Fun Games to Play on Zoom with Coworkers to Build Teamwork (Part 1 of 7) Basics of Virtual Meetings

Fun Games to Play on Zoom with Coworkers to Build Teamwork (Part 1 of 7) Before Deciding on a Zoom Game, Understand the Basics About Virtual Meetings.

Most people see Zoom meetings as being a one-way monologue from the organizer to the group. Because of this, many will show up with their microphones and video turned off. A simple heads-up ahead of time can help your team be more willing to participate in the virtual meeting.

Realize that Most People HATE Virtual Meetings. They Would Prefer to Not Participate.
Human nature is what it is. Most people hate meetings. More people hate virtual meetings. So organizing a great game is a fun way to get your team to want to participate in the meeting. This only works though if you choose a simple game that is neither cheesy nor juvenile. Just adding something fun to the meeting may get you a negative result.

For instance, one of the games I have seen shared all over the internet is a virtual scavenger hunt at home. I’m sure that there are a few really effective and talented speakers on Zoom who could pull a game like that off. I personally am not one of them. What would be the actual purpose of the hunt? How would you tie the scavenger hunt into the agenda of the rest of your meeting? It might be fun, but it would just be an odd addition that doesn’t fit very well.

Anytime your team members feel uncomfortable participating, you will have the opposite effect on building teamwork. You may actually build resistance to attending other virtual meetings.

Alternatively, let’s say that you are onboarding new team members and want to introduce them to your current team. Well, any type of “getting to know you game” will work very well. The game actually fits the purpose of the meeting, so it will be more welcomed.

Ask Your Team to Show Up to the Virtual Meeting with Microphone and Camera On.

Ask Your Team to Show Up to the Virtual Meeting with Microphone and Camera OnQuite often, a simple warning can get your group to be more interactive. Since most people attend Zoom meetings with cameras and video off, they will often assume that this is the norm and it is okay. If you don’t warn them ahead of time, they may be uncomfortable turning on their camera. The home office may be messy or they may have a pet that craves attention. Here is a message that we often include in our interactive virtual team building invitations.

[NAME] has invited you to an interactive virtual team-building activity! Our main goal is to have a little fun and build solid teamwork. To participate, you will get the best results by logging in on a computer or laptop versus mobile devices. Also, since the activity is interactive, you will need to turn on your camera and microphone to participate. See you there!

A simple heads-up like this will help your virtual team game start off on the right foot!

Use Breakout Rooms to Get a Higher Quality of Interaction.

When Zoom added breakout rooms to their platform, it was a game-changer in online meetings. This simple technology improvement has been a God-send for virtual games. When you play a fun game virtually, the bigger the group, the less likely anyone will actually participate. For instance, let’s say you have 100 people on a video chat platform and decide to play trivia games. With large groups like this, without breakout rooms, you will have limited options. You could ask a question then wait for responses in chat. With 100 people competing, though, keeping score would be very challenging.

However, with breakout rooms, you could create teams of six to eight people. Each group could have the same 10 trivia questions. Send all the teams to a private room with each other. Teams may choose a team leader to do a screen share to answer the trivia questions as a group.

Then, once the teams complete all 10 questions, have them quickly leave their breakout room to see who won. The first team to complete the challenge will return to the main session with only the organizer there. Then the second team will arrive shortly after the first. And so on and so on until all the teams complete the challenge. Depending on the culture of your team, the groups may Raz the second-place and third-place teams as they arrive.

For full show notes and other tips see https://www.leadersinstitute.com/fun-...

0:00 Introduction
2:00 Even Virtual Companies Struggle with Virtual Meetings
2:50 Before Deciding on a Zoom Game, Understand Basics of Virtual Meetings
3:05 Most Zoom Meetings Are a Monologue
3:40 Choose a Simple Game that Is NOT Cheesy
3:55 Stay Away from Virtual Scavenger Hunts
4:45 Making Your Team Uncomfortable Will Not Build Teamwork
5:30 Ask Team to Arrive with Camera On
7:00 Use Breakout Rooms to Improve Virtual Game Interaction