Cocktail Party
A quick name reinforcer, and welcome segue to a drink’s break.
At A Glance
People mingle about shaking hands and greeting people by name as quickly as possible.
What You Need
- A flat, open space for mingling.
- As many party-goers as you can muster.
- 2 minutes.
What To Do
Looking for a quick way to wrap up a session, perhaps reinforce a few names people may have just learned, and throw to a drinks break? This is it.
Invite people to bunch around you, capturing the image of palatial surroundings, evening gowns, black ties and cocktails. Suggest that each person holds in their left hand an imaginary drink, or cocktail if they choose. Then, on your signal, everyone is encouraged to meet, shake the hands of and greet as many people at the party as possible, in say, 43.5 seconds (this is not a magic number!).
On “go”, it will sound something like, “Oooohh, darling, so good to see you Peter. I’m having a frightfully good time…..”. Chat for a few moments, discuss drinks, recent holidays to the Swiss alps, and then in typical cocktail party fashion, interrupt the conversation with a “O, petal, must keep moving”. Air kiss, kiss (these are not mandatory), and “…bye bye” off you go to greet another party guest.
Suggest to your group that they should use the other person’s name as often as possible, enquire about the other person’s drink (remember, they are holding on to it), but not spend too long with any one person. For a bit of fun, ask someone for the time and see if they spill their drink!
When you feel like the heat has started to dissipate from the party, quell the action and ask your group what is odd about this activity. Someone usually will remark that “there is no drink in their hands”, which is your cue to say….let’s remedy that situation – time for a break.
Variations
Imagine you are in a swanky Food Hall. Invite people to mingle as they treat themselves to the extraordinary array of fine foods available on people’s trays.
Taken from ‘No Props: Great Games with No Equipment’
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
Fill Me In
A name reminder game featuring a chaotic combination of movements.
At A Glance
People assume the place of a person standing in the circle whose name they have just called.
What You Need
- A flat, open space.
- Minimum of 10, and up to 30, more if your group has a good level of name-knowingness.
- 10 – 15 minutes.
What To Do
Having formed a circle, the action begins when one person steps into the circle – at the same time announcing the name of someone who is on the other side of the circle to them – and walks toward that person. The first person fills the space of the newly announced person as this second person moves into the centre of the circle and immediately calls out a third person’s name, and the process starts all over again.
In and out, in and out it goes on. At a point you believe the group is ready for more, introduce a second and third person calling out a name across the circle. A series of chaotic and confusing crossings will result. At this time, encourage lots of eye contact and careful movements.
Variations
- Invite the person who has called out a name, to introduce themselves by name to the other, perhaps shake hands, before this other person repeats the process.
- As the movement of people in the centre of the circle gains momentum, invite people to shake the hand and greet (using the name) of someone as they pass them in the middle of the circle.
Taken from ‘No Props: Great Games with No Equipment’
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, 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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