Best of Energisers and Pacechangers
100 fun and quick activities for getting and keeping participants in a great learning state!
1: Mexican wave
Great fun, and effective as an energiser or a pacechanger. Most participants will be familiar with the Mexican wave, but it takes teamwork and practice to reach the maximum speed.
2: Mind-reader
Participants use mental arithmetic and quick thinking to answer this brain-teaser. A trainer-led activity that may surprise.
3: Flipchart islands
A lively way to relieve tension. Participants compete to escape shark-infested water and reach the safety of a dwindling number of islands.
4: The blind men and the elephant
This activity highlights the importance of having a full and
accurate picture before reaching a conclusion. Participants listen to a poem based on a Hindu fable; it is amusing but it certainly makes the point.
5: Spy master
Participants work in teams to prepare a route to allow their spies to rendezvous. This enjoyable and absorbing activity highlights a wide range of skills.
6: Team identity
This practical and creative activity encourages team building and competitive instinct. Participants work together to create an identity and logo for their team.
7: Pass it on
A fun energiser using different motor skills, this is a version of the well-known party game Îpass the parcelÌ. Participants pass a bag without using their hands, but can they guess what it contains?
8: The dog, the rabbit and the carrots
An enjoyable mental energiser that will test participantsÌ teamwork against the clock. They must think creatively to solve this version of the classic river crossing problem.
9: Move your feet
This short activity calls for creativity and staying power. Participants stand face to face, hands palm to palm, with their
partners; but can they make them move their feet?
10: How the robin got his red breast
Participants listen to a well-known story and look for parallels
their own organisations. A thoughtful activity that is ideal for changing the pace of a training session.
11: Brainteasers
A series of word puzzles that can be solved only by creative
thinking and looking at things in a different light. An ideal energiser for individual or team work.
12: Water torture
Participants need creativity and teamwork to solve this tricky
brain-teaser. It involves filling a container with a specific amount of water; there is no direct way of measuring, but it can be done.
13: Battleships
An excellent activity for changing the pace of a training session. Most participants will be familiar with this game which can be played in pairs or teams.
14: Magic trick
In this activity, participants work in pairs or small teams to solve a magic trick. An effective energiser that calls for creative thinking and ingenuity.
15: People letters
A fun energiser that should cause some amusement. Participants work in teams and each team has to make a word, spelling each letter by representing it with their bodies.
16: Relaxation
Participants are guided through a short relaxation exercise,
allowing them to return to the task in hand calm and refocused. An excellent way to change the pace or relieve tension.
17: Exotic fruits
This fast-moving game will test quick thinking and memory.
Participants each choose the name of an exotic fruit; but can they remember whoÌs who? An excellent pacechanger at any stage of a training session.
18: Laughter
Laughter is infectious and a great tension reliever. Participants may be slow to start but will soon join in. A brief and hilarious energiser!
19: Tented city
A fun activity to develop participantsÌ verbal communication
skills. One team member is blindfolded and asked to construct a paper tent, guided by instructions from the rest of the team.
20: Emergency rescue
This activity highlights the various skills needed to run and
contribute to a successful planning meeting. Participants represent the emergency funding committee of a major hospital; their task is to decide areas for cutback.
21: Add a letter
Participants are asked to solve some brain-teasing word puzzles. Can teamwork improve the process?
22: Music energiser
Music is a wonderful energiser! Teams of participants compete to identify well-known songs.
23: Bingo
In this version of the game, participants aim to place as many of the same numbers in a row as possible. An enjoyable test of decision-making skills.
24: Rabbits
A fast-moving, fun activity that takes participants back to a childhood action game. This amusing energiser leads to a discussion of the role of fun and humour in the workplace.
25: The tale of the crab and the fishes
Participants work individually to solve a series of riddles, but
discover that they need to pool their resources to find the final solution.
26: Tower of pegs
A creative energiser that calls for teamwork to solve a problem. Working against the clock, teams of participants compete to build the tallest tower.
27: Problem solving
In real life, this activity would be a nightmare! Can participants
work as a team to solve this motoring problem and get their vehicle back on the road?
28: Creative quiz
A fun way to test creativity. Participants work in small teams to solve word puzzles.
29: Relaxation technique
A calming activity to clear the mind and body of tension. Participants sit comfortably as the trainer guides them through simple mental and physical relaxation exercise.
30: Practice makes perfect
Participants work in teams to make the longest paper chain of
words; a practical task with a competitive element. This is an ideal activity to emphasise task management and continuous
improvement.
31: Pairing syllables
In this word game, participants are asked to pair syllables to make two-syllable words. Can they remember their answers or would pen and paper help?
32: Mummy
Working in teams of three, participants use a roll of toilet paper to wrap one team member to represent a ÎmummyÌ. Teamwork and cooperation are required; if the paper is broken, the team is disqualified.
33: Working in style
This activity can be introduced at intervals throughout a training event. Participants speak for 1 minute on a given topic and in a given style. An effective pacechanger that encourages selfconfidence.
34: Team performance
A lively and potentially hilarious activity to develop self confidence and presentation skills. Participants put on an audio and visual performance with a nautical theme.
35: Stress management
Participants try out three different techniques to combat stress at work. An excellent activity for relieving tension and changing the pace of a training session.
36: Human table football
This activity is a fun way to emphasise the importance of teamwork. Participants form two lines facing each other for a
game based on table football.
37: Objective setting
An enjoyable game that calls for imagination and diverse skills. Participants work in teams to set objectives for each other to achieve, using only flipchart paper and coloured marker pens.
38: On tap
Test participantsÌ sensory acuity and attentiveness for developing personal awareness to physical communication and team spirit.
39: North, south, east or west?
Confusion reigns as participants attempt to follow the trainerÌs
ambiguous directions. What a difference a compass can make! An amusing energiser that brings out the importance of setting clear objectives.
40: Fruit salad
A lively energiser that creates a fun atmosphere. This is a version of the childrenÌs party game of musical chairs, but with a difference; all the participants remain in the game.
41: Thirty-second sound bites
An activity that can be used at intervals throughout a training
session to increase self-confidence and presentation skills. Participants are given a topic and asked to give a 30-second talk.
42: YouÌre having a laugh!
Laughter is excellent therapy! In this activity, each participant in turn attempts to keep a straight face while a colleague tries to make them laugh.
43: Hole in my bucket
Participants work outdoors to achieve this team challenge. A fun energiser involving creative problem solving and quite a lot of water!
44: Rope tricks
An absorbing energiser with a competitive element. Participants work in teams to create as many words as possible using a 5-metre length of rope or string.
45: Stepping stones
An active way to relieve tension. Participants work together to get every member of their team safely across the river.
46: Mr Smiley
This activity may produce amusing results. Working in pairs, one participant follows their partnerÌs instructions to draw a smiley face. A simple task, but they must do it with their eyes closed.
47: Flipchart charades
A fun and fast-moving competition for teams of participants. Using only pictures and symbols, one member of each team
communicates a given message to the others.
48: One to ten in Japanese
An excellent activity to energise a group. Using sounds and actions, participants learn to count in Japanese.
49: Mirroring
A practical exercise to highlight non-verbal communication. Participants work in pairs, but only one partner in each pair
knows the objective of the exercise; an excellent way to
demonstrate the phenomenon of mirroring.
50: Strange shapes
Participants work in teams, and in silence, to solve a problem, but discover that collaboration between the teams will be necessary. An energiser that brings out the need for trust and clear communication.
51: The power nap
This is a very effective activity to use after a lunch break.
Participants go with the natural flow and take a 5-minute power nap followed by some shaking around to music or with musical instruments.
52: Valuable words
A competitive word game to test participantsÌ staying power. To stay in the game, they take turns to make three-letter words that must continue a numerical sequence.
53: Message in a bottle
Participants work in teams to decide how to retrieve a message from a bottle that is in a prohibited zone. A fun energiser with a competitive element; the first team to decode the message wins.
54: The jug
A quiet activity, ideal for changing the pace of a training session. Participants may have heard this story before, but the plenary discussion that follows gives them opportunity to explore its implications.
55: Fox and geese
Participants need planning skills and staying power to win this
chequer-board game. Can the fox pass the line of geese, or will the geese trap the fox?
56: The young alchemist
An excellent activity for changing the pace of a training session. Participants listen to a thought-provoking story that enables discussion on a range of themes, particularly communication and people-management skills.
57: What do we delegate to whom?
Participants work in pairs or small teams to prepare an induction programme for nine new employees. An exercise in planning and delegation, this activity requires time-management and organisational skills.
58: Circulate
A lively activity for which participants need negotiating and
planning skills. They work in teams to create a circular track
around which a marble can travel, but first they must barter for materials.
59: Paper cups
An exercise in communication that calls for active listening and effective questioning. Participants are asked to reproduce a design that only one of member of the team has seen.
60: All change!
This activity is a search for information concealed in the housemove plans of several people. Participants work in teams, against the clock. A variety of skills are needed, particularly leadership, task management and the ability to manage change.
61: Symbolic values
In this activity, participants work individually to solve a numerical puzzle. The first to finish is the winner.
62: Super team!
An enjoyable but highly competitive activity that highlights a range of leadership and team-building skills. Participants are awarded points for each success and try to achieve 100 within a tight time frame.
63: Move along the coach
This exercise in teamwork brings out leadership and empowerment skills. Participants imagine they are travelling by coach; an exit door jams and they are no longer seated in the right order to get off the coach.
64: Internet research
An excellent activity to change the pace of a training session. Participants use the Internet to verify their answers to a list of
questions.
65: Draw what I say
Participants are asked to follow verbal instructions to draw a picture, but no questions are allowed. An activity that may produce hilarious results!
66: What do these numbers mean to you?
This activity is a brain-teaser against the clock. Participants are shown a number and told that they will all be able to relate to it. Their task is to explain why.
67: Work it in
Working in small groups, participants engage in conversation and try to introduce given words and phrases. An excellent energiser that also develops communication skills.
68: Crickets in New York
Change the pace of a training session with the story of a Native American amidst the rush and noise of New York. This activity is ideal to promote discussion on a range of business skills.
69: LandÌs End to John OÌGroats
Team communication is an important element in this absorbing
energiser. Each team of participants represents a group raising money for charity by travelling between LandÌs End and John OÌGroats by the most cost-effective route.
70: Consecutive squares
A fun activity with an element of competition. Participants work in teams to solve a grid puzzle.
71: Word search
Teams of participants compete to find as many words as possible within one long word.
72: The metaphor game
A team game where participants guess the identity of a colleague from clues that are all metaphors. This activity may allow them to see how they are perceived by others!
73: Smiling
This brief activity asks participants to make each other smile just by smiling at each other. An enjoyable exercise that really works; effective as an energiser or as an icebreaker.
74: Cascading words
Participants work in teams to make a cascade of 25 words. The first team to complete the task correctly is the winner, but this calls for accuracy under pressure.
75: Number crunching
In this mental energiser, participants are asked to solve a series of brain-teasers involving numbers and related words. A timed exercise that brings out creative thinking and teamwork.
76: Star numbers
In this activity, participants work individually or in teams to solve a numerical puzzle. The first to finish is the winner.
77: Square dance
A lively energiser to relieve tension and restore focus. This classic square dance movement calls for concentration, and knowing left from right!
78: Witches, giants, goblins
Participants play five rounds of this hilarious game to find a winner. In each round, they choose to be witches, giants or goblins and must perform the appropriate sounds and actions!
79: Word stairs
A fun way to assess team working and assertiveness. Teams compete to build the longest word stair; all words start with the same letter, but each word must be one letter longer than the previous word.
80: Three words
In this energiser, participants have 10 minutes to solve a word puzzle. They work individually to rearrange three-letter
combinations to make three English words.
81: Pass the ball
A lively way to review learning. Participants must answer a question correctly to stay in the game.
82: WhatÌs on top?
This brief activity allows participants to talk about the concerns that are uppermost in their thoughts. A powerful way to clear the mind and restore concentration for the task in hand.
83: Origami
A fun energiser thatÌs very easy when you know how! Participants will have to think creatively to find the solution to this paper puzzle.
84: Tension reliever
Participants learn to massage each otherÌs shoulders in this practical exercise. An excellent activity to relieve tension and
manage stress.
85: Managing your time
An absorbing activity where participants work in small teams to prioritise an account managerÌs activities for the following week. Excellent for developing organisational and time-management skills.
86: Word teasers
In this activity, participants need to think creatively to find hidden words and phrases in a series of word puzzles. ItÌs easy when you know how!
87: Observation
This is a test of observation and memory. Teams of participants are given 1 minute to study a Lego* tower before working to produce a replica.
88: Boxing match
Participants work in pairs to join up dots on a grid to form squares. A simple game that calls for clear decision making and will bring out their competitive instinct.
89: Word grid
A competition against the clock. Which participant can make the most words from a given grid of letters.
90: Odd one out
Successful teamwork is the key to this activity. Participants are given 1 minute to pair off words and finds the odd one out.
91: Apples and oranges
This fun energiser creates the atmosphere of a party game but raises important issues for inter-group relationships. A practical and different activity that may produce a few surprises.
92: Consecutive letters
An enjoyable activity that will assess delegation and taskmanagement skills. Teams compete to produce the longest list of words containing two consecutive letters in alphabetical order.
93: Lemon story
A mouth-watering exercise to illustrate the power of the mind. Participants listen to a short story and find themselves transported to a sunlit lemon grove.
94: Connecting words
In this activity, participants need quick thinking to complete a word game in just 30 seconds. A fun way to explore working under pressure.
95: Triggering
An activity that is very effective for managing stress and changing the pace of a training session. Participants learn a powerful technique for remaining calm and in control in difficult situations.
96: No ÎAÌ
Working in pairs, participants read a short piece of text and are asked to decide what makes it unusual. They will need to think creatively to find the correct answer.
97: Batons and balls
An excellent activity to energise or relieve tension. Participants form teams to race against each other with improvised batons and balls.
98: The gugulunga tree
Change the pace of a training session with this folk tale from Africa. A memorable story that enables discussion on the pros and cons of delegation and the importance of staying focused on the job in hand.
99: How many squares?
This activity is a visual challenge that requires participants to think creatively to find the solution.
100: Creative leap
An enjoyable word game in which participants are given two unrelated words and asked to make a connection between them. This requires two creative leaps, finding two new words to make the link.

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