Team building for better communication: why shared experiences work
“Communication” appears on almost every list of things organisations want their teams to improve. And understandably so.
Good communication affects virtually everything else – collaboration, trust, decision-making, creativity, leadership and ultimately performance.
But telling people they need to communicate better rarely changes very much. Sometimes people need the opportunity to experience communication differently.
That’s where well-designed team building can become much more than a good day away from the office.
Communication problems aren’t always about communication
When businesses tell us they want better communication, the underlying issue can be very different from one team to another.
- Perhaps departments have become siloed.
- Maybe people don’t feel confident speaking up.
- There could be new team members still finding their place.
- Managers and colleagues might communicate in very different ways.
- Or everyone may simply be so busy that communication has become functional rather than meaningful.
That’s why we start by understanding what’s actually happening in the team.
Because until you understand the problem, choosing the solution is largely guesswork.
Put people into a different situation
One of the advantages of taking a team away from its normal environment is that familiar patterns can begin to change.
- Job titles matter a little less.
- People who don’t normally work together suddenly need one another.
- Different personalities and strengths emerge.
- And communication has an immediate purpose.
If you’re trying to navigate a challenge, solve a problem or achieve something together, you quickly discover whether everyone is actually listening.
- Instructions need to be clear.
- Ideas need to be shared.
- People need to ask questions.
- And sometimes the team has to recognise that its first approach simply isn’t working.
That makes shared challenges a surprisingly useful way of exploring how people communicate.
Communication isn’t just about who talks loudest
Put a team into an unfamiliar situation and something interesting often happens.
- The usual workplace hierarchy can shift.
- Someone who rarely speaks in meetings might see the solution immediately.
- A natural organiser might emerge.
- Someone else may be brilliant at encouraging people when things aren’t going to plan.
- And the person everyone expected to take charge might discover that the best thing they can do is listen.
Good team experiences create room for different strengths to appear. That can change how colleagues see one another long after the activity has finished.
Learning through doing
You can explain the principles of collaboration on a PowerPoint slide. Or you can put a group of people into a situation where collaboration is the only way they’re going to succeed.
The second tends to be rather more memorable.
Experiential team building gives people the chance to practise behaviours rather than simply discuss them.
- Planning.
- Listening.
- Giving instructions.
- Adapting.
- Encouraging.
- Leading.
- Following.
- Problem-solving.
And doing all of that while something unexpected is inevitably happening around them.
It’s learning without necessarily feeling like training.
The activity isn’t the objective
This distinction is important. Building the fastest raft isn’t going to transform your business. Neither is completing a challenge, solving a puzzle or winning a competition.
That’s not really the point.
The value comes from what happens between the people doing it.
- Who listened?
- Who contributed?
- Did everyone understand the plan?
- What happened when something went wrong?
- Did the team adapt?
- Did everybody have an opportunity to participate?
- What would they do differently next time?
Suddenly, an activity becomes a way of exploring behaviours that also exist back at work.
Don’t forget the informal conversations
Not every communication benefit needs to come from a structured challenge. Some of the most valuable moments can happen around it.
- The conversation walking between activities.
- Sitting together over food.
- The laughter afterwards.
- Meeting somebody from another department properly for the first time.
- Having enough space in the day that people aren’t immediately disappearing into another call or checking their inbox.
That’s why the whole experience matters – not just the scheduled activity.
From better conversations to better teams
One team may need to become better at listening. Another may need confidence. Another needs different departments to understand one another. And another might simply need to rediscover some energy after an exhausting few months.
There isn’t a universal team-building formula for better communication.
But there is a useful place to start:
What would better communication actually look like in your team?
Once you know that, you can design an experience around it.
Team experiences designed around your outcome
At SEE Events, we can provide everything from outdoor challenges and collaborative activities to wellbeing experiences, away days, conference activities and evening events.
But that’s not where we need to start the conversation.
Tell us about your team.
What’s working? What’s getting in the way? What would you like people to do differently when they’re back at work?
Then we can help you create an experience that gives them the opportunity to practise it, experience it – and hopefully have a brilliant time while they’re doing it.
Because great team building isn’t just about what happens on the day.
It’s about what people take back with them.
CTA: Tell us what your team needs
