Games Can Get the Message Across

by Dan Angelo

To Joel Zeff, games used as icebreakers at team meetings should be about creating passion and having fun, with the emphasis on fun.

Zeff, a speaker, work culture expert, author, and humorist with corporate clients ranging from Walmart to McDonald’s to AT&T, gave attendees at his CAMEX25 Main Stage presentation, The Spirit of TA DA—Watch What Happens When Work Becomes Play, a variety of games that produced plenty of laughter while still being engaging and challenging. It was Zeff’s second consecutive year as a speaker at CAMEX.

“We want to have that passion,” Zeff told the audience in Fort Worth. “We want to be fulfilled. We want to have fun. We want to create that environment where we can all be successful, and part of that is being in the moment. When we’re present, we’re at our best.”

He used his time at CAMEX25 to prep attendees for the Learning Labs scheduled for later in the morning. Zeff got the group warmed up with a game of ZigZagZog, where the audience was asked to follow his lead by saying the next word in a three-word series, or repeat an action. The game required concentration and the group became even more involved after Zeff mentioned the word “competition.”

“All I said was it was a competition and something clicked in your minds,” he said. “There’s no trophy. I’m not giving out a beautiful award, but what happened was you became more productive. We played the game better. We were more in the moment. We were more connected with the group in the room, and we had more fun.”

By choosing games that promote teamwork while allowing the staff to make choices as to how to play allows people to be in the moment and find more success, according to Zeff.

The second game, called Know It All, had three members of the audience answer a random question by using just one word each in succession to complete their sentence.

“They had no idea what words were coming before or coming after, so what allowed them to be successful?” Zeff asked. “They were prepared for change. All three volunteers, when they stood up, in their minds, they were prepared, even though they didn’t know what the game was going to be or what their role was going to be.”

That sense of being prepared for whatever was coming next allowed the trio to approach the game with a new attitude and energy, letting them be more open and flexible to the changes that were going to come as each new word was added to the sentence. They also had to be in the moment to work as a team.

“It was fun because each volunteer took ownership of the game,” Zeff said. “They made it look easy because they were making the choices of being good listeners and being in the moment.”

His next game promoted trust as one person was led around the room with their eyes closed by a second individual, who guided them around the obstacles of tables and chairs. That led to plenty of laughter, but also new ways of looking at the task, such as listening, concentration, flexibility, and the need to participate to be successful.

“The leader is you (as a store manager), the follower is your customer,” Zeff said. “They need you to help them. They can’t do it by themselves, but what makes a great leader? Being detailed, encouraging, and a constant communicator.”

His final game was much like the first, with volunteers asked to add a new thought on a particular topic—in this case, setting up a camp site—or to take the conversation backwards by starting with what was said last. One volunteer was given the task of telling the rest whether the conversation would go forward or backwards.

It was another game that had the attendees howling with laughter as the volunteers tried to keep every piece of the conversation straight.

“The game forces you to be in the moment,” Zeff said. “We have to allow that to happen. Back in the bookstore, we have to make that choice to be more present in the moment for our employees, for our customers.”

It’s that connection or partnership, with ample doses of being open, flexible, and constantly communicating, that allows the team to be successful.

“I gave you responsibility,” he said about the games played that Sunday morning. “I gave you ownership, and what happened? You cared. You wanted to be successful. You got excited about it. We want that passion, but we have to give responsibility, we have to give that ownership. We have to build trust and when that happens, that’s when a great team happens.”