Goodbye, Zoom fatigue! Make conference calls more productive and fun with these quick, easy, and free team building activities.
We think that the best activities for conference calls are short and sweet, between 15 and 30 minutes long. A quick team building activity can go a long way in boosting engagement and participation and can make meetings that much more fun! So before we get down to business, here is a list of our favorite team building activities to do before a conference call:
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Sometimes called âroses & thornsâ or âpits & peaks,â highs & lows is a quick and easy game that can be tagged onto meetings or virtual happy hours that welcomes remote workers to open up and get to know each other a little bit better. Itâs also a simple team bonding exercise, making it perfect for when you have limited time on a video conference call to host a small activity.
In highs & lows, each team member takes a turn saying what their âlow,â or worst part, of the week was. Then, they say their âhigh,â or best part. âïž Not only does this create an opportunity for staff members to open up about what theyâre struggling with and celebrating, but it also gives leadership a little more insight into their team membersâ day to day.
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Itâs a classic for a reason. The next time youâre kicking off a conference call, why not start with a quick icebreaker question? Weâre not talking about the overplayed âwhatâs one fun fact about you?â Here at Confetti, we like to make icebreakers a bit more fun! đ§
Instead of your standard icebreakers, why not shake things up a bit with questions like:
You can make them funny, weird, insightful, or a combination of all of the above! But if youâre strapped for non-boring icebreakers, we've got you covered with our icebreaker questions for work.
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If youâve got a longer or larger than average conference call on the docket, then consider keeping everyone engaged with a game of conference call bingo! đ Prior to the meeting, create bingo cards with items like:
⊠or anything else that is specific to your company or your team. Remember to keep it kind and make it as specific as possible! If your head of marketing always wears a tie with a fun pattern, put it on the bingo card!
Conference call bingo is a lot of fun for everyone to take part in, and almost guarantees that your team will have their cameras on and be locked into everything thatâs being said.
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In Super Superlatives, youâll split your teams into small groups and ask them to assign superlatives to each other. đ What ensues is a lot of laughs, insights into how your team members value each otherâs strengths, and a better understanding of everyone.
You might be surprised to learn that Karen from HR is actually the âcompany clownâ who can always put a smile on her co-workersâ faces, or that everyone thinks the marketing intern is most likely to be president one day.
From a team building standpoint, your employees will get the chance to compliment each other on their strengths and gain an understanding of what their coworkers value most about them. Thatâs a major confidence boost that will carry over into the work environment long after they log off of their conference call.
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Thereâs no use in shying away from it: work from home is awesome because we get to spend the entire day with our pets. Plus, we take every opportunity we can get to show off our sweet little best friend. So, the next time you feel your staff losing steam during a video conference call, do a random pet check! đ
With a 5 minute time limit, have everyone who has a pet grab them and show them off! Everyone will love the serotonin boost they get from seeing their team memberâs furry, scaly, and feathered friends.
For an extra energy boost, give out an âawardâ for the most creative pet name or take a vote for âpet of the month.â Then, feature a photo of that pet in your next internal email bulletin! Everyone will be eager to have their pet featured in the next one, making pet check a conference call tradition that everyone looks forward to.
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Having remote employees most likely means you have team members based all over the country, or maybe even all over the world! Which means that thereâs a lot of conversations to be had about what life is like in a different city or state. In Window Watchers, give each team member a couple minutes to describe whatâs happening outside their window at that very moment. đł
What youâre left with is a (non-invasive) picture of where your fellow teammates live, whatâs going on in their lives, and what they love about their neighborhood. This activity sparks a lot of conversations and questions, boosting communication skills and helping your remote workers feel more connected with one another.
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At the start of each conference call, run a live, interactive poll for your employees to vote in real time. It can be related to the topic of the meeting, can be a poll about what theyâre going to eat for lunch, or can be a completely random topic just for fun! đłïž
You can do your poll using your video conferencing softwareâs polling feature, or just by having participants type their answer into the chat. This gives everyone a quick opportunity to share their opinion on something (and who doesnât love to share their opinion every once in a while), and gives everyone something to discuss long after the meeting is over.
If youâre strapped for poll questions to ask your team, here are a few ideas:
If your team has a shared love for something, like football or Chinese food, tailor the poll to that! Theyâll feel a sense of camaraderie and belonging with their fellow team members.
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If youâve got some music enthusiasts on the call, then this is the perfect team building game for you! Guess that song is a quick and easy game that gets everyone in the chat and excited about whatâs to come. đ”
You can play this game by either playing a karaoke track of a song, or having someone read the lyrics out loud. Then, everyone jumps into the chat to guess what the song is! If you have weekly or monthly meetings, start with an easy one and then get a little more obscure with each meeting. Youâll have everyone buzzing about what they think the next song is going to be.
We recommend giving out a small prize to the employees that correctly guess the song. Something like a $5 lunch voucher, logging off an hour early on Friday, or a small gift to make their home office feel more comfortable is a great option!
Want to host a full music trivia competition? đ Give Boom Box a try!
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If your team feels like they spend more time on virtual meetings than they do sleeping (weâve all been there), then itâs probably time to shake things up! A virtual background challenge is a great opportunity to learn a bit more about each other and get out of the hum-drum routine of jumping on video conference calls. Oh, and did we mention it's free?
Simply use the virtual background feature that your conferencing software already includes, and youâve got yourself an easy and fun conference call activity!Â
To make this challenge more fun, send out a âthemeâ before the meeting starts. This can be related to upcoming holidays or seasons, or you can get creative and ask your team members to share/showcase something about themselves in their virtual backgrounds, like:Â
The list could go on, but get creative and tailor the âthemesâ to things that your teams love! If everyone has a shared love of football, and a sense of friendly competition once football season starts, ask them to make their background a picture of one of the teams that they think is going to be in the Superbowl!
Then, give everyone a few minutes to discuss each otherâs backgrounds at the top of the meeting and get started with your agenda. Youâll find that your teams have good laughs, get to know each other better, and have things to talk about with each other even after the meeting is over.
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Short-form video content has taken over the internet. Donât believe us? Just ask your social media team.
Even if you havenât had the pleasure of being in a company TikTok yet, chances are you probably have watched a short video in the past week that put a smile on your face. After all, who doesnât love clips of funny cats or cute puppies? đ¶
For âclip of the day,â simply ask your team to submit their favorite (work appropriate) short video before the meeting starts. Then, display one of those videos (chosen at random, or selected as the âfavoriteâ) before the meeting starts.
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Working remotely can be an isolating experience at times and itâs easy to feel like you donât know anything about the people that youâre working with on a daily basis. One way to get to know someone is through their home! đ
In a virtual home tour, you will have team members showcase a different part of their home each meeting. Maybe itâs a kitchen, a bedroom, or the living room. Or, you can select one or two team members each meeting to give the full home tour! Just remember to give employees a heads up before theyâre asked to show off their home so that they get the chance to tidy up. No one wants to be surprised by being asked to show off their kitchen on the day that they didnât do the dishes.
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A lunch & learn is a popular activity in the office, so why not make it remote? The key to a successful lunch & learn activity is to pay for your teamâs food so that everyone can eat and enjoy it together! You can do that by ordering food to their house, by giving everyone a gift card to a food delivery service, or by reimbursing their lunch up to a certain amount. đ„Ș
Then, while everyone is tucking in to their delicious lunch, have a guest speaker come in and teach something! You can have an expert come to talk about communication and networking, dealing with stress in a healthy way, self-care and mental health, or another topic thatâs relevant and helpful to your employees.
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A virtual scavenger hunt is always a good time. But if you donât have enough time in your agenda for a full-blown scavenger hunt, do a speedy one! âĄAt the top or the end of your conference call, send team members off on a quick scavenger huntâfirst one back wins!Â
Give your employees a time limit (we suggest 5 minutes), and have them find something like:
This activity will give your team members a quick boost of energy as they have the chance to get up from their desk, and something to discuss as you see what everybody brings back!
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Everybody loves a good brain teaser every once in a while. So, why not start your next conference call or virtual happy hour with a trivia challenge? A quick trivia question is a great way to get everyoneâs gears turning and minds warmed up for the meeting ahead. đ§
You can incentivize winning the trivia challenge even more by offering prizes for the people who answer the questions correctly. It doesnât have to be huge, something like leaving 30 minutes early or a cute piece of company swag is enough to get anyone excited!
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One-word story is a great improv game, even for your team members who suffer from a little bit of stage fright. In this game, each player takes a turn giving one word to contribute to the story. One at a time, your team members will tell a story about whatever it is that their teammates make up! đ
A quick improv game like one-word story is a good opportunity to help your employees think on their feet, get better at listening to one another, and to work as a team to get to the end of the story. Plus, itâs bound to generate a lot of laughs!
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Praise feels great. It motivates us to do better, helps us understand what the people around us perceive as a strength, and generally just boosts the mood! If you want to turn your team building activity into an opportunity to praise your valuable employees, then start each conference call off with a praise train! đ
You can do this one of two ways:
You can choose an employee to highlight each week, and have everyone in the meeting give them a compliment. Or, you can have each person give a compliment to the last person to speak.
Either way, this gives your team members the chance to create an open line of communication between each other, and thank each other for their contribution to the team.
âLike complimenting your team? Want to do it more? đ Give Workplace Gratitude a try!
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A quick team building activity at the start or finish of a conference call is a great way to keep everyone engaged, excited, and happy. But, if youâre craving an even deeper team-building connection with your employees, then why not plan an entire team building event? At Confetti, we custom create team building exercises that everyone can enjoy.
For more tips and ideas on virtual team building, check out our ultimate guide.
Before you jump into the agenda, consider starting your next conference call with a fun icebreaker or unique team building activity! You can do a quick trivia question, ask everyone to show off their pet, or play a team building game to get everyone engaged, in a good mood, and ready to get the meeting started. Plus, these activities help build trust between team members.
Icebreakers can be simple, deep, funny, or all of the above! Some good icebreakers that everyone will want to answer include asking people questions about their personal or work goals, asking about their music or movie preferences, or asking them something silly like, âWhat is a GIF that describes your week?â
Remote team meetings can be made fun by introducing a quick team building activity that is somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes long. Â Including an activity like bingo, trivia, or highs & lows into your meeting is sure to make it fun!
Learn all about team building, why it's so necessary in today's remote work world, and tips and ideas for integrating regular team building initiatives into your company culture.
Say so long to boring remote team building activities with these inspiring ideas from Confetti. By the time youâve wrapped up your virtual event, you will have a team that is happy, bonded, and ready to do great work.