Keys to a Successful Association Conference Teambuilding Activity

In today’s age of e-mail, instant messaging and the internet, it is possible for a person to go an entire work day without speaking to a single person. In this type of environment, where face-to-face communication is becoming less common, it is more important than ever to help foster communication skills. To do this, many associations are incorporating teambuilding activities into their conferences.

The term teambuilding doesn’t mean the same thing as it did 30 years ago, in fact it now may warrant some rolling eyes or amusing clips from episodes of The Office. If you get a little creative and include the three components below, your teambuilding activity will be successful and enjoyed by your participants.

1. Relevance to team performance must be explained
2. Create a positive experience shared by all
3. Post-event conversation where the real self-actualization discoveries exist

An idea for team building might be charity work like volunteering at soup kitchens, facilitating food/clothing drives or working with Habitat for Humanity. Last year at a conference, Designing Events planned an event for attendees to volunteer with Rebuilding Together, a national organization focusing on the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans for those who can’t physically or financially rebuild themselves. Participants were able to work together towards a common goal of helping to rebuild a home. In the end, not only did they build new relationships and strengthen existing ones, but they had a new, shared experience that many of them found very touching.

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