Odd Couples Activity

The objective of Odd Couples activity is to improve relationships in the team based on the differences and similarities between people.

On any team, you’ll have people with different personalities. But sometimes, these different personalities actually have things in common. Getting these team members to appreciate their differences and similarities can improve team bonding.

Create a list of odd pairs of objects that, for some reason, go well together. Like “Peanut butter & jelly”, “chocolate & coffee”, “salt & pepper”, etc. Write down the names of objects from each pair on separate sheets of paper.

Tape a sheet of paper to a participant’s back. Do this for all participants. Try to tape opposing pairs on people with opposing personalities, though this is isn’t necessary.

Ask participants to mingle with the group. Their objective is to figure out what’s written on their backs.

The trick is: they can only ask yes/no questions (“Do I add flavor to food? Do I make the food spicy?”). The focus on yes/no questions improves communication skills.

Once participants figure out what’s written on their backs, they have to find the other half of their pair. After they’ve found their pairs, participants have to find three things they share in common with their opposing pair.

In any team building event, one of your biggest challenges is bringing different people together. An exercise like this can give participants a reason to sit down and share experiences with people they might not mingle with otherwise.

The topics of this publication: integration, interactions, teamwork, self, empathy