Energizers Tailored for Virtual Sessions
Energizers, often known as ice-breakers, play a crucial role in injecting energy, fostering connections, and rejuvenating the atmosphere of meetings or workshops. These activities can be effectively integrated at any point – be it at the beginning, middle, or at the end of a session.
Before the widespread adoption of hybrid workspaces, implementing physical energizers in on-site settings was relatively straightforward. However, the transition to hybrid has introduced new challenges. The limitations of physical interaction in a digital environment pose a significant hurdle. Moreover, screen fatigue during breaks often deters participants from engaging further with their screens.
Incorporating movement into energizers is vital. It elevates heart rates, paving the way for clearer thinking and heightened engagement afterwards. Despite these benefits, a common trend in online meetings is the replacement of energizers with simple breaks, minimizing screen interaction. This approach, while understandable, overlooks the unique value physical energisers could give us.
In this article, we will explore various energisers that can be incorporated into your workshops or work meetings. I hope this will inspire you to reintroduce energisers into you workday again!
Finding Object in the Space You're in
I love this energiser because it includes physical movement with learning more about each other. It goes like this: you ask all the participants to find an object in their apartment or space related to a stated category. An example could be:
- A snack from the kitchen that they enjoy
- Most random thing they have in their apartment
- Ugliest sweater
- A picture they have in their apartment
Bring Sally Up
This one is a bit challenging and might not be accessible for everyone, however it definitely increases your heart rate. This is how you do it: Play the song and share the window it in the call with audio so that everyone has good sound. Everyone in the room stands up by their desk and each time the singer says bring sally down they go down in a squat, when they say "bring sally up" everyone goes back up. This goes on for about 3 minutes, so your legs will definetely be sore.
Scavenger Hunt
Give participants a short list of common items to find in their home/workspace. They have a minute to bring as many items as possible to the camera. This gets everyone up and moving and adds an element of fun competition.
Radio Taiso
Radio Taiso is one of my favourite stretching routines that I often initiate at work when I believe my colleagues and me need to get up from their desks and stretch a bit. Radio Taiso originated from Japan and is a group calisthenics routine, broadcasted daily on radio and television, aimed at improving health and fitness for all ages. Simply play the YouTube video and follow along.
Virtual Walk-and-Talk
Give everyone five minutes to get ready to leave their apartment and go for a walk. If you have an exercise planned where people don't need to look at a screen, it is a good way to take the opportunity to do a walk and talk. People think more clear when they are moving and tend to have better ideas.
Charades
Do charades where each person has to mime a word. There are many tools to use to generate words, but here is one you can use: https://www.thegamegal.com/word-generator/
Mystery Picture
Ask everyone to take a picture of something in their apartment that belongs to them and ask people to upload it to Miro. Then you guess who took which one. It's a funny game that makes you get to know each other better.
I hope you got some inspiration from these energizers and that you will take the opportunity to implement some more physical movements into your workshops. It really does help to get off your chair and increase your heart rate. Happy workshopping!
This article will be updated continously with more energizers in the future.
