Free Business Training Game

Use the below free business training game as part of your training program. These games focus on team processes, communication, and root causes.

These games require little preparation and can be easily taught. Each can be completed within one hour. Use the Postcard Summary process at the end of each of the training.

Business Training Game - Pass The Message

This business training game improves communication.

With proper listening between the sender and the receiver, it is important to question the content. When the sender provides the instructions (critical communication), the receiver needs to question the instructions ensuring  they received the correct message. In addition, the sender should question the receiver ensuring  they know the receiver received the instructions.

To prove this, play the Pass the Message game.

Have at least six people, the more the better. The initiator writes down a set of process instructions, 3 to four sentences.

Send one person out of the room.

Start the game. During the game, there will be no talking. The initiator will whisper the instructions into person #1 ears. Person # 1, without looking at the documented instructions, will repeat the instructions into person #2 ears.

Person #2 repeats the whisper of the instructions to person   Repeat this until all the people in the room have heard the whispered instructions.

Bring the person from outside of the room back in and have them received the message from the last receiver through a whisper too. Then make him/her write down the message. Compare this written message to the original written message.

Expect to see significant differences between these two messages. This shows the importance of questioning during the act communication.

Buying a Home

This business training game helps improve team dynamics. After completing the game, you review the results with the teams and gather their suggestions for improvement. Here the teams review themselves. By reviewing themselves, they learn to focus on improvement and self-auditing skills.

Prior to starting the game, the facilitator selects a home they would like to buy by visiting Redfin.com, Zillow.com or any other real estate site.

Start the game with a group of people. Without giving any criteria, have all participants ask questions/interview about your desired property. Provide them information from the home listing. When answering, do not be too specific, such as exact address.

After 10 minutes of questions, divide the group into teams. Keep the teams 2 to four people. Each team will need at least one laptop for them to do research. Give them 20 to 30 minutes for them to find a suitable home.

The winner will be the group that selects the closest home for the facilitator. However, winning is not an important goal.

Afterward, ask the teams questions about the process...

•     What could be improved?
•     What would they do differently?
•     How did they select a leader?
•     Did they need more resources?
•     What about time management, did they feel rushed?
•     Did they take notes during the interview?

Five Why Game

First, review this article on the 5 Why tool.

This game teaches the 5 Why process to the group. The 5 Why process helps a group get to the real root cause of a problem. During the questioning, the team identifies symptoms that arise from the actual root cause.

Prior to starting the game, the facilitator generates a list of issues common to most people. Some examples are...

•     One of the four car's tires is flat.
•     A pet dirtied the floor.
•     A boat is collecting water.
•     There was property stolen in someone's house.

Keep the teams to 3 to five people. Give each team a separate issue. Appoint one member of each team as the person with the issue. They will identify the specific issue and further define it for the other team members.

The other team members will ask why this issued occurred. The team will write that answer down. Next the team will ask why the last answered occurred. The answers are the symptoms. They write that answer down. They then repeat the "why and answer cycle" until they arrived at the true root cause. The cycle ends when there are no other answers to why the last answered occurred.

Have the team identify the specific issue, symptoms, and the true root cause for each of the written answers.

Let each team present their findings to the group. If you feel they did not get to the actual root cause, have the remaining group weigh-in with another answer.

Postcard Summary

You can use this business training game to emphasize the skills taught during other training or games. Conduct this at the end of the course.

The facilitator will bring postcards to the group. At the end of the training, distribute one card to each person.

Make each person write one important thing they learn from the training onto the postcard. Then have them pass the card to the next person. The following person will also write one significant thing. This important item cannot be a repeat of the previous thing they wrote, nor can it be already written on the postcard.

Repeat this process until each Post Card has 4 important points on them. Pass the card to the 5th person. The 5th person will write their address on the post card.

The facilitator will gather all the postcards and then mail the cards at a later time. You may want to wait a month before mailing. The postcards provide a refresher of the learned material.

TrainingKeeper Software

As a facilitator, make sure you document your business training game. This proves the students received the training. To document all of your training, use TrainingKeeper software. TrainingKeeper lets you track and plan all of your training with many built-in reports and calendars. After the student takes your training, you can issue professional training certificates to them from within the software.