Warmups
or energizers are activities the trainer uses throughout the course to
encourage participant involvement and interaction. These activities may be
used at the beginning of each day to bring the group together and begin
work on a positive note. They may also be used during the day to recharge
the group (e.g., after lunch, after a long presentation). Here are number
of warmups and energizers you can use.
The
trainer gives the participants slips of paper, and asks them to write down
at least three things they would like to learn during that day’s
activities. The participants attach their slips to a poster board or piece
of flipchart paper, which is posted in the classroom. The trainer can then
review these expectations with the group and tell them which topics will
and will not be covered. This activity can also help the clinical trainer
focus the course on individual or group learning needs and interests.
Super Model Exercise
Objective - Ice breaker or energizer - Great for laughs and relaxation. Shedding of status and roles.
Time required -5-10 minutes.
Space requirements - big enough for participants to form a circle.
How to do it:
- Arrange participants in a circle.
- Instruct participants that they have to act out your instructions. When pointed to and given the following commands:
"Super Model" - Participant should immediately pose as a fashion model. The two participants alongside the participant acting as a super model (the one on the left and the right) take the role of photographers and mimic gestures of taking a photo.
"Elephant"- Participant poses as an elephant by immediately thrusting two hands held together in front to represent the elephant's trunk. The two participants alongside form a circle with their hands and place them on the side of the participant pointed to serve as "ears" of the elephant.
"Jello" - Participant shakes his or her body like jello continuously. The two participants alongside hold each other's hands and form a circle around the target participant. The idea is to form a "glass" around the jello.
"Queen Bee" - Participant turns around and puts his or her hands together behind the back (just above the buttocks) and flutters them back and forth to mimic a bee's tail. The two participants alongside thrust their arms away from the bee and flutter them like wings.
"Donkey" - participant and those alongside him or her should freeze and not move at all
Expect that people will be confused and make mistakes. Such mistakes generate laughter and fun. To make the exercise competitive, participants who make a mistake (both the one pointed to and the two participants alongside him or her) can be eliminated from the game. The exercise can be used several times in a meeting or seminar.
Contributed by Ben Lozare, JHU/CCP
National Anthem - This
warmup works best when you have participants from a number of countries.
To conduct this warmup, you will need a source of music (tape player or
radio) and a ball. The participants should stand in a circle. The trainer
puts on the source of music and participants dance and pass the ball
around in the circle. Whenever the music stops, whoever has the ball in
his/her hand must step into the circle and sing the first verse of his/her
national anthem. If he/she cannot remember the national anthem (which
happens sometimes) he/she must sing a love song to pass. After this has
been done satisfactorily, the trainer turns on the music again and
participants again pass the ball in the circle. The game continues until
many participants have had the opportunity to sing or the trainer feels
that everyone has been energized.
Tell A Story
- The participants should stand in a circle. The purpose of this
activity is to build a story with each participant contributing one
sentence that must:
For example:
#1: “I was walking to breakfast this morning.”
#2: “A dog came up to me.”
#3: “I said good morning to the dog.”
#4: “The dog asked me what I was going to have for breakfast.”
The activity continues until all of the
participants have contributed or until the facilitator feels that the
group has been energized.
The
Last Word
- The
participants should stand in a circle. One participant moves and stands
randomly in front of another. He/she makes a statement (e.g., “It is
such a lovely day”). The person spoken to will move to another person
and make a statement starting with the last word in the statement he/she
received (e.g., “Day one of the course was very tiring”). Each
participant takes turns to ensure that everybody gets a chance to
participate.
The
Telephone - Participants
should sit or stand in a circle. The facilitator quickly whispers a
message to one participant. This participant passes the message in a
whisper to the next person and so on. The last person shouts out the
message. Chances are the final message will be different from the
original. Here is an example of an initial message (note how two different
activities are blended into the initial statement, a sure cause for
confusion when whispered quickly): “I had rice for dinner and then
dressed in blue to go dancing.”
What
Do You Have? - Divide
the participants into teams of 4-6 people. Each
team should make a list of 6-8 items that they would probably have with
them. Make one or two items less common things. The team gets points for each person who has these items. Only one of each item per person
can be counted and the team with the most points wins.
The list could include: a photograph, a calculator, a pencil, a
photograph of a family member, an unusual key chain, something red, etc.
Brainstorming
- Divide
the participants into teams of five people. Ask
the teams to list: things that are square, things associated with a
holiday, things that are red, things they can make out a coat hanger, etc.
The teams are not allowed to discuss, just list items! The team with the
most items on their list wins.
Ball
Toss Brainstorming - Announce
a topic (things associated with a topic, a holiday, the course content,
etc.). Then, toss around a ball. When someone catches the ball, they shout
out something related to the topic and then toss the ball to someone else.
Continue the exercise until everyone has had a chance to speak.
Variations:
When they
catch the ball, each person tells what they thought was the most important
learning concept was. Continue the exercise until everyone has caught the
ball at least once and explained an important concept of the material just
covered.
Each person
tells one step of a process or concept when the ball is tossed to them.
The instructor or learner, in turn, writes it on a chalkboard or
flipchart. For example, after covering "client assessment," the
trainer would start the ball toss by having everyone give one step in the
client assessment process.
Calm Down!
Sometimes
the participants need to calm down or "come down" to reality
after some intensive material is presented. Also, to get the full benefit
of new material, some "introspective time" is needed.
Have
the participants lay their heads on the table, lay on the floor, or get in
a comfortable position. Then, have them reflect on what they have just
learned. After about 5 minutes, say a key word or short phase and have
them reflect on it for a couple of minutes. Repeat one or two more times
then gather the group into a circle and have them share what they believe
are the most important points of the concept and how they can best use it
at their place of work.
Note:
This may seem like a waste of time to many, but reflection is one of the
most powerful learning techniques available! Use it!
Boom!
- All
participants should sit in a circle. They are instructed to count out loud
around the circle. Each person whose number is a multiple of 3 (3-6-9-12,
etc.) or a number that ends with 3 (13-23-33, etc.) must say BOOM! instead
of the number. The next person continues the normal sequence of numbers.
Example: The first person starts with 1,
the next one says 2, and the
person who should say 3 says BOOM!
instead, and the next person says 4.
Anyone
who fails to say BOOM! or who
makes a mistake with the number that follows BOOM! is disqualified.
The
numbers must be said rapidly (5 seconds maximum); if a participant takes
too long to say her/his number, s/he is disqualified.
The
last two participants left are the winners.
Note:
You can have the participants “clap” once instead of saying Boom.
Note:
To make this energizer more interesting, when a specific number is reached
(e.g., 30) have the participants count backwards towards zero.
The game can be made more complex by using multiples of bigger
numbers, or by combining multiples of three with multiples of five.
Unique Sayings - At
the beginning of the week, form groups of three or four participants. Ask
each group to record some of the sayings frequently used in their
countries or in their region of the country. After 5 to 7 minutes, ask the
groups to report their list of sayings. As each group reports their list,
the trainer should check that the entire group understands each saying.
Keep this list of sayings for another warmup later in the week. Write each
saying on a piece of paper and place each in an envelope.
On
the third or fourth day of the course or workshop, divide the participants
into two groups, one group at each end of the room. One representative
from each group comes to the center of the room to receive an envelope
containing a saying. The representatives read the saying silently and
return to their groups. Without speaking to her/his group, the
representatives draw a picture on the flipchart to represent the saying
s/he has received. The drawings cannot contain any words or parts of
words.
The
members of each group guess the saying that their representative has
drawn. The first team to guess the correct saying receives one point.
After one group has guessed the saying, each group sends a new
representative to the center to receive another envelope with a saying and
the activity proceeds as described above. The activity continues for 10
minutes or until all the sayings have been drawn and identified. The group
with the higher number of points wins.
Hot
Pepper - Participants
sit in a circle away from the tables and close their eyes. The trainer
gives a small ball to one participant who is instructed to pass the ball
quickly to the next person saying “Hot!”
Participants continue to pass the ball around the group.
As
the ball is passed from participant to participant, the trainer turns
her/his back, closes eyes and calls out “Pepper!”
The person who is holding the ball when “Pepper!”
is called is removed from the circle. The ball continues to be passed
until only one person is left.
Words
- Divide the participants into three or four small groups. Write the word INTERACTIVE
on the flipchart. The groups have 5 minutes to create as many three-letter
words as possible from the word INTERACTIVE.
For
example, some of the words could be:
After
the their time is gone, the group with the most words wins.
Note:
Depending on the topic, other words can be used in this way, such as
“demonstration,” “counseling,” etc.
Spider
Web -
The
participants should stand in a circle. A ball of yarn is given to one
participant who tells the group something about her/himself, such as name,
where s/he is from, her/his type of work, why s/he is attending the
course, etc. (The information to include will depend on the size of the
group and the time allotted for the activity.)
The
participant with the ball of yarn holds onto the end of the yarn and
throws the ball to another participant in the circle, who in turn must
introduce her/himself in the same way. Participants continue introducing
themselves by tossing the ball around the circle until all participants
form part of this spider web.
As
soon as everyone has introduced her/himself, the person holding the ball
returns it to the person who threw it to her/him, as s/he repeats the
information about that person. That person then returns the ball to the
person who threw it to her/him, repeating her/his information. This
continues around the circle, with the ball following its previous path in
reverse order until it reaches the participant who first introduced
her/himself.
Note:
Warn the participants beforehand of the importance of paying attention to
each introduction, since they will not know who will be throwing the ball
at them.
The
Post Office - The
participants should sit in a circle, each having her/his own chair. The
facilitator takes one chair away and the participant who is left standing
stands in the center of the circle and begins the activity.
The
participant in the center of the circle says something like:
“I
bring a letter for all of my colleagues who have brown hair.”
All
of the participants who have the characteristic stated (e.g., brown hair) and
the person in the center of the circle change places. Whoever ends up
without a chair to sit on, stands in the center of the circle and again
states that s/he is bringing a letter, but for people with a different
characteristic, such as:
“I
bring a letter for all of my colleagues who are wearing black shoes.”
“I
bring a letter for all of my colleagues who have never inserted a Copper T
380A IUD.”
The
activity can continue as long as the group is interested and enthusiastic,
but no longer than 10 minutes.
