Second Team Building Exercise: "Similarities and Differences"

"Similarities and Differences"

Activity Description: Participants are challenged to learn two differences and two similarities between themselves and each member of the group.

Purpose: Participants learns new and interesting things about each other and connect with each other on a personal level. It shows the individuals in the group that they have similarities and differences with every member of the team. Personal connects fosters better group dynamic and allows the group as a whole to communicate better because they feel more comfortable with every member of the team.     

Results: 

What we learned: 

Danilo's Reaction: It was fun to see how similar and different we all were, yet managed to work so well together. Moreover, it was a great exercise because it sparked the most conversation. In trying to find similarities and differences with each other we covered so many topics regarding who we are, that everyone managed to learn a lot about others.

Eryn's Reaction: In all honesty, this was my favorite exercise. It was the most time consuming, but it was also the exercise that allowed me to learn the most about the people in my group. We really got into it and had good discussions. I found out that I had a lot of similarities with the people in my group which was really nice. Overall I learned a lot about my group members and their likes and dislikes in a much faster way than I would have gotten to know the likes and dislikes of another person. In this case, it took around 20 minutes whereas with others it can take months to get all of this information out of another person. I found this to be a group exercise that is very beneficial to really meeting people and connecting to them.

Emily's Reaction: The activity help start up conversation both activities, experience, and things that we all had in common. We learned a lot shared values and also things that we disagreed on. The activity was successful because I feel as though we are now more comfortable around each other which means our group will be more comfortable discussing issues that arise. Also, now that we all know that we have things in common with each of our group members it will be easier for us to relate with one another on a personal level.

Karly's Reaction: This activity really helped to get us to know each other. This activity took the most time and we went through many different topics: extra-curricular activities, interest in sports, favorite Netflix show, and life experiences. In some cases we found it very difficult to find something different about ourselves, which was surprising. For example, Emily and I had to go over almost every aspect of our lives to find differences because so many of our surface interests were similar. I think that this helped us to be more comfortable talking to each other and knowing all about your group members can really help you work with them in the future.

Group Reaction: We all agreed that this activity helped us to get to know each other and made us more comfortable sharing ideas and experiences with the group. We are also closer on a personal level and are able to empathize with the thoughts and feelings of other group members. This will help us move forward as a group because in the future we will be less hesitant to share our ideas and concerns about group projects.