Strengthening communication skills is a fundamental way team building activities can benefit your organization. Effective teamwork depends on good communication. When team members communicate effectively through active listening and clarity, they work better together. Additionally, team events to strengthen communication skills help prevent misunderstandings and make conflict resolution easier.
Unfortunately, poor communication among team members is at the root of many problems in the workplace. Failure to convey messages with clarity and purpose often results in conflict, lost opportunities, missed deadlines, and resentment.
However, good communication in the workplace is not only for effective teamwork. It enhances employee engagement, morale, satisfaction, and productivity. And when individual team members feel happy, the entire team benefits.
In this article, you will learn how organizing team building exercises can strengthen communication. You will also find out the best activities to develop strong teams who communicate effectively.
What Are Good Team Communication Skills?
Communication in a team is more than just talking constantly. And effective communication requires more than just transmitting information. To communicate effectively in a team, each member must convey the message correctly. Additionally, the receiver must understand and interpret the correct purpose of the message.
The different types of communication skills required by a team include verbal and non-verbal communication, visual interactions, and written communication. However, there are also different communication styles to be aware of. These include being assertive, passive, aggressive, and passive-aggressive.
For example, the team leader typically has to demonstrate leadership skills by being assertive. However, a team member who acts in a passive-aggressive way can destroy team morale.
Team Building Activities and Strong Communication Skills
The need to strengthen communication skills in a team becomes apparent when you consider team dynamics. Putting together a group of people doesn’t equate to team building. Instead, individual members must learn teamwork and how to interact in a way that benefits the entire team. Only this way can the team work toward a common goal.
There is another reason why fun team building games help to strengthen communication skills. Regular team activities act as preventative maintenance. For example, think of the working parts of your car. They need regular servicing to work effectively. Otherwise, they will eventually break down, and you will face a huge repair bill.
Think of team building activities as a way to “service” your team. For example, effective teamwork and communication coaching can help sharpen how individual team members communicate. This results in the team working more productively. And you don’t have to spend time and resources on “repairs”—in other words, no lengthy conflict resolution sessions.
How Team Building Can Strengthen Communication Skills
What is it about team building that makes it one of the best tools to boost communication skills? There are several reasons for this. First, team activities are ideal for team bonding. Second, they help to teach team members how others in the team think. Third, working together can help to develop problem-solving skills while being fun at the same time.
Many fun team building games are designed to address specific communication skills. These activities can be part of a corporate retreat, indoor team building event, or outdoor off-site day outings for employees.
Here are some of the ways that team building helps improve communication:
- Team members work together on problem-solving skills
- Challenges to improve leadership skills
- Activities to improve collaboration and teamwork
- Fun games to encourage outside-the-box thinking
- Exercises to strengthen teamwork under pressure and with time constraints
- Charitable events that encourage empathy
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Several studies show that teamwork training boosts the effectiveness of teams. And organizing regular events focused on improving interpersonal skills is the best way to do that.
Seven Exercises to Strengthen Communication Skill Among Team Members
What are some of the best team building events you can organize to improve teamwork in your organization? Full Tilt Team Development organizes regular team building events for corporations large and small. Many of these have the specific goal of boosting commutation skills. Here are the top team bonding events to help teams communicate better.
1. Bicycle Build Challenge
The Bicycle Build Challenge for Charity is an event that provides a fun opportunity for team members to come together and build bikes for charity. This activity creates positive memories and camaraderie among participants. In addition, it emphasizes developing clear communication skills, time management, and leadership.
How does the event work? First, teams must complete several challenges to earn tools and components to build bicycles. Then, they have to assemble and test them. Finally, to win, teams go through an obstacle course and several challenges to test their creations.
After the event, the bikes are donated to a local charity.
Key outcomes and benefits:
- Communication focused
- Time management and collaboration skills to strengthen team cohesion
- Leadership skills
2. The Domino Effect Challenge
The Domino Effect Challenge is a highly collaborative team building exercise to encourage teamwork and get creative juices flowing. Each team must create an intricate and inspiring machine that performs a basic task. To complete the challenge, each team has a budget and must acquire items and materials to build their machine.
This team building event is not only about seeing which team is the best. Instead, it helps teams to work together to connect their machines and see if their collaborative efforts have paid off. Our facilitators have curveballs built into the event to make the event more fun.
Key outcomes and benefits:
- Learn how to work together toward a common goal
- Foster strong relationships between team members
- Develop skills to think outside the box
- Work together as a team under pressure
- Learn how to plan for unexpected events
3. The Wheelchair Build Challenge
The Wheelchair Build Challenge is a team building event focused on strengthening communication skills. This fun and meaningful activity brings together team members to enhance collaboration and empathy. The team bonding event also raises awareness about issues related to people living with physical challenges.
How does this fun activity help teams strengthen communication skills? First, individual team members must collaborate effectively to earn tools and supplies to build functional wheelchairs. After that, they must navigate a series of obstacle courses to test their effectiveness. At the end of the event, wheelchairs are donated to a local charity.
Key outcomes and benefits:
- Highly collaborative team-based activities
- Strong focus on strengthening communication skills
- Help to develop empathy for people living with mobility, visual, and communication challenges
4. Spuds of Thunder
Spuds of Thunder is a fun team building activity to help teams work better together. This team building event helps employees develop and strengthen their personal relationships. Team members have the chance to build their fortress that must withstand a potato bombardment. This creative event is an excellent way to develop strong leadership and communication skills.
One of the benefits of the Spuds of Thunder event is that it fosters positive communication between departments. Breaking down silos is a crucial part of team building in large organizations. In addition, this is one of the few events to simulate requests for proposals—a vital skill for employees to learn to help grow a business.
Key outcomes and benefits:
- Strengthen communication and leadership skills
- Help create successful teams that work better together
- Break down silos in large organizations
- Develop critical thinking strategies
- Teach team members from different departments to collaborate
5. The Art of Flight
The Art of Flight Challenge is a highly collaborative team building exercise that gets teams working toward a common goal. In this event, teams must budget for materials and supplies to build a cardboard glider that stays in the air. The winning team is awarded the “Full Tilt Travel’s Aircraft Building Contract.”
However, nothing is as it seems. Our facilitators are on hand to direct the activities, including throwing curve balls during the operation. These can include new time constraints, design parameters, and mandatory use of specific materials.
Key outcomes and benefits:
- Improve communication between team members
- Training to think outside the box and solve problems
- Learning how to work effectively in a time-constraint environment
- Develop leadership skills and realize leadership potential
6. The Human Dog Sled
The Human Dog Sled Challenge is one of the most popular winter team building events that Full Tilt organizes.
Ideal for a company retreat in a ski resort or snowy environment, this challenge gets teams communicating effectively under pressure. The goal is to build a functional dog sled out of cardboard. This event promises to provide tangible lessons that can be carried over into the workplace.
This fun-filled activity incorporates several elements to foster healthy communication skills and teamwork. First, teams must construct a cardboard sled that withstands traveling through a winter landscape. Second, the teams must drive the sled, aiming to be first in the race. And finally, crucial lessons learned benefit marketing, teamwork, and branding.
Key outcomes and benefits:
- Develop communication and active listening skills
- Seeing a challenging project through to its finish
- Adjusting and adapting to unforeseen changes
- Brand building
7. Peacock Picnic
The famous Team Tilt Peacock Picnic combines a culinary experience with team bonding activities. Each team has to develop an inspiring concept and then design and create an irresistible picnic spread. Teams must develop an enticing menu, think about branding, and present the best picnic imaginable.
The Peacock Picnic is based on imaginative challenges that help individual members communicate effectively. From the outset, teams must have a clear goal and work together to complete it. The beauty of this event is that everyone gets to share in part of the feast.
Key outcomes and benefits:
- Develop a strong interpersonal relationship between team members
- Help teams unite behind an inspiring idea
- Develop creative thinking in a relaxed environment
- Foster positive communication and teamwork
Strengthening Communication Skills Through Team Building
In conclusion, team building exercises are a great way to improve organizational communication skills. These fun-filled activities allow employees to deal with conflict, handle difficult situations, and overcome obstacles in a friendly environment.
Are you looking for ways to strengthen your organization’s culture and foster positive communication between employees? If so, call Full Tilt at 310-400-6285 or contact us via this easy online form. A member of our team is ready to advise on the best team building strategies to strengthen communication skills in your organization.