The concept behind the activity
Starting the seminar day off the right way is essential to any successful team or communication-focused process. Surprise your participants with the TeamNavigator! This training tool allows you to turn the introduction of your seminar schedule into an interactive activity. This way, your seminar becomes an important team experience for the group – right from the start! With the TeamNavigator, you boost cooperation and a positive group feeling from the outset. Or, use it later during the process for teamwork and management training!
Facilitating the activity
All participants form a circle around the TeamNavigator. Every person picks up one or two of the ropes. The goal is to move the pen in the centre across a sheet of paper and draw an arbitrary shape, e.g. the company logo. Another possibility is to draw along a maze set by the trainer.
Name compass
Symbolically, the team members draw their way through the seminar day, following the lines of a maze. They experience in advance both swift progress and encounter potential bumps in the road. Instead of giving each other directions in the usual way (“up”, “down”, “left”, “right,” etc.), the participants are only allowed to use each other’s names (“A little more towards Julia and Tom!”). This is an unusual way of learning names that sets your seminar apart from anything the participants have seen before. The trainer may also prepare the paper sheet in advance with facilitation cards half hidden in slits. Whenever the pen lands on a card, the trainer reveals one of the day’s topics.
Guide dog
4–6 participants put on blindfolds. The others take the lead and verbally coordinate the drawing activity. The ‘blind’ experience the importance of sharing essential information; the seeing discover just how much precise instructions help overall success.
