The Inventor’s Apprentice Exercise
The Inventor’s Apprentice is ideal great for those teams keen on improving their communication, presentation, and problem-solving skills. Working together in groups, team members will have to come up with an alternative use of weird household objects.
This team building activity is great for fostering communication, teamwork, and innovation skills, all of which are important skills to have in a work environment.
Gather your group and form small teams of 3-4 people to start a competitive challenge. Teams must come up with an alternative use for a common object and create a proposal to sell the new invention to the rest of the group.
For example, a hanger could also serve as a hanging lamp holder, or a cork could serve to hold the pins and needles in your sewing kit. Teams also have to come up with a slogan and Logo to go along side there new inventive product.
Teams will first battle it out for the best product from the selection of weird and wonderful household objects. Each team will then have 30 minutes to work on their presentation to try and sell their item with a new use.
The pitch can be no longer than 3 mins.
Add an extra touch to the exercise, teams will be given a ridiculously random keyword that they must include in the pitch. This might sound easy but trying to add the word ‘Potato’ into a serious pitch can be tricky.
Moment of Reflection
- Is it difficult to change the way you see and think about a common, everyday object?
- What was the most difficult part of this exercise? Why?
- Why do you think it is interesting to think of a different use for a common, everyday object?
- Can imagination or creativity be used to address other problems or situations in everyday life?
The topics of this publication: interactions, teamwork, collaboration, creativity, imagination, brainstorming, cooperation, active listening
