In this activity, the team has to instruct their “artist” to draw an item. They have to describe their chosen item without revealing what it is and they are not able to see what the “artist” is drawing. At the end of the activity, the team whose drawing is closest to the actual item wins.
Resources: Flipcharts, markers. A small selection of everyday items (for example: a coin, a well-known company logo, a pencil, a bottle, a key, etc). You could also print pictures instead of actual items.
Space Required: Small. Ideally indoors.
Group Size: 6 – 20 is ideal. Each small team should have 4 – 6 participants.
Total Time: 30 minutes
- 10 minutes to brief and setup
- 10 minutes for the activity
- 10 minutes to review and debrief
Running the Activity
- Explain the activity: Each team appoints a member to be the “artist” and the “artist” is then separated from the rest of the group. The remaining members select an item from those provided by the facilitator and will instruct the “artist” to draw it without saying what the item is. There is a time limit of 3 minutes for the drawing to be completed. Each flipchart is positioned to face away from the group so that they cannot see what the “artist” is drawing. The team whose drawing is closest to the actual item they picked wins the game.
- Get each team to appoint their “artist” who is then separated from the group. Each team selects an item from those provided.
- Once they are ready, they can begin the activity.
- At the end of the activity, all the drawings are revealed.
Rules
- The team cannot tell the “artist” what their item is; they can only give instructions.
- The “artist” cannot ask any questions and can only draw based on the instructions given by their team.
- There is a time limit of 3 minutes for the drawing to be completed.
Suggested Learning Outcomes
- Communication
- Creative thinking
Activity Guidance and Notes
This activity is great for promoting communication skills. While it sounds like an easy task, the one-way communication from the team to their “artist” needs to be precise in order for the “artist” get the drawing right.
It may be useful to run this activity in two rounds; after the first round, the team will realize how important it is to be detailed in their instructions. Challenge the teams to do better in the second round.
Review
Suggested questions to ask:
- How well did the team describe the item to their “artist”?
- How well did the “artist” understand the instructions and how close were they to duplicating the actual item?
- What problems did you encounter during the challenge?
- Did you identify a leader?
- What leadership was demonstrated during the challenge?
- How well did you communicate during the challenge?
- (If the activity is done in two rounds) How did the team act differently in the second round?
- What did you learn from the challenge?
More Team Building Ideas
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