The Helium Stick Team Building Activity

by Derik Mocke
(Pretoria, South Africa)

This team building activity is a quick, fun way to let people experience that teamwork and employee motivation needs a constant focus...it won't happen by itself.

Time Needed

15 Minutes.

Number of participants:

Any number more than 8...the more the better.

Materials Needed

A stick of a bout 3 meters (10 feet) long

Set Up

• Divide the group in two subgroups of equal numbers
  
  
• Let both groups stand facing one another. Each person should stand opposite another person and shoulder to shoulder to someone else
  
  
• Every person bends his or her elbows 90 degrees. Their index finger should be pointing to the other person.
  
  
• Let them move their fingers closer to the opposite person so that the whole group form one line of fingers
  
  
• Now place the "Helium Stick" on top of the fingers, so that it rest on everyone?s collectives fingers
  
  
• Nobody is allowed to have their thumbs on top of the stick.
  

Objective

The group must lower the stick to the ground without letting their fingers leaving the stick.

Process

• You, as the trainer, hold your hand on top of the stick to make sure that everyone has contact with the stick
  
  
• Count to three and let them start the process.
  
  
• The stick ALWAYS goes up...yes up. What happens is that everyone are so pre-occupied with keeping contact with the stick that they overcompensate and the collective overcompensation let the stick goes up.
  
  
• Ask them what happened and debrief the actions.
  
  
• Let them try again and again until they manage to get the stick to the ground