Communication games and activities: 30 exercises for teams

Communication games for clear instructions

Most miscommunication at work starts with a request that made sense to the person who wrote it. These games make the gap visible, fast.

1. 1. Literal robot

   Builds: Writing instructions that leave nothing to guess.

   15 minutes · Groups of 3 to 5 · A jacket with a zipper · works on video

   1. Give every group the same everyday task: putting on a jacket and zipping it up.
   2. Groups get five minutes to write the instructions as numbered steps.
   3. Read each set aloud while the facilitator plays a robot and does exactly what the words say. "Put your arm in the sleeve" could mean either arm, either sleeve, from either end.
   4. Any group whose robot ends up wearing the jacket, zipped, wins. Fewest steps breaks a tie.

   Debrief

   • Which word caused the most trouble, and why did it seem clear when you wrote it?
   • Which instructions at work assume the reader already knows the job?

2. 2. Build from the manual

   Builds: Writing steps someone else can follow without you in the room.

   25 minutes · Teams of 3 or 4, an even number of teams · Two identical sets of 10 building bricks per team

   1. Each team builds a structure from its 10 bricks in five minutes, out of sight of the other teams.
   2. The team writes assembly instructions in words only, with no drawings, in eight minutes.
   3. Teams swap instructions and build from them with an identical set of bricks. No talking between teams.
   4. Put each copy beside its original and count the bricks that match.

   Debrief

   • Where did the written instructions fail, and what would a picture have fixed?
   • Which of our written processes would pass this test?

3. 3. What does done look like?

   Builds: Agreeing on the finished result before work starts.

   15 minutes · Pairs · No materials · works on video

   1. Each person writes a request they might really send, such as "Can you pull together the numbers for Friday?"
   2. Their partner writes, without asking anything, exactly what they would deliver: the format, the length and the time on Friday.
   3. Compare it with what the requester pictured, then rewrite the request so the two would match.

   Debrief

   • What did the request leave out that mattered most?
   • Which requests on our team come back wrong the first time, and why?

4. 4. Fix the vague request

   Builds: Replacing phrases everyone reads differently.

   10 minutes · Any size · Six requests on a slide · works on video

   1. Show six requests that sound clear but aren't: "Send it ASAP", "Make the deck pop", "Loop in the team", "Just a quick summary", "By end of day" and "When you get a chance."
   2. For each one, the group says what two different people might take it to mean.
   3. Rewrite each so everyone would read it the same way, with a time, a length or a name.

   Debrief

   • Which request did people read most differently?
   • Which of these phrases did you send this week?

5. 5. Rules in 90 seconds

   Builds: Explaining something new in the right order, under time pressure.

   15 minutes · Groups of 4 to 6 · One die per group and one rule card

   1. One person per group silently reads this rule card: players take turns rolling a die as many times as they like, adding up the numbers. Rolling a 1 ends the turn and wipes out that turn's points. Stopping banks them. The first player to 50 wins.
   2. They get 90 seconds to explain the game to their group. No questions allowed.
   3. The group plays for five minutes while the explainer watches in silence and notes every rule that was misunderstood.
   4. Read the card aloud and compare.

   Debrief

   • Which rule was left out or explained in the wrong order?
   • How would you change the explanation with another 90 seconds?

Back-to-back drawing, the blind build and the paper tear are in our team building exercises, so they are not repeated here.

Feedback exercises

Practice giving and asking for feedback on low-stakes work, so the habit is there when the stakes are real.

1. 6. Two stars and a wish

   Builds: Giving balanced, specific feedback on real work.

   20 minutes · Groups of 3 · A short piece of work from each person, such as an email or one slide · works on video

   1. Each person shares a short piece of work in progress.
   2. Each reviewer writes two specific things that work and one wish: something they would change, phrased as "I wish it..."
   3. Reviewers read theirs aloud. The author only says thank you and takes notes.
   4. The author says which wish they will act on.

   Debrief

   • Which comment was easiest to act on, and what made it specific?
   • Where could we use this before work goes to a client?

2. 7. You to I

   Builds: Raising a problem without starting with blame.

   15 minutes · Pairs · Six blame lines on cards · works on video

   1. Hand out lines that start with you, such as "You never update the tracker", "You always cut me off in meetings" and "You missed the deadline again."
   2. Pairs rewrite each one as an I-statement: what I noticed, how it affects me or the work, and what I would like. "I noticed the tracker hasn't changed since Monday, so I'm not sure where things stand. Could you update it before standup?"
   3. Each pair reads its best rewrite aloud.

   Debrief

   • How did the rewrite change how it would feel to hear?
   • Which nevers and alwayses do we say at work that aren't literally true?

3. 8. Where and when

   Builds: Choosing the right moment and channel for feedback.

   15 minutes · Groups of 3 to 5 · Eight situation cards per group · works on video

   1. Give each group eight short situations, such as a typo in a client email, a colleague who talks over others, a great presentation and a missed deadline.
   2. For each one, the group decides when the feedback should go (now or later), where (in private or in front of others) and how (spoken or written).
   3. Compare answers across groups and discuss the situations where they split.

   Debrief

   • Which situation split the room, and why?
   • What is our team's default, and when does it backfire?

4. 9. The specific ask

   Builds: Asking for feedback in a way that gets a useful answer.

   15 minutes · Pairs · One piece of your own work · works on video

   1. Each person picks a piece of their own work and writes the feedback request they would usually send, often "Any thoughts?"
   2. They rewrite it as one specific question, such as "Does the second paragraph make the deadline clear?"
   3. Partners swap work and answer only the specific question, in two minutes.
   4. Compare that answer with what "any thoughts?" usually brings back.

   Debrief

   • How was the answer different from the feedback you normally get?
   • Which piece of work this month needs a specific ask?

5. 10. Critique round

   Builds: Taking feedback on work in progress without defending it.

   25 minutes · Groups of 4 to 6 · No materials · works on video

   1. One person presents a piece of work in progress for three minutes and says what they want feedback on.
   2. The group asks clarifying questions only, for three minutes.
   3. Then five minutes of feedback in a fixed order: what works, then what could be stronger. The presenter takes notes and does not respond.
   4. The presenter closes by saying what they will change. Rotate to a second presenter if time allows.

   Debrief

   • What did not being allowed to respond change for the presenter?
   • Which of our reviews would go better with a fixed order?

Leading a team? Our leadership activities add exercises for hard conversations and for getting honest feedback from the people you manage.

Nonverbal communication games

Tone, face and posture carry a lot of the message, in a room and on camera. These make people notice what they are saying without words.

1. 11. Say it six ways

   Builds: Hearing how much tone changes a message.

   10 minutes · Any size · Six tone cards · works on video

   1. Pick one neutral sentence, such as "The meeting has moved to Thursday."
   2. A volunteer draws a card and says the sentence in that tone: relieved, annoyed, worried, excited, bored or sarcastic.
   3. Everyone else guesses the tone before the card is shown. Repeat with new volunteers.

   Debrief

   • Which tones were easiest to confuse?
   • Where does tone get lost in our chat messages, and what do we do about it?

2. 12. Silent puzzle swap

   Builds: Noticing what others need without being told.

   20 minutes · Groups of 4 or 5 · One postcard per player, each cut into four pieces

   1. Cut one postcard per player into four pieces, then mix the pieces across the group's envelopes so nobody holds a full set.
   2. The goal: every player ends up holding one complete postcard. No talking, no pointing and no asking for pieces.
   3. Players may only give pieces away, never take them, and may not put a piece in the middle for anyone to grab.
   4. The round ends when every postcard is complete.

   Debrief

   • When did someone notice that finishing their own card was blocking the group?
   • How did the group work out who needed what without words?

3. 13. Muted replay

   Builds: Seeing what your face and framing say on camera.

   15 minutes · Pairs · A phone or laptop that records video · works on video

   1. Each person records a one-minute update on camera, the way they would give it on a call.
   2. Pairs watch both videos with the sound off.
   3. The partner says what the face, posture and framing alone communicated: confident, rushed, distracted or warm.
   4. Each person picks one thing to change and records again.

   Debrief

   • What did the silent version say that you didn't intend?
   • Which camera habit would make our calls better?

4. 14. Meeting hand signals

   Builds: Taking turns and steering a discussion without interrupting.

   15 minutes · 4 to 15 people · No materials · works on video

   1. Agree on four signals: I want to add something, I agree, please slow down, and we have drifted off topic. On a call, map them to reactions.
   2. Run a real ten-minute discussion where those signals are the only way to ask for the floor or redirect.
   3. At the end, keep the signals worth keeping and drop the rest.

   Debrief

   • Who spoke more, or less, than usual with the signals in place?
   • Which signal should become a habit in our regular meetings?

5. 15. Two ways to tell it

   Builds: Feeling how body language changes what an audience takes in.

   10 minutes · Groups of 3 to 6 · No materials · works on video

   1. One person tells the same one-minute story about their commute twice.
   2. The first time, they look away, cross their arms and speak in a flat voice. The second time, they face the group, use their hands and vary their voice.
   3. The listeners say what they remember from each version and how interested they felt.

   Debrief

   • What did listeners remember better from the second version?
   • What does our body language say in meetings we find dull?

Communication activities for asking better questions

A good question saves a day of rework. These practice open, neutral and clarifying questions.

1. 16. Open it up

   Builds: Turning yes-or-no questions into ones that get real answers.

   15 minutes · Pairs · No materials · works on video

   1. Hand out five closed questions, such as "Did the launch go well?" and "Is the deadline OK?"
   2. Pairs rewrite each as an open question that starts with what or how: "What went better or worse than you expected at the launch?"
   3. Each person then interviews their partner for three minutes about their current project, using only open questions. The partner raises a hand at any yes-or-no question.

   Debrief

   • How did the answers change once the questions opened up?
   • Which closed question do we ask every week that hides the real answer?

2. 17. Unlead the question

   Builds: Asking so that people feel free to disagree.

   10 minutes · Any size · No materials · works on video

   1. Show five leading questions: "Don't you think we should push the launch?", "Wouldn't customers prefer the simpler plan?", "You're fine with Friday, right?", "Isn't the old process faster?" and "We all agree, yes?"
   2. The group names the answer each question is fishing for.
   3. Rewrite each so that disagreeing is easy: "What do you think about the launch date?"

   Debrief

   • Which leading question do you catch yourself asking?
   • How would our meetings change if the most senior person asked neutral questions only?

3. 18. Hidden need interview

   Builds: Finding the need behind a request.

   25 minutes · Groups of 3 · Three role cards per group · works on video

   1. Write role cards that pair a request with a hidden need. For example: the client asks for a longer monthly report, but the real problem is that their manager can't find the one number she checks.
   2. One person plays the client, one interviews them for five minutes to find the need. The client answers honestly but never volunteers the hidden need.
   3. The observer counts open and closed questions and notes the question that cracked it.
   4. Rotate roles with a new card.

   Debrief

   • Which question uncovered the need, and what made it work?
   • Which request on our team might hide a different need?

4. 19. Clarify first

   Builds: Asking before saying yes.

   10 minutes · Pairs · No materials · works on video

   1. One partner makes a quick, ambiguous request, such as "Can you set up a meeting with the team next week?"
   2. The other must ask two clarifying questions before agreeing: which team, how long, what it is for, which day.
   3. Swap roles with a new request. Three rounds each.

   Debrief

   • Which clarifying question would have saved the most back-and-forth?
   • When do we say yes before we understand the ask?

5. 20. Follow-up chain

   Builds: Going deeper instead of jumping to the next topic.

   10 minutes · Pairs · No materials · works on video

   1. The interviewer asks one opening question, such as "What was the best part of your week?"
   2. Every question after that must build on the last answer. No changing the subject.
   3. Go for four minutes, then swap. Count how many layers deep each person got.

   Debrief

   • What did you learn on the fourth follow-up that the first answer hid?
   • Where do our meetings move on one question too early?

Asking is half of it. Paraphrasing, reflecting and summarizing what you hear are in our active listening activities.

Remote and written communication exercises

For teams that run on chat, email and video calls. Most of these improve something you will send this week.

1. 21. Subject line surgery

   Builds: Making the point clear before the message is opened.

   15 minutes · Any size, in pairs · Five real subject lines with names removed · works on video

   1. Collect five real subject lines from team inboxes, such as "Quick question", "Update" and "Following up."
   2. Pairs rewrite each one so the reader knows the topic, the ask and the deadline before opening it: "Approve the venue quote by Thursday noon."
   3. Vote for the best rewrite of each and agree on one team habit.

   Debrief

   • Which rewrite would change how fast you answer?
   • What do our vague subject lines cost the people who receive them?

2. 22. Chat norms sprint

   Builds: Agreeing on what chat signals mean on your team.

   20 minutes · The whole team · No materials · works on video

   1. List the chat habits that cause confusion on your team: a thumbs-up that might mean read or agreed, unanswered threads, messages after hours, mentions that ping everyone.
   2. For each one, agree in one line what it will mean from now on.
   3. Post the lines in the channel description and review them in a month.

   Debrief

   • Which habit did people read most differently?
   • Which rule are we most likely to break, and what will we do when we do?

3. 23. Overnight handoff note

   Builds: Writing a handoff that needs no follow-up questions.

   20 minutes · Pairs · No materials · works on video

   1. Each person writes a handoff note for a real task, as if a colleague in another time zone will pick it up while they sleep.
   2. Partners swap notes and try to act on them, writing down every question they would have to wait a day to ask.
   3. Rewrite the notes to answer those questions up front.

   Debrief

   • Which missing detail would have cost a full day?
   • What should every handoff note on our team include?

4. 24. Chat-only decision

   Builds: Seeing what gets lost, and gained, in writing.

   15 minutes · 4 to 10 people · No materials · works on video

   1. Pick a small real decision, such as the date of the team lunch or the order of next week's agenda.
   2. Make it in chat only, with cameras and microphones off, in ten minutes.
   3. Then talk about it out loud: what got lost, who went quiet and what moved faster in writing.

   Debrief

   • Who contributed more in writing than they usually do out loud?
   • Which of our decisions should happen in writing, and which need a conversation?

5. 25. The invite rewrite

   Builds: Saying what a meeting is for before anyone joins.

   15 minutes · Any size · No materials · works on video

   1. Take a real meeting invite with a vague title, such as "Sync" or "Catch-up."
   2. Rewrite it in four parts: the purpose in one line, the decision to be made, what to read beforehand and who really needs to attend.
   3. Compare the before and after, and cancel any meeting whose purpose nobody could write.

   Debrief

   • How many of our recurring meetings could pass this test?
   • Who could skip a meeting if the invite said what it was for?

Team communication exercises across departments

The hardest communication happens between teams with different goals and different words for the same thing. Run these with two teams in the room.

1. 26. Cross-team speed pairs

   Builds: Hearing directly what another team needs.

   30 minutes · Two teams of 3 to 10 · No materials · works on video

   1. Pair each person with someone from the other team for a four-minute conversation.
   2. In each conversation, both answer two questions: what do you need from my team, and what do we do that slows you down?
   3. Rotate three times, then each team lists what it heard most often.
   4. Each team commits to one change and reports back in a month.

   Debrief

   • What did you hear more than once that surprised you?
   • Which change would make the biggest difference to the other team?

2. 27. What does yellow mean?

   Builds: Giving status words one shared meaning.

   15 minutes · Two or more teams · No materials · works on video

   1. Each team writes, separately, what green, yellow and red mean on a project status report.
   2. Read the definitions side by side and look for where one team's yellow is another team's red.
   3. Agree on one shared definition for each color, with an example of each.

   Debrief

   • Which past project would have been reported differently under the shared definitions?
   • What other words do our teams use differently?

3. 28. Escalation drill

   Builds: Agreeing who hears bad news, how and how fast.

   20 minutes · Groups of 4 to 6 from different teams · Four situation cards per group · works on video

   1. Give each group four situations, such as a client threatening to cancel, a bug found the night before a launch and a vendor missing a delivery.
   2. For each one, the group agrees who needs to know, by when, through which channel and in what words.
   3. Groups compare answers. Wherever they differ, write down the rule you want everyone to follow.

   Debrief

   • Which situation had the least agreement, and why?
   • Who usually hears bad news last, and what does that cost?

4. 29. How to work with us

   Builds: Making it easy for other teams to ask for help.

   30 minutes · One team, plus two readers from another team · A one-page draft in a shared doc, written before the session · works on video

   1. Before the session, the team drafts a one-page guide for other teams: what we do, how to send us a request, how fast we reply and who to contact when it is urgent.
   2. Two people from another team read it and try to make a real request using only the page.
   3. Fix whatever confused them, then put the page where other teams will find it.

   Debrief

   • What did the readers stumble on that the team thought was obvious?
   • Which team would we most like to have a page like this?

5. 30. Draw the process twice

   Builds: Finding where two teams picture a shared process differently.

   25 minutes · Two teams that share a process · Two whiteboards or two shared boards · works on video

   1. Pick a process both teams touch, such as a signed deal becoming a live customer.
   2. Each team draws the process as it sees it, step by step, without looking at the other drawing.
   3. Put the drawings side by side and circle every place they differ: missing steps, different owners, a different order.
   4. Agree which differences to fix first, and who will fix them.

   Debrief

   • Which difference explains a problem we have had for a while?
   • Who owns the steps that only one team drew?

When two teams need to solve something together, not only talk it through, try the cross-table exercises in our problem solving activities.

Pick by the problem you see

Start from what keeps going wrong on your team. Each name jumps to its steps.

Four tips for whoever runs it

• Name the skill before you start, and tie the debrief to a real situation from the last month.
• Use real material where you can: your own requests, invites and subject lines teach more than invented ones.
• Give the rules once, then stay quiet. The confusion is the lesson.
• Keep a third of the time for the debrief, and end with one habit each person will try.

A 60-minute communication workshop agenda

60 minutes for 6 to 30 people and one facilitator. It works in a room or on a call with breakout rooms. Swap any block for another activity from the same skill.

Only have a few minutes at the start of a meeting? Pick from our team meeting games or our 5-minute team building activities.

Want an expert to run a communication workshop?

Some skills land better with a coach in the room. Speak Up! is a hands-on public speaking workshop on structuring a message and delivering it with confidence, and You’re On Mute! works on presence and clarity when you present on screen or in the room. Each runs live for 60 minutes on Zoom by default. See all team building workshops, book about 2 weeks ahead, or get a free quote.