As HR professionals and people leaders, it's easy to overlook team building activities due to the misconception that they require lengthy blocks on the calendar, extensive planning, or a hefty budget. However, investing in connection-building and camaraderie doesn't always have to consume hours of valuable work time. In fact, by incorporating quick team building activities into the beginning of meetings, you can seamlessly integrate them into your team's routine without disrupting productivity.
Promote teamwork with these speedy team building ideas, broken up into 5, 10, and 15-minute options.
Have a little extra time? 👉 Check out the experiences in our 30 Minutes and Less collection.
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The importance of building strong teams in your organization
It's all too easy for employees to become distant and disengaged, especially with the rise of remote-first teams. When you don't see your colleagues on a daily basis, working in silos can become the norm.
Team-building activities help remote and hybrid workers get to know other team members on a deeper level. These strong bonds can, in turn, build the trust that is so necessary for effective collaboration.
A strong sense of camaraderie and collaboration is good for more than just getting projects to the finish line. According to Gallup, it can also boost key metrics like talent attraction and retention. Employees who have a friend at work are more than twice as likely to say they are satisfied with their job and recommend the organization as a place to work.
A collaborative environment makes employees 29% more likely to stay with you for a year and up to 43% more likely to spend their entire career with your team.
5-minute team building activities:
1. One-word check-in 🙋
Start your team meetings by having everyone share one word that describes how they're feeling. If teammates feel stuck or have a hard time coming up with a word, you can provide some silly and serious suggestions on a printout filled with words and/or images, like "thoughtful" or "zany." Though teammates don't have to comment, they can use their active listening and empathy skills to note what's going on, and they might set aside a little time later in the day to ask someone who feels overwhelmed or tired how they can help.
2. Draw your mood ✏️
Have your team members grab a pen and paper and engage their creative thinking by drawing what's on their minds. For remote teams, try using an online whiteboard like Canva. Set a time limit of one to three minutes, and let your team use any artistic tools available to express how they're feeling. Then, give everyone a chance to explain their drawing and what each element represents.
3. Group counting 💯
Help your team members focus with this fun little counting game. Say that you're going to count to one hundred together, and kick it off by shouting, "One!" The trick is that everyone must shout in random order, and only one person can speak at a time. If anyone messes up the count or tries to speak at the same time, you have to start over. How high can you count within five minutes?
4. Gratitude sharing ❤️
Focusing on gratitude can help lower stress and raise team morale. It won't take long to ask everyone to share one thing they're truly grateful for in their personal or professional lives. This not only builds connections but also contributes to a positive workplace culture.
5. Group stretch 🧘♀️
According to the American Heart Association, regular movement can lower your risk of disease. Still, too many workers struggle between staying productive and getting enough exercise. You can help them out by making movement part of the workday.
All it takes is a few minutes for some light stretching or breathing exercises. You can even let other team members take the lead by teaching a few yoga poses or guiding everyone through a mindful movement session.
6. Emoji short stories ✍️
There's always someone who drops more emojis than words in the group chat. Put your team's deciphering skills to the test by asking them to write a three-sentence story using only emojis. Once everyone has shared their pictorial tales in the chat, team members can try to decipher the plot of each story. This activity is sure to bring lots of laughter as everyone tries to give their best interpretations.
7. Would you rather... ⁉️
Many team members might remember this old classic from their middle school days. All you have to do is come up with a few "this or that" style questions. While you can stick to everyday topics about hobbies or foods, the funniest rounds come from the most outrageous questions, such as "Would you rather try to outrun a lion or climb a tree to get away from a grizzly bear?"
8. Name that tune... 🎵
Got a bunch of audiophiles on your team? Take them down memory lane with the top tunes from different eras and genres. Gather a few popular songs and play a few seconds of each one. For a little friendly competition, have team members pair up and see which pair can name the song first. Bonus points if they can name the artist or sing the next line of the song.
If you want to spice up this team bonding game, consider adding a little incentive: The pair that names the most hits gets first dibs on choosing tasks for the next project!
9. Two truths and a lie 🤯
This classic team-building activity is perfect for when you're onboarding new team members. Just have your entire team come up with three "facts" about themselves. Of course, two of them will be true, and one of them won't. You can let your team drop them in the chat or read off their list one at a time.
This game is more fun when the truths are surprising and the lies are at least a little bit believable. It can challenge what colleagues think they already know about each other. Best of all, new team members will get to learn about their coworkers on a deeper level, building comfort and camaraderie right away.
10. 15-second showcase 🙏
Many people are hesitant to acknowledge their own strengths, but doing so can provide a huge confidence boost. At your next meeting, let everyone have a few seconds to give themselves a shout-out. They can show off a new skill or talk about a recent goal they hit. The point is to remind your team that they are all competent professionals whose work truly does matter.
11. Stranded on an island 🏝️
One of the best things about this game is that it needs nothing more than a little creative imagination. When your team gets together for their next meeting, you'll throw out a simple question. If you were stranded on an island, what's the one food item, book, or music album you would want to have over and over again until you were rescued?
This is a cool little laidback activity that can bring your team closer together by learning more about each other's personalities and preferences. If there's time, ask each team member to explain the context behind their answer. You never know...you may learn that one of your teammates has the same great taste as you!
12. What do you meme? 😏
It's time for all your TikTok experts to unite! To play this game, you'll need at least one coworker with some knowledge of trending memes. While all memes have an origin, you'll disregard that for now, instead putting your own spin on a viral picture.
For this activity, have your social media maven grab a few viral memes and throw them into a slideshow. Play it for your teammates and give everyone 30 seconds to come up with their own interpretation of the picture. This short game is sure to get the giggles going and the laughter flowing. You can even introduce a little friendly competition by offering a small prize for the funniest one!
13. Minute to win it ⏰
Minute-to-win-it games are notoriously challenging, but few things have been known to bring the fun and the funny like these chaotic one-minute mini competitions. There's lots of games to choose from for your office showdown, but it's best to stick to those that your remote teammates can do easily without having to scavenge up ping pong balls to lob at their light fixtures.
"Face the Cookie" is an excellent choice, as all it requires is one cookie and a friendly face. Teammates will place a cookie on their foreheads and then use their facial muscles to get it into their mouths. It sounds simple enough, but it's harder than you think! Find out who can move an Oreo from their hairline to their tongue in under 60 seconds!
14. Rock, paper, scissors tournament ✂️
Is there anyone who doesn't know how to play rock, paper, scissors? Probably not! If you've been looking for ways to bring the generations together in your virtual office, this is your opportunity. This game spans the ages and is something everyone can enjoy.
All you need to do is randomly pick two of your teammates to go head-to-head in a rock-paper-scissors battle. The person who wins two out of three showdowns moves on to the next round. The circle of winners just gets smaller and smaller until someone claims the ultimate victory.
15. Word association 🧠
There are plenty of ways to play a word association game. One fun variation is to let a teammate start with a word and then have the remaining teammates shout out another word that comes to mind when they hear the previous word. Keep the chain going until someone gets stuck and can't think of anything.
If you want to keep the game more focused (and introduce some fun), play a themed version where you shout out words associated with animals, colors, objects, or places. This game will get your minds moving and maybe bring a little laughter, too.
16. What's in the box? 📦
Select one individual to lead the game, who will then select an item (unseen by the other players) and place it in a box. The box itself should be visible to the other team members, but they should not be able to see what's inside.
All other team members take turns asking a single yes or no question about the item in the box. After each person has had a chance to ask one question, everyone should write down their guess about what's in the box. Anyone who gets the right answer gets a point for the round before play is passed to a new leader.
This activity is a great way to encourage collaboration, as players learn to work together to get the best possible information each round. Best of all, this activity is a fun way to find out what kinds of items are in employees' offices, even if everyone is playing remotely!
10-minute team building activities:
17. Round robin icebreakers 🧊
Enjoy friendly conversation and get your brain muscles moving with conversational icebreaker questions. Icebreakers often involve sharing personal stories or experiences, which enhances your team dynamic and helps employees get to know each other on a deeper level. We made a list of our favorite icebreaker questions to get you started.
Have some extra time? 👉 Invite your team to break the ice at Confetti's Water Cooler!
18. This or That ⚖️
Form team bonds through similar likes and interests. Introduce the game by explaining that participants will have to answer a series of rapid-fire this-or-that questions.
For example:
- Coffee or tea? ☕🫖
- Beach vacation or mountain getaway? 🏖️⛰️
- Pizza or burgers? 🍕🍔
- Morning person or night owl? ☀️🌛
- Reading a book or watching a movie? 📚🎥
- Summer or winter? ☀️❄️
- Cats or dogs? 😻🐶
- Sweet or savory? 🍫🧂
One person can lead the game by presenting the pairs to one person at a time, or the other team members as a whole. (If you're playing in a physical space with the entire team, you can encourage the team to move to different sides of the room to represent their answers. )
19. Desert Island 🏝
Set the scene by explaining to the participants that they are stranded on a desert island with limited resources. They can choose a certain number of items or categories to have with them for survival or enjoyment.
Define the rules of the game. For instance, participants may be limited to a specific number of items they can choose (e.g., five items) or categories they can select from (e.g., books, movies, food, tools, etc.). Allow each participant to take turns announcing their choices and explain why they chose those particular things.
20. The Name Game 👋
Everyone picks a unique gesture that embodies their name to start. This gesture could be anything from mimicking the first letter of their name to creating a movement that reflects their personality. For instance, someone named "Sarah" might draw an "S" shape in the air with their finger, while another individual named "Alex" might mimic holding an imaginary book due to their love for reading.
Once your team members pair their names with a gesture, the game starts with a brave team leader starting the game. They perform their name gesture, followed by someone else's gesture, and on and on you go.
21. Mindmeld 💬
Mindmeld is a collaborative game where two or more players count to three, and then say the first word that comes to their head. Trying to think of the commonality connecting the two words, players will count to three and say a new word. Players continue this process until they end up saying the same word, at which point they celebrate with a triumphant jubilee.
22. Roses and thorns 🌹
Nothing will bring your team together quite like a chance to encourage and support one another. This 10-minute activity gives colleagues a chance to decompress and process what's going on at work in the company of people who truly understand.
Team building activities like this are especially important for remote teams. Research has shown that working from home can sometimes lead to feelings of burnout and loneliness if employees don't properly manage their stressors.
At the beginning of your next team meeting, give everyone an opportunity to talk it out. Each participant will have two minutes to share their roses and thorns, which are the best and most challenging things that have happened to them this week.
You never know who will step up to offer support in the form of creative solutions or a word of encouragement. This, in turn, can enhance company culture and make new team members feel more comfortable sharing their struggles and celebrating triumphs.
23. Shazam! 🎶
This game show classic is one of the easiest team building games for virtual teams. Just play a snippet of a song from any era and let colleagues guess the artist or the title.
This is the perfect choice to bring multigenerational teams together, as team members from every age group will get to learn about songs from their coworkers' eras. You'll also get to learn a lot about everyone's personalities as you come to find out which songs they know and love.
Have some extra time? 👉 See who knows the classics with Confetti's Boom Box experience!
15-minute team building activities:
24. Three-headed expert 🙂🙂🙂
Three experts, four players. One is asking deep questions to a thought leader in their field, the only thing is — that expert has three heads! Three players can only speak one word at a time, but still have to make sense and speak in complete sentences. This is a goofy way to improve communication skills and work as a team!
25. Virtual Coffee Break ☕️
Everyone needs a team break now and then, so plan time for employees to recharge with a coffee or treat of their choice together! Low-stakes activities like a virtual coffee break are great moments to put on the company calendar for your employees who want to catch up on that latest show everyone's talking about, share their weekend plans, check in about their weeks, or whatever connection they're looking for!
26. Group meditation 🧘
Deep breath in, deep breath out. You’d be surprised how much fresh oxygen brings peace to the mind and calm to the body, as well as how group meditation can boost team morale and employee well-being. There are tons of free guided meditations available on Youtube.
Have some extra time? 👉 Take a Meditation Class with a live instructor!
27. Two Truths and a Lie ✌️
Two Truths and a Lie is a classic icebreaker game where everyone shares three statements about themselves: two truths and one lie. The other participants then try to discuss and guess which statement is the lie. Once everyone has made their guesses, the player reveals which statement was the lie. It's a fun and engaging way to get to know each other better while encouraging critical thinking and observation skills.
Have some extra time? 👉 Play Two Truths and a Lie led by one of Confetti's lively game hosts!
28. Share the love 💌
Have team members take turns expressing appreciation for someone else in the group. Give everyone listening a chance to chime in with their own anecdotes as well. This easy and spontaneous activity fosters a positive workplace community and boosts feelings of belonging.
Have some extra time? 👉 Book a round of Workplace Gratitude to make it a longer celebration!
29. Mini team trivia tournament 🙋♀️
Do you ever feel like you have lots of useless knowledge living rent-free in your head? Your remote team probably feels the same way. A mini trivia tournament will give each team member the chance to put all of the random facts they know to good use.
All you need to do for this game is to pull together a list of fun trivia questions. Try to vary the question difficulty so the game doesn't become boring. After all, you've got to make participants work for their wins.
If you're playing around a particular holiday or at the height of a sports season, consider creating a themed trivia game to add to the fun. You can break up into teams or have individual colleagues go head-to-head. Either way, there's sure to be lots of laughter and yelling, and maybe even a few "Aha!" moments.
30. Get moving 🧘
According to data from Gallup, employee well-being is currently at an all-time low. Employees are more stressed than ever for myriad reasons. Some may be having a hard time with heavy workloads; others may find it difficult to achieve a healthy work-life balance, especially in a remote or hybrid environment.
Fortunately, you can help them stay engaged and active in just 15 minutes a week. It is widely known that movement is a good thing for the body and mind, so why not incorporate it into your next meeting? You don't need an elaborate team building activity to achieve this goal.
Simply take some time to guide your team through a meditation exercise or some yoga poses. Not only will this teach them some breathing and stretching techniques they can use on their own time, but it can also promote relaxation and well-being at work, leading to increased productivity and performance.
Have some extra time? 👉 Confetti's Laughter Yoga will get your team moving — and laughing — together for the ultimate de-stress activity!
Book a quick team building activity with Confetti 🎉
As you can see from the ideas above, you don't need a full hour to improve team morale and foster a supportive team culture. Even five quick minutes of connection boosts team morale and makes your team members feel valued.
Enhance team dynamics with short team building activities with Confetti! Visit our 30 Mins or Less collection to get started.
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Frequently Asked Questions ⁉️
What is a quick team building activity?
Quick team building activities require no special preparation, making them perfect for a short break during a meeting. One effective example is "Two Truths and a Lie." In this game, each team member shares two true facts and one false fact about themselves, and others guess which one is the lie. This activity helps team members learn interesting things about each other in a fun and engaging way.
What are good team bonding questions?
Good team bonding questions help team members connect on a personal level. Asking about the most interesting place someone has visited can lead to sharing memorable travel experiences. Questions like "If you could have dinner with any three people, dead or alive, who would they be?" encourage imaginative thinking and reveal personal values. Discussing favorite movies, hobbies, or the best books read recently can uncover common interests and spark deeper conversations.
How often should we incorporate team building activities into our schedule?
The frequency of team building activities depends on your team's needs and workload. However, incorporating them regularly, such as once a month or quarter, can significantly benefit team dynamics. Regular team building sessions help maintain high morale, improve communication, and strengthen relationships. For busy teams, even short activities during weekly meetings can provide a quick boost to team cohesion and productivity.
