This happens to many people, every time they are in a new place. Surrounded by strangers, they are not able to come out of their shell and tend to retreat behind a wall. There are many people for whom making friends with strangers is not a problem. They manage to push their way through anything and before you know it, they have become ‘friends’ with everyone. However, this type of people do not form a majority. Most people take time to get around with others. You must have seen or felt it yourself as well, how awkward newcomers are when they come to a new school or a new office. To integrate them into the fold requires some activities, which in a short span of time acquaints them with everyone. This is especially necessary in large groups, where people, if left to themselves, may remain strangers for years. The high point of these activities is that not only do you get to know each other better, but also forge a bond that can be very valuable for yourself as well as the institution (school, office, college, and so on). And you have not yet considered the fun involved in such activities. If you want to know more about getting to know you activities, read on.
Fun Get To Know Each Other Games
Two Truths & A Lie
- Let everyone say three things about themselves. The trick is that one of those must be a lie.
- The point is to deceive the group, whose members have toidentify which one of the statemnts is a lie.
I Didn’t Do It
- In this game, the winner is determined by eliminating the rest.
- Let everyone form a circle and then hold up 10 fingers.
- Make everyone share something that they have never done before. Now, if anyone in the group has done that thing, he/she should put one finger down and get out of the game.
- Until everyone is eliminated, the game is played.
Encouragement
- Give out a card and a pen to everyone in the room. Each person should have one card with his/ her name on it.
- Let each one of them write down something encouraging about everyone else, in his/her designated card.
- Now, each person will have a card that highlights what others think is his/ her strength and character.
Who Is It?
- Give everyone a small card.
- Make all of them write four things about themselves that no one else in the room knows.
- Now, let the moderator take all the cards.
- Read one card at a time and let the people try to pen down who they think the person is.
- In this way, they can know each other better.
Interview
- Divide the group into pairs and then give each pair a piece of paper and pen.
- Give them a questionnaire, which they should ask each other.
- Finally, each one should introduce their partners to the entire group, based on the things that they learnt from the questions.
Common Things
- Break the group into pairs and give them a minute to find out five things that they have in common with each other.
- Next, combine two pairs and give them three minutes to find out what are the things that the four of them have in common.
- Now, let each four-member group share its common traits with the larger group.
- This is a good activity to know one another in a large group and in a very short time.
Fear Factor
- Let everyone write his/her personal fears, anonymously, on a piece of paper.
- Now, everyone will randomly select a piece of paper and inform the group how that person might feel.
- It fosters interpersonal empathy.