team building activities Toronto

100 Ways to Play at Work #18: Props

In improv, you can take any object and use your imagination to make it something else. ​F​or example, a pen ​can be a moustache, a cigar, an alien antennae, a giant tower in a miniature world.

In real life, you can ​g​o beyond imagination and actually use things for more than their intended purpose. ​There’s the obvious, coffee mug that hold​s pens (mini towers), or paper clips (mini racetracks). ​But go further. Your rolly chair is a vehicle. Your desk a dance floor. Use your tie as a belt. Use your belt as a tie. Use your post-it notes as a dress.

You just gotta think to yourself, what else can this​ thing ​b​e or ​d​o?

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This series was inspired by people asking me “How do I keep doing improv?” after a corporate improv workshop. There are, of course, improv classes, more workshops, team building exercises you can do with your group, but these games are specifically ones you can do on your own to practice “Yes and” and get into a state of play.