Balloon Balance
Enhance Your Facilitation Skills
Experience these Activities!
HAVE A BLAST! |
from: “99 of the best
Experiential Corporate Games We Know!” - Activity #85 - Used
with Permission.
SETUP:
INTENT:
To identifying supporting factors that help balance
people.
ACTION:
Group balances a member on a bed of supportive
balloons.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Make sure the ground being used is not likely to
burst balloons, or use a tarp or blanket between balloons and its
surface.
PREPARATION:
Distribute one balloon to each person. Ask them to
inflate it and tie off the neck. Have a few extras ready to replace
the couple that burst. Give each person a fat tipped permanent
marker (NOT pointed pen) and
ask them to write their name on the balloon. You may use balloon
colors to divide a large group into small ones.
SCRIPT:
Along with your name on the balloon, write something
you do to support people in your group as they try new things and
take risks (people do this). Now, I'd like to get one volunteer who
is willing to try something new and take the risk of lying down on
the supporting balloons of the group. Any takers? (get a
volunteer).
Okay, the challenge here is to float or balance this
risk taker, who may metaphorically represent the team or your
company, on a bed of support without touching anyone or anything
other than balloons and without anyone holding balloons in place.
You can help your group member into position, but support must be by
balloons only. Any questions? (give the group ten minutes to
strategize, then five minutes to actually "float" the person, and
decide if you will allow other groups to share their balloons and
spread the
support around).
(Click for larger pic)
VARIATIONS
Extend the challenge by very carefully withdrawing
one balloon at a time and experimenting with the fewest number to
float a person. Float several people, side by side, at the same
time. Change the topic from support to commitments or contributions.
What does one do with leftover balloons? Many can be
saved and used again in another program, or you can have partners
hug one another, while squeezing a balloon between their bodies,
trying to burst it quickly: Fire in the Hole!
 Sam
is the founder of DoingWorks
Inc., a training organization that specializes in experiential
learning techniques. Sam trains, facilitates, and speaks in a
variety of corporate and educational settings including Fortune 500
companies, small businesses and universities. Best known for his
creativity, Sam has trained groups of as few as two people and as
many as three thousand.
No, Sam didn't really snap the trap on his lip. |
