Lean Walk
A simple two-person exercise that invites the development of trust
At A Glance
Two people lean on each other’s shoulders as they walk on a journey.
What You Need
- 5 mins
What To Do
Are you looking for a new way to move people from point A to point B that’s quick and easy? Give this a go…
Invite each person in your group to find a partner, for example, someone who has similar length of hair to them. Ask for a voluneteer to step forward so that you can demonstrate what the activity looks like.
Ask this willing volunteer to stand to one of your sides, and then lean in on your shoulder, as you do the same to them. Looking from the front or back, the two of you should look a bit like an unspide-down V. Then, your objective is to walk together towards some point (to the next activity, for example) leaning all the way. A quick 3 second demonstration, and your group should be good to go.
Encourage partners to test how far they can lean (ie move their feet further away from the centre) as they walk, while still retaining a solid, comfortable stance. Naturally, warn about the dangers of pushing past reasonable boundaries, lest heads smash!
I love this exercise, if for no other reason than to “move” people from one spot to another in a unique manner. But, it also subtlely develops trust and co-operation, and a handy lesson in physics too.
Variations
- Invite partners to swap sides, so that they lean on the other shoulder.
- Invite groups of three, where one person walks upright in the centre of two others who lean towards them.
Thanks to Nate Folan, Project Adventure trainer (USA) and good friend who showed this to me recently.
If you know of a cool variation to this ice-breaker, please add a comment…
Jump In Jump Out
A crazy, energetic group exercise that will trigger tons of laughter
At A Glance
Holding hands in a circle, facing the centre, a group jumps in, out, left or right of the circle in synch with their leader’s instructions.
What You Need
- Open, flat space to form a circle
- 5 mins
What To Do
This exercise is almost impossible not to stuff-up – which is the whole point. I promise you, Jump In Jump Out WILL cause your group to laugh out loud.
Ask your group to form a circle, holding hands facing the centre. You then explain that you want them to …“LISTEN to what I say, SAYwhat I say, and DO as I say.” Next, you practice a few rounds, by calling one of four commands – Jump In, Jump Out, Jump Left or Jump Right.
The aim is for each person (the group) to repeat exactly what the leader says, at the same time they are copying what he/she does. Pretty simple, you’d think. Not! There is always a few people who move to their “other left” (or right) or just simply get confused, causing the circle to crinkle.
After 20-30 seconds, re-form the circle, and announce that you now want the group to “LISTEN to what I say, SAY THE OPPOSITE of what I say, and DO as I say.” Get it? For example, if I say “Jump In,” the group says “Jump Out” as they literally jump in. Whoooahh… just typing this out is doing my head in!
OK, give it a go. Expect tons of mistakes, confusion and laughter galore – and that’s exactly what you want.
But wait, there’s more…
Try one of these fun variations.
Variations
- Re-form the circle, and announce that you want the group to “LISTEN to what I say, SAY what I say, and DO THE OPPOSITE of what I say.” For example, if is say “Jump Left” the group is invited to say “Jump Left” as they jump to the right.
- Add extra commands, such as “Jump Twice” or “Jump High” or “Jump Two the Left/Right”.
Thanks to Paul Radcliffe, who passed on this gem to me during an Project Advenutre workshop in Boston, MA July 2010.
If you know of a cool variation to this ice-breaker, please add a comment…
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Who am I?
Hi, I'm Mark Collard.
This blog shares some of the most successful group games, team-building activities & programming tips I know.
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