Anatomy of a Trivia Team Building Event
In an earlier post, I explained general terms how trivia may be used as a corporate team building activity. Now I would like to describe the live trivia event in further detail, in order to illustrate its value for this unique purpose.
The first step is customizing the trivia questions themselves, to tailor them specifically for the participants in attendance. The goal of customization is to make the event as relevant, meaningful and enjoyable to the group as possible- and thus more impactful. While you could certainly get by using generic trivia questions designed for a mass audience, by generating custom-made trivia you are virtually guaranteeing an event which participants will find meaningful.
The second step with these types of events is to break the larger group of attendees into smaller teams, who will be competing against each other. The breakdown of teams provides an opportunity to match up people who have little to no interaction in the office; conversely, it allows for coworkers who do work closely together to engage in a fun new environment, far unlike from their day to day teamwork and utilizing entirely different skill sets.
Once the trivia questions have been written and their groups broken down to their optimal teams, the next step is to run the event. The method I use is to pass out answer sheets and pens to each team, and to then have a host read out questions; after announcing the questions, teams are then given a moment to discuss, debate and ultimately arrive at a final answer as a team. I’ve found that this method offers the greatest opportunity for the group to practice those skills which we want to develop in a team building activity, primarily collaboration, communication and leadership.
After reading out each “round” of trivia, answer sheets are submitted for scoring. This presents an excellent opportunity for the entire group to briefly socialize, ensuring that the competition doesn’t become too serious. It’s also a good chance for teams to egg each other on in a friendly way, as well as break up the event so it stays fresh and fun.
Finally, the conclusion of the event by announcing the winning team & awarding prizes offers a chance to wrap up the skills utilized. A dramatic finish, high-stakes “showdown” finale or huge/humorous prize also ensures the event will end on a high note.
When done in this manner, live trivia naturally lends itself to positive inter-group and intra-group experiences, and offers an opportunity to practice important team building skills in a fun, challenging way.
How might a trivia event be run differently, in order to make it more effective for corporate team building?