Let people pair up with the person in the room they know least about. Have them interview each other for a set amount of time, then present the other person to the rest of the group.
Outcome:
A quick icebreaker to get to know the person you know least about a lot better.
DETAILS
- Group Size: 2+
- Time: 11-20
- Props: No
Details
- Category: I
- Class: Physical
- Video: No
PROPS
No props are needed for this energizer.
VIDEO
No video is available for this energizer.
Description
Setting it up:
Start by having the group divide into two-person teams. Tell them that they should pick the partner they know absolutely least about. Have them work together for about 10-20 minutes where they interview each other (with 10 minutes, 5 minutes each, with 20 minutes, 10 minutes each). You can either prepare the questions beforehand or just give them some ideas for the interview:
What do they like about…?
Their hobbies
Their family
Their past and/or present job
Sports
Politics
Etc.
Have some of them present the other person for the group afterwards (if it’s a big group, just pick a couple of people to present so you keep momentum high).
This is just a quick and easy way to get to know a person they wouldn’t normally know much about.
Facilitation:
You can easily use this in connection with business as well. Instead of having people talk about themselves, pick a topic which is relevant for the group at the given time. Do it the same way, but instead of picking the person they know least about, either have them pick someone from another department or the person they communicate the least with in the office.
Topics they could talk about:
Management
Strategy
Company values
Change processes
Implementation of IT
Etc.
Give them 5 minutes to interview each other and see what they learn. With implementation of a new IT system for instance, they might find that the finance department is thrilled since the current system doesn’t work, that it hurts production time, that they waste an hour a day doing things manually etc.
The sales department however thinks it’s horrible! Their end of the IT system is pretty flawless. Easy access to customer history. It’s easy to pick products, keep track of part numbers etc.
Once they’ve had a chance to talk, take the dialogue and make it more public. What did they discover? Is there ways where some features could be kept and others replaced? What should it be? What’s good? What’s bad? Etc.
Facilitation Notes:
For this to work, it’s important that people are in different departments. If they’re just interviewing someone sitting next to them in the office, there’s a good chance they’ll have exactly the same views and opinions which makes this energizer worthless. Make sure to split them up.
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