Team building NYC karaoke

I love karaoke. Love it. I’d say it’s easily one of my favorite things to do in the world, being in a room full of people who are belting out songs together.

Just how central is karaoke to my life? I met my wife at a karaoke party; we had a karaoke after-party at our wedding, and even a karaoke-themed wedding cake topper! (pictured above)

So yeah, I’m serious when I say I love karaoke. My attitude and approach to it has changed over the years; back in my 20s, it was a much more “me-focused” activity: I loved being the center of attention, and would pick/sing songs meant to impress (I still have REM’s It’s The End of the World As We Know It memorized). Over the years as I matured, I’ve since learned not to hog the spotlight, and instead much prefer to select songs and “assign” them to my friends to sing, rather than sing myself. But the result is still the same: I love it, and have an absolute blast every time!

So it wasn’t that much of a stretch for me to find a way to create karaoke team building, by integrating it with our corporate trivia parties in New York City. I’ve actually been seeking to offer this for a long time, and am immensely excited with the possibilities as we enter NYC holiday party ideas season. I know that singing together in a room full of people is a natural bonding activity (which a recent scientific study suggests). However, let me explain in layman’s terms why it is so effective:

• A Positive Shared Experience – First and foremost, a karaoke party is a fun and enjoyable experience for the whole room. As I’ve often said here on this blog and in media interviews, the key to any successful team bonding activity, New York City or elsewhere is a shared experience which is positively received by the group. You put your people in that room and get them running through some upbeat, funny, nostalgic songs that are good for everyone to sing along to, and BAM! You’ve just created an environment which naturally fosters good feelings.

• Accessibility – Anybody can sing. The whole, “I don’t sing” excuse goes right out the window the moment someone actually gets over their fears and grabs the microphone – I’ve seen it happen a million times, and you likely have, too. People can sing regardless of their age, nationality, mobility or level/duration of employment. It’s the ultimate inclusive activity.

• Engaging – The polar opposite of passive corporate entertainment, the audience themselves are providing the talent. They are physically going up either alone or in groups, and performing in front of colleagues – if that’s not the ultimate in interactive, then I don’t know what is!

• Learning About Each Other – One of the key goals of any group bonding activity is to allow people an opportunity to get to know one another better. With our trivia team building, we do this by purposefully selecting questions which are on the tip of the tongue, but also that will allow people to shine/realize how much in common they have, particularly with respect to shared pop culture experiences. With karaoke, it’s far more immediate and rewarding: you may have worked with Bob from accounting for years, and never known he could belt out Country tunes like a champ – or that the colleagues within your own department know the harmony to Love Shack, and can do the entire song with you from start to finish. It’s AWESOME for getting to know more about one another, and it works!

• Building Trust – Even if you’re a recovering karaoke show-off like me, it’s still somewhat scary and intimidating to get up in front of your coworkers, bosses and/or subordinates and sing. However, creating an environment in which people can feel comfortable and trusting enough to do that, and you’ll not only build their confidence in themselves, but in each other and their ability to rely on/depend on one another.

• Laughter & Cheers – I don’t mean laughing at the expense of others (see “Building Trust” above); what DO mean is that if you can make your group relax and laugh for a couple of hours, they will immediately feel more at ease and not take everything so seriously. When done right, karaoke illicit immense laughter and cheering from the crowd, who are encouraging the singers to keep doing whatever it is they’re doing (most likely, rocking it!). Imagine: a room full of colleagues, genuinely cheering on each other. It CAN happen!

I truly believe in the power of karaoke to bring diverse groups together, to create an environment which naturally brings out the best in people: smiles, high energy, humor, teamwork, realizing how much we all have in common, and creating a lasting memory which will be remembered fondly and enthusiastically for a long time to come.

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