Team Building Activities Explained Simply

Have you ever been in a workshop and needed an activity to lift the mood and inject some energy into the group?

High Energy + Your Well-Designed Process = Excellent Creativity and Productivity.

‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ is a quick icebreaker / energizer that requires attention, listening skills and quick responses from your Participants.

You can use it at the beginning of the day with a group that don’t know each other yet, or after the lunch-break to counter the ‘afternoon slump’, or even at the end of a day to make sure everyone goes away in a great mood.

It is 100% guaranteed to get your group laughing together.

And as there’s no pressure for them to come up with their own jokes it doesn’t create uncomfortableness!

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Objectives

To re-energize a group and give a sense of ‘lightness’.
To demonstrate the importance of Active Listening.

When Would You Use It?

As an Icebreaker or mid-course Energizer to get the group laughing.
Useful in a group with a lot of spare energy, or perhaps after facilitating a ‘dry’ or difficult subject to reset the mood.

Are There Any Rules?

Participants may not show their joke punch-lines to each other.
They may answer more than once if they think the punch-line fits.
Only one joke punch-line per delegate.
This could be done standing or sitting, but is best when everyone stands in a circle.
No complaining about the jokes please Participants!

Resources Required

Facilitator to read the joke ‘set-ups’.
Hat/bag to hold the punchlines.
Up to 20 participants.
Jokes handout (you’ll need to cut up the punch-line sheet beforehand – they’re in the slides you can download for free below).

Process

1
The Facilitator puts individual joke ‘punch-lines’ into a hat/bag and passes it round the group for each person to randomly select one, remind them not to show theirs to anyone else.
2
The Facilitator reads the joke setup (first line) and if a Participant thinks they have the punch-line they shout it out. If the group are sitting down you can ask them to stand up to deliver their line to increase movement and energy.
3
If it’s incorrect the Facilitator says ‘its not your line!’ and you read the set-up again until the correct line has been given.

Secret Sauce

Before you start this quick icebreaker make sure the Participants know why they’re going to be doing a fun exercise now. Some people might feel it’s a little unserious. The reason is because an injection of energy and fun increases quality and productivity later on.
Allow the fun to continue as long as possible – laughter is great for the creative juices!
You could also use song lyrics (guess the next line) or famous film quotes instead.
In a larger group, add in some extra random punch-lines that don’t fit any of the jokes. They may get used anyway, and often these generate as much laughter as the correct line.
Good to do this after lunch when the group is feeling a little tired and sleepy.

Your Master List of Jokes

Question	Answer
When does ‘B’ come after ‘U’?	When you steal its honey!
Did you hear about the maths teacher who confiscated a rubber-band ball from one of the pupils in his class?	She said it was a weapon of Math Disruption!
What do you do when you see a Spaceman?	Park in it Man….
Why does lightening shock people?	Because it doesn’t know how to conduct itself!
What time is best to go to the dentist?	Tooth Hurty (2.30)
What does a clock do if it’s hungry?	It goes back 4 seconds.
What kind of monkey is able to fly?	A hot-air baboon!
Why do we have Reindeer?	To water the grass darling…
What’s white and fluffy and lives in the jungle?	A meringue-utan!
Why was six unhappy?	Because 7,8,9.
What happens to a frog’s car when it breaks down?	It gets toad away!
What did the Mexican blanket say when it fell of the bed?	Oh Sheet!!
Why did the scarecrow get promoted?	Because he was outstanding in his field.
Why shouldn’t you make fun of a paleontologist?	Because you will get Jurasskicked.
Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?	Because the “P” is silent.
My friend recently got crushed by a pile of books...	She’s only got her shelf to blame.
Why didn’t the lifeguard save the hippie?	Because he was too far out man!
How did the hipster burn his tongue?	He drank his coffee before it was cool.
Why do fish live in salt water?	Because pepper makes them sneeze!
Why did the tomato turn red?	Because it saw the salad dressing!

Free Download Files

About the Author

I'm an Internal Trainer for a retail business in the UK. My main focus is developing Management and Leadership skills for all levels of the store management teams. I believe every training course shouldn't feel like 'work'. Find me on LinkedIn here.

Terry Slinde says:

Thanks! As usual another great tool!

Nick Martin says:
at
Pleasure Terry. Thanks for dropping by.

Rebecca Haupt says:

This is a great idea. And the best thing is it even works with terrible “Dad” or cracker jokes.

Nick Martin says:
at
You are so right Rebecca! We all secretly love bad jokes don’t we? I too, love that this activity lets us openly enjoy them with each other. Never underestimate the power of laughter to help get some serious work done.

Gerry Dooley says:

Great selection of Educational Tools. Really appreciate you posting them and sharing your wisdom with others …. Many Thanks, cheers Gerry

Nick Martin says:
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I’m glad you like them Gerry.

John says:

Nick,

I work for a non-profit. We have a staff meeting bi-monthly with an “inspiration” to begin our time together. I selected your “Stand Up Comedy” game because recent meetings have been lethargic. I wanted to energize the group. It worked. Thanks

Emma Solomons says:

I work for a housing association and used this as an energiser at the start of our team meeting. Excellent way to get the energy going, a bit of fun and something light hearted. The team enjoyed it.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?