included your questions!

28. Very interesting activity! Thanks for sharing.

29. Great activity to get groups talking! i have used it in therapeutic groups using the different stages of a persons life journey(depending on the age of group members)

30. Nice visual exercise!

31. Wow! Really good activity, not only for teams but also as a general “get to know each other” activity. Will try it out on a German client next months.

    Thanks a lot for sharing!

32. It’s a great article. I am sure that it could be applied in any other building the team activity. Thanks for sharing.

33. Thanks,will use it

34. This works fine and you can use the Johari Window exercise as a closing to help team members see the need for opening up to build trust.

    1. Great idea David – thanks for adding a new idea!

35. Many thanks. Tried this activity in few of my training sessions. It works great.

36. I participated in an entrepreneurship class years ago that used the same concept only we were given an 11×17 sheet of photocopier paper (ledger size) on which was drawn the shape of a heraldic shield. The shield was divided into 4 quarters with a banner cut out overlaying the shield. We had to fill in each quarter of the shield based on questions similar to the ones shared AND come up with a motto that summed up our approach to life/career. In addition to sharing it with the class members, we were instructed to take it home and share it with our family members. This could be used in a team whereby the quadrants represent one or more key strengths, values, goals and yes, even a shortcoming. Beyond discussing the shields, they could then be posted in the person’s work space as a visual reminder to themselves and others what they stand for.

    1. Thanks for sharing this variation Dianne!

37. Simple and fun.
    We need to get to core issues without doom and gloom.
    My life events may inspire someone else feeling the pressure from home.
    Bless you

38. Oh Super activity ! Inclusive and quick. Can be done in a 40 minutes session. Some questions we did for line Managers to understand teammates better : 1. What is it that makes me look forward to Monday morning . 2. Of my job functions, I could do with help in ——— and ———-. 3. My top 3 values I seek in my job are : ………………. 4. Invariably, I don’t seem to make time to do the following of my routine tasks : ——, ———– and ——– 5. Top three challenges in my personal life that are currently affecting my performance

    A lot comes up in these sessions and if moderated well, fosters a good understanding and empathy among the teammates.

    1. Thanks for sharing these creative questions!

39. Wonderful ideas! I’ve also used the shield activity in the past. This one is event simpler and avoids the “kindergarten” comments from some participants. Love the flexibility! Thanks for all the great ideas.

40. Great activity that will also work with your virtual sessions.

41. Great exercise – thanks for sharing
    Questions I am going to try:
    Tell us one cultural attribute which is very important to you.
    How might that attribute be seen very differently by someone from another culture?
    What builds trust in your culture?
    What breaks trrust in your culture?

    1. Thanks Margot for a great set of questions about culture!

42. Great activity, thanks for sharing. I’ll use this.

43. Thanks for sharing. This is an amazing activity that can be used for just about anything.

44. Nice thought. Can be customised based on situation. In case of a little large group, divide them in sub groups & let each sub group fill this for their respective team & then share with other groups. This will save the sharing time in addition to bringing cohesiveness in small groups.

45. I work with a lot of technical people (engineers and scientists) who manage others, and I love to use drawing activities because it really moves people outside their comfort zones (in other words, they hate it!). I come back to this when we talk about change, and they are complaining how much people resist change. “Oh, you mean like your reaction when I asked you to draw your ideas, rather than list words?” It helps them to recognize that most people resist being pushed outside their comfort zones.

46. Can’t wait.

47. I used this as an icebreaker for a relatively new team and it was fun and informative. The best feature is that it can be modified with any questions based on current initiatives, needs of the team, etc.

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49. Hello, I read your new stuff regularly. Your story-telling style is
    awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!

50. I tried this as an icebreaker this evening and it was a success. Thank you!

    I used an online timer to give everyone 90seconds to draw. Seeing it on the screen and hearing the rocket take off helped. The young ones especially like the timer.

    My 4 questions were:
    1. Share one of your favorite childhood memories.
    2. What did you learn about yourself in 2020 during Covid19?
    3. What is your Dream vacation?
    4. What do you hope to achieve at the end of the semester?

    This activity helped everyone relax and learn about each other too.
    Thanks again for sharing. Its much appreciated.