18 Getting To Know You Activities For Team Building

Here is our list of the best getting to know you activities for team building.

Getting to know you activities are interactive games, exercises, and discussions that help coworkers learn more about each other’s personalities, interests, and characteristics. Examples include The Life Map, Name Acrostic, and Doodle Introductions. The purpose of these activities is to facilitate communication, trust, and understanding between team members.

These activities are similar to team building icebreakers and virtual team building activities. These ideas help boost team happiness and build stronger teams.

This list includes:

• get to know you games for adults
• no prep get to know you games
• get to know you games for work
• get to know you activities for students
• get to know you activities for adults
• team get to know you activities

Let’s get started!

List of getting to know you activities for team building

Getting to know you activities for team building help facilitate introductions and promote communication among team members. Such activities should be fun and engaging in building trust within the team. Here is our list of some of the best team get to know you activities.

1. Personal Soundtracks

Music is one of the top ways folks can bond. To help colleagues share their music tastes, try playing Personal Soundtracks!

Here is how to play the game:

1. Team members create playlists representing their lives and personalities.
2. Participants choose songs with personal significance, aligning with experiences, moods, or goals.
3. During a team meeting or sharing session, hosts play snippets of playlists.
4. Members then guess which playlist belongs to whom.
5. The playlist owner can then talk about the song and why it is significant to them.

This activity is a fun way to bond over shared interests and individual stories.

2. Get to Know You Poker

Poker is a classic relaxing pastime, and you can give it a get to know you twist with Get to Know You Poker!

Here is how to play the game:

1. Create a deck of cards featuring different personality traits rather than numbers.
2. Each participant draws a card.
3. Participants share personal stories related to the traits depicted on their cards.
4. Teams then discuss individual strengths and characteristics.

By combining chance and storytelling, Get to Know You Poker helps colleagues learn about diverse personalities contribute to team dynamics.

3. Personality Bingo

Personality Bingo is a fun and engaging get to know you activity that teams can use in various settings. In this activity, you will list team members’ exciting traits or hobbies.

Here is a template you can use:

Once you have your list of traits, create Bingo cards. During the game, participants will move around and find who matches each trait on their card. When the member finds a match, the other member will sign the square. Players who get five squares in a diagonal, horizontal, or vertical row say, ”Bingo!”

You can give a prize to the first player to get a Bingo and urge players to discuss their shared interests and unique traits. This fun and interactive activity will help team members get to know each other.

4. PechaKucha Presentations

PechaKucha is a platform that helps presenters tell a detailed yet concise story. To add this to your team building agenda, have teams create a PechaKucha presentation about their lives, workplace goals, or hobbies. Then, folks can present to the team!

Here is how to run this activity:

1. Team members prepare 20 slides on PechaKucha. This site displays each slide for 20 seconds before automatically moving to the next one.
2. Participants share stories and photos about their professional and personal journeys.
3. Audience members can then ask questions about each presentation.

This quick-paced and engaging presentation style encourages clarity, creativity, and brevity. PechaKucha presentations allow team members to share their stories efficiently. Presentation days are a captivating way for the team to learn about each other’s passions and experiences.

Learn more about PechaKucha.

5. Apple, Orange, and Banana

Apple, Orange, and Banana is a popular icebreaker activity that helps teams get to know each other.

Here is how to host the activity:

1. Ask team members about their favorite fruits and how they like to eat them.
2. Then, have the team members sit in a circle and pass around a basket filled with apples, oranges, and bananas.
3. As each team member takes a fruit, they will answer one of the prepared questions about that fruit. For example, if a member chooses an apple, then they could describe if it is better baked as a pie or sliced as a snack. Then, participants can share a favorite memory involving the fruit.

To add some friendly competition, you can divide the team into groups and have them devise the most creative way to incorporate all three fruits into a dish. Then, the winning team can enjoy their creation together as a team building reward.

6. Innovation Station

One important aspect to learn about colleagues is the way they like to problem-solve. You can learn this about each other, and maybe yourself, during Innovation Station!

Here is how to play the game:

1. Give participants materials like LEGO, Play-Doh, and craft supplies.
2. Participants make an object that represents their innovative mindset.
3. Teams can then check out each other’s creations and discuss problem-solving approaches.

This hands-on activity fosters collaboration, encouraging folks to exchange ideas in a unique and engaging way.

7. Jenga Questions

Hosting Jenga Questions for team building is a fun and unique way to encourage collaboration.

Here is how to play the game:

1. Select or create a set of Jenga blocks with personal and work-related questions written on them.
2. Encourage all team members to participate.
3. Participants will pull a block out, read the question, and share their answers with the audience.

Here are some examples of Jenga questions:

• What is the best piece of advice you have gotten?
• What is the most dangerous thing you have done?
• What is the strangest food combination you have tried?
• How do you deal with people who love to gossip?
• What is the funniest prank you have ever pulled?

This activity can help break the ice and create a relaxed environment where colleagues can learn more about each other beyond the office. To add an extra level of creativity, consider incorporating music to make the activity more engaging. Overall, the goal is to create a fun and interactive experience to improve team members’ communication and collaboration.

Check out this list of icebreaker questions to get you started.

8. Story Cubes Icebreaker

Story Cubes Icebreaker is a great addition to your list of getting to know you games. For this activity, all you need is some dice with pictures on them.

Here is how to play the game:

1. Participants roll dice featuring various images.
2. Each player shares a short story based on the images that land face up.
3. Stories can range from personal to professional experiences.

By including a wide range of images on the dice, you can foster connection and understanding among colleagues.

9. Personal Logo Design

The Personal Logo Design activity adds a creative touch to team introductions. Members create a visual representation of their professional identity.

Here is how to do this activity:

1. Give team members arts and crafts supplies. Alternatively, participants can make their logos online using tools like Canva.
2. Set a timer for colleagues to make their logos.
3. Employees will make a logo that represents either their work or personal lives.
4. Once the time is up, teammates will go around the room, share their logos, and discuss the meaning behind them.
5. Optionally, teams can make their logos their profile pictures on company sites like Slack.

Participants will learn more about each other’s skills, values, and goals through this experience. Further, teams will will learn more about each individual’s perception of themselves.

10. Life in Numbers

When looking for the top no prep get to know you games, check out Life in Numbers! Life in Numbers turns personal stories into a structured format. Team members pick a meaningful number and share three facts about it.

Here is how to host this activity:

1. Pick a number that is meaningful.
2. Write one to three reasons why the number is significant, like years of experience or languages spoken.
3. Go around the room and share why each number has a special meaning.
4. Optionally, let members jump into the discussion if they have a connection to a colleague’s number.

This numerical storytelling gives a quick yet personal insight into colleagues’ lives. The activity encourages folks to get to know each other and connect over shared experiences.

11. The Life Map

Hosting a Life Map activity is a great way to get to know your team and build stronger relationships in the workplace.

Here is how to host the activity:

1. Create a template for each team member to fill out.
2. The template can include sections like, “Where I grew up,” “My hobbies and interests,” and “My career aspirations.”
3. Ask members to present their maps to the rest of the team.
4. To make the activity more engaging, encourage team members to include photos or drawings.
5. Give a prize to the most creative life map.

Overall, the life map activity is an excellent way to build rapport, learn about coworkers, and encourage open communication among team members.

Here is some more info on how to create a life map.

12. Online Investigator

Online Investigator is one of the top get to know you activities for adults because it can provoke players’ detective skills.

Here is how to play the game:

1. Group players into pairs.
2. Ask each player to find out information about their partner online.
3. Members will search on Google and social media sites and note down the information they find.
4. Then, players will discuss the facts and see what information is false.
5. The pair with the most number of correct facts will win.

This game is a great activity to help coworkers know more about each other apart from the office environment. This activity will also disclose several new facts. For example, some employees might live a private life with no information on the Internet. On the other hand, other folks may be bloggers and influencers with different social media lives.

13. Tic-Tac-Toe For Passions

Hosting a Tic-Tac-Toe For Passions can be a great team building exercise that promotes communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

To make the exercise unique and creative, consider the following ideas:

1. Give each member a piece of paper with a tic-tac-toe box.
2. Players will write one of their passions in each box.
3. After writing, all players will move into the group and see if their passion matches another player’s interests.
4. If two boxes match, then both players sign on each other’s box.
5. The goal for each member is to make a diagonal, vertical, or horizontal line by matching passions.

​This activity will encourage discussion, and folks will learn which colleagues have similar mindsets.

Here are some more quick team building games to add to your roster.

14. One Line Story

The One Line Story activity is an exciting get to know you game that encourages communication and creativity.

Here is how to host the activity:

1. Divide the group into small teams of three to four.
2. Set a theme or specific genre for the story.
3. One member from each team will start narrating a tale by saying one sentence at a time, then pass it to the next person, who adds another. You can ask members to include sentences with experiences from their own lives.
4. Continue the pattern until each group member has spoken and the story ends satisfactorily.

After the activity, have the teams share their experiences, talk about any challenges, and congratulate the most creative story. This activity is an excellent way to encourage critical thinking and help team members build their communication and collaboration skills.

15. Who Am I?

Who Am I? involves giving team members clues about a group member without revealing their name. You can present these clues through riddles, trivia, short stories, or visual puzzles. Team members should then work together to determine who the individual is, building communication skills and encouraging interaction.

Another variation could be to ask team members to present an interesting fact about themselves without directly revealing their identity. The members will either say the facts aloud or write them on a paper for the host to read. Depending on the statements, other players will guess the name. This activity will encourage creativity and boost confidence within the group.

The key to a successful activity is to ensure all team members participate so it facilitates bonding and relationship building.

16. Name Acrostic

Name Acrostic helps teams learn each other’s names, encourages self-expression, and fosters a positive and diverse culture. The activity is among the best get to know you games for adults.

Here is how to play the game:

1. Ask each team member to share their full name.
2. Give each team member a few minutes to think of a word or phrase that describes them and starts with each letter of their name.
3. You can also ask team members to decorate their acrostic using images, symbols, or colors to make it more interesting. You could create these poems on paper or digitally and display them for the team to see.
4. Once all participants have completed their acrostics, ask each team member to present it to the group.

Encouraging creativity and creating a welcoming atmosphere are the keys to an effective Name Acrostic team building activity.

Check out this article and template on writing name acrostic poems.

17. Doodle Introductions

Hosting a Doodle Introduction activity for team building can be a creative way for team members to get to know each other. You can do this activity in person or remotely.

Here is how to host the activity:

1. Set the theme.
2. ​Provide participants with drawing tools, such as markers or pens.
3. Have each member draw a doodle that represents themselves.
4. ​Each participant will share their artwork with the group.
5. Encourage the group to guess what each drawing means.
6. ​Allow the creator to explain their artwork.

This activity allows the team to learn more about each other’s interests and personalities while fostering creativity and team bonding. You can even showcase the doodles on a team bulletin board or in a shared virtual space.

18. Blobs and Lines

Blobs and Lines is among the top fun and creative get to know you activities for students that can help team members connect and communicate.

To play the game, create some prompts instructing players to either group together or stand in a line based on shared experiences or preferences. For example, tell students who like the same superhero to blob together. Or, you could have players line up in order of how many languages they speak.

You can create as many or as few prompts as you would like. This game is a quick way to show players who they have shared interests with, which can foster friendships.

Check out this article to learn more about how to play Blobs and Lines.

Conclusion

In conclusion, getting to know you activities for team building are great for building rapport and improving communication. These activities help coworkers learn more about each other’s personalities, interests, and general characteristics, building positive relationships and trust. The key is to design activities that are engaging, inclusive, and respectful of each member’s comfort level.

Incorporating these unique activities into your workplace can create a positive and engaging environment that fosters teamwork and promotes creativity. You can also use these activities in other settings, such as schools or social gatherings. Overall, these exercises facilitate understanding and build stronger relationships among participants.

Next up, check out these articles on icebreaker questions, team building with remote staff, and small group team building ideas.