In Star Wars, Luke’s ship just sank into the swamp . Yoda tells him he could raise it out using the Force. Luke looks very doubtful and says, “I’ll try.” Yoda says, “Do or do not, there is no try.” And, of course, Luke is unsuccessful. Luke didn’t get how powerful that work can be.

Occasionally, when I’m facilitating a collegiate leadership retreat, a student will be on the verge of a major personal breakthrough and they might say…“I’ll TRY to take action when I’m afraid… I’ll TRY to stand up for what I believe in… I’ll TRY to have more confidence in myself.”

I’ll coach them on the word “try” and tell them to replace it and speak again. “I WILL take action when I’m afraid.. I AM going to stand up for what I believe in… I HAVE more confidence in myself.”

Can you feel the difference? The language we use has a powerful impact. It’s exciting to see the shift in the person when they take out “try.” Their whole body shifts and confidence exudes.

To coach the participants I’ll take a marker and ask them to “try and take this from me.” They’ll reach over and take the marker from my hand. I’ll shake my head, take the marker back, and say, “No, you took it from me. Now TRY and take it from me.” They’ll take it from me again and I’ll shake my head again and take it back and say, “No, you took it from me. Try and take it from me.”

This will go on and on until they finally get it and just grab the marker without actually taking if from me. Try implies that you put forth effort but will be unsuccessful. Your words help create your reality. Choose wisely.

Are you up for the challenge of eliminating, “try” from your language? And don’t tell me you’ll try!!!

The other day, my 5 year old was having a hard time tying his shoe. He said, “I can’t do this, Dad!” With a smile I reminded him we don’t say, “I can’t.” Instead we say, “Help please.”

“Can’t” is a word that takes all your power away. It leaves you with no options and feeling defeated. If you must say “can’t” then add the word, “I can’t, yet” There’s hope in that; things can change and you can and will do it eventually.

Here’s a phrase I don’t allow myself to say; “I can’t afford it.” Again, it takes my power away and leaves me feeling hopeless. I feel defeated and my life revolves around scarcity and lack. I simply change that thought into, “I choose not to spend my money on that right now.” This still lets me feel a sense of abundance. As if I could buy that (or anything I want) if I really wanted to but I have different priorities at this moment. Whether it’s true or not, I feel more empowered.

Are you up for the challenge of eliminating, “I can’t” from your language? And don’t tell me you can’t!

In my years of speaking at leadership conferences around the country, I’ve seen many different ways to create high attendance and many ways to crash and burn. Recently, I spoke at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. They used one of my favorite models for getting attendance and student buy in… the Nomination model. Here’s how it works.

Faculty or staff nominate students who they think are up-and-coming leaders, students who are showing promise/potential. These students aren’t necessarily involved in anything yet. Think more like emerging leader.

For this model, have the faculty/staff do one of two things:

1. Write a letter saying why the student should be allowed to go to the conference.
2. An easier way, but less special, is to have the nominator just submit a name.

Either way, the students feel honored to have been nominated. They have been singled out for doing something good or showing potential, rather than for something negative. This increases the likelihood the student will attend and be excited/honored to participate. And in the end I believe it will boost their self-confidence and get them involved on campus. With one easy to implement model, you’ll also increase your student leader base for the future; and that is a big deal!

Do you have any other ideas? Any other ways to expand on this concept? Let me know with your comments below.

Troy

So there I was; on the rings at a Division 1 NCAA gymnastics meet, in the middle of a great routine…and it happened. While doing a press to handstand, I farted! In front of what felt like millions of people- even though there was just a couple hundred. How embarrassing! So what do you do in that moment? Do I run into the locker room and never come out in public again? Do I quit gymnastics so I won’t be in that situation again? Or do I acknowledge what happened and continue on?

We’ve all been in embarrassing situations and it’s definitely not a fun place to be – that’s why it’s embarrassing. When I was up in the handstand and I farted and everyone was laughing at me, I had to make a choice – how am I going to react? In our everyday lives, things happen to us all the time. More often than not, we don’t have any control over what happens to us. But, the one thing that we can control, for the rest of our life, is how we react to things that happen to us. We have the power to choose our reaction, to choose how we respond. In other words, we have respond-ability.

I have a trick question for you – can somebody make you upset? Now think about this before you answer. Can others really make you upset? I would say that no one can make you upset…and no one can make you happy. Do we have friends that can push our buttons? I’m sure we all do. But, we don’t have to let their button-pushing upset us. They keep doing what they do because they know how we will react to them.

Check this out: you’re driving in your car, and you stop at a stoplight. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, someone smashes into the rear of your car. Might you be upset by that? You bet! There are many people who would be upset by that. But, are there people out there who might be happy about this? Sure! Maybe they are excited about cashing in on their insurance policy. Or, maybe their car was a piece of junk anyway, and they’re happy to be rid of it. Or, the person who hit them is very attractive, and they just might get a date out of it.

The point is that the same situation can happen to two different people and they can have two different reactions. Is it safe to say then that we don’t have to react the same way as everyone else? This being true, what we learn here is that the situation does not control us, but rather we control our reaction to any given situation.

This isn’t an easy thing to do, but it is simple. When you remember, in the moment, that you can control your reaction, you gain more control of your life. And that is a powerful place to live from.

Oh, you might be wondering what happened after I farted on the rings. I actually starting laughing so hard I almost fell off. That definitely didn’t help the score but I laughed with the audience instead of feeling ridiculed. In the end I managed to pull myself together, finish strong, and salute the judges with confidence…and a huge smile on everyone’s faces.

This is another icebreaker in the “Sure-Fire Icebreaker” series. Below is a full script of an amazing icebreaker. I created such an extensive description because I’ve found that it can be difficult to do a great icebreaker from a three-sentence description. Being a professional speaker and student leader trainer, I’m on college campuses often doing leadership retreats and orientations. Over the past decade, working with tens of thousands of students, I’ve learned the hard way what works and what doesn’t. Most icebreakers flop because the students don’t fully understand the directions or they feel corny or awkward doing it. It ends up being a lot of work and not a lot of play. Follow my script and you can skip the learning curve and move right into awesomeness!

This is a very low risk, low gradient activity that is a lot of fun. I like to have at least 10 people to start. After that it works with any size group you have room for. I’ve done it with 1000 students before. This also works with groups who’ve never meet before and groups who are very close to each other. Have fun!

“How many of you know how to play rock-paper-scissors? Let’s review. Rock beats…scissors.”

I review because 100% of the time I say, rock beats…1/2 of the people say scissors and the other 1/2 say paper. It makes me laugh every time.

“That’s why we review. Scissor beats…paper. Paper beats…rock. There’s no dynamite or nuclear bombs or hand grenades. Just rock, paper and scissors.”

“Here’s how it works. My I get a volunteer please? What’s your name? John. Give John a big round of applause. The object of this activity* is to go from a 1 to a 5.”

I hold up one finger and then five to demonstrate…

“Here’s how it works. Everyone will start as a 1. Let’s say I’m a 1. I hold up my finger and look for someone else who has a 1 up. I introduce myself.”

While shaking hands I say…

“Hi, I’m Troy…Hi, I’m John. You don’t need to tell them your lives’ story. Just introduce yourself. Then you have a duel. Feel free to get intense, maybe do a little sumo thing.”

I get down into a sumo stance and have my partner do the same if they’re comfortable. Everyone usually laughs at that.

“When we have our face-off it will look like this- we say, rock, paper, scissors, shoot.”

On ‘shoot’ you show your rock, paper, or scissors.

“It’s not, rock, paper shoot. It’s, rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Not, one, two, shoot. It’s, one, two, three, shoot. Got it? That’s very important. Okay John, here we go. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.”

Let’s say John wins.

“Nice John. Since John won, he goes from a 1 to a 2. Since I didn’t win, I stay at a 1.”

Hold up your fingers to demonstrate. This type of modeling helps cement the learning.

“Okay, let’s say I’m at a 3. I walk around holding up three fingers and look for someone else who is holding up three fingers.”

Of course, I demonstrate this. And I look to John and hint for him to put up three fingers.

“Introduce yourself…Hi, I’m Troy. Hi, I’m John. Nice to meet you. And then have a face-off.”

I get into the sumo position again- just for fun.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

Let’s pretend I won.

“Oh, I got you John. Since I won, I go from a 3 to a…4. Since John didn’t win, he goes from a 3 to a…2. Right, he goes down one. But you don’t go below a 1. 1 is the lowest number. Excellent. Thank you John. Let’s give John a big thank you for volunteering.

“Remember, the object is to go from a 1 to a 5. If you’re so fortunate as to get to 5, then you come up to this area of the room. You could even come up on stage.”

I like to have all the 5s come to the general area in which I’m setting up the activity. Going up on stage is even better if that’s possible.

“And you hang out with all the other fives and just be cool. You can walk around all cool like. And give high-fives to all the other 5.”

“What questions do you have?”

“Alright, let’s get to it. Everyone hold up one finger. Find someone else with a one up in the air, and begin!”

Playing music is a nice touch here.

When everyone starts playing I’ll usually join in with them for the first couple minutes. Then I’ll head over to where the 5s will be going. I like to get there before any 5s arrive. I go there to greet them with a high-five, big smile and a wahoo! My goal is to keep the energy up and encourage them to welcome the new 5s with a big high-five.

When I notice that just a little less than 1/2 of the group has made it to a 5, I stop the activity. I shut the music off and say…

“Freeze where you are. Hold up the number of fingers you are at right now.”

It may take a little bit longer than normal to quiet everyone down because some people have to finish the round they just started. It’s okay. Be patient.

“If you are at a 3, let me hear you! If you are a 4 let me hear you! If you are a 5! If you are a 2! If you are a 1! Raise your hand if you did not get past a 3? Did anyone not get past a 2? Is it possible that someone didn’t get past a 1?! Amazing! Let’s give them a big hand because that takes talent!”

If no one raises their hand for not getting past a 1 then I say…)

“I didn’t think so. If you didn’t get past a 2, raise your hand again. Let’s give them a big hand because that’s a very difficult thing to do. They’ve got skills!”

There is another version you can do that is much higher gradient. Instead of going from 1 to 5, they act out different things. For example, instead of a 1 they would be an egg. They squat down a bit and waddle around and look for another person who is looking like an egg. The winner goes from an egg to a chicken. They tuck their arms under and flap away while making chicken sounds. Do you see what I mean by higher gradient? This can be quite scary for some people to role-play like this. Only do this with a group that is ready. If they aren’t, you’ll have people walking out of the room or resentful they have to play this “cheesy” kid game. But if they’re ready they will have a blast and become even closer as a group.

Here’s the progression I usually use: Egg…chicken…dinosaur…Elvis…graduating senior.

It helps to have a motion and a sound for each [I’m open to suggestions for a sound for the egg].

Feel free to make up your own progression. Maybe figure out a way to use your school mascot. Have fun, be creative .

*When I do this with groups who aren’t necessarily there for icebreakers I like to call it an activity instead of an icebreaker or game . Some people don’t like icebreakers or games, but if it’s just an activity, then they may be able to buy into it easier. I know it is a little detail but it could make all the difference with some groups.

One dark evening in a train depot, a hobo was looking for a place to sleep. As he was searching, he noticed in the distance a boxcar with its door slightly open. He went over to it and squeezed himself inside the door. The moment that he got inside, the door slammed shut behind him. He turned to open it but it was stuck; it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard he pulled. He looked around the rest of the car and could find no other way out, just cold solid walls. All at once, he realized something terrible; he was trapped in a freezer car.

Immediately, he felt the intense cold penetrating into his bones, and his body began to shiver. The hobo started to panic. He raced back to the door, trying to rip the handle off. He pounded on the door with his fists, screaming for help as loudly as he could. The hobo went on like this for hours. Finally, his voice and energy spent, he gave up.

The poor hobo quickly resigned himself to his fate; he knew that there was no way out of the car. No one had heard his frantic pounding, and no one was going to help him to escape this freezer. He pulled his meager little jacket close around him, curled himself into a tight little ball, and began to weep softly, knowing in his heart that he would not survive the night.

Sure enough, that night the hobo died.

Two days later, the police found his body in the freezer car, and sent it to the morgue to be autopsied. What they discovered is that the hobo did indeed freeze to death; he died of hypothermia. But the police were baffled: that freezer car had been abandoned and out of commission for over two years. The night the hobo died, it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit inside the car. He believed so strongly that he was freezing that his mind convinced his body to drop its core temperature below 86 degrees, turning himself into a “metabolic icebox.”

Now, I can just imagine what some of you are thinking. Believe me, I thought it myself the first time I heard that story. That’s crazy, you may be saying. No one freezes to death at 70 degrees. It’s impossible! No more impossible than some of the other crazy and amazing things that your brain can make your body do.

In a fascinating book called, “Your Body Believes Every Word You Say”, author Barbara Hoberman Levine tells about “seedthoughts” which affect you physically. “Seedthoughts” come from your core beliefs, your basic assumptions about life. She says that a seedthought is “an idea planted through the mind that grows into manifestation in the body.”

In the hobo’s case, his seedthought was the belief that if you are trapped in a freezer car, you are going to freeze to death.

Your mind is very powerful. Your thoughts and beliefs create your reality. If you are conscious of your thoughts you will be able to consciously, purposely create and guide your reality.

Think about it…

Troy

See larger image Your Body Believes Every Word You Say: The Language of the Bodymind Connection, Revised and Expanded Edition (Paperback) By (author) Barbara Hoberman Levine List Price: $17.95 USD New From: $9.43 In Stock Used from: $4.54 In Stock

This is another icebreaker in the “Sure-Fire Icebreaker” series. Below is a full script of an amazing icebreaker. I created such an extensive description because I’ve found that it can be difficult to do a great icebreaker from a three-sentence description. Being a professional speaker and student leadership trainer, I’m on college campuses and at leadership retreats and orientations a lot. Over the past decade, working with tens of thousands of students, I’ve learned the hard way what works and what doesn’t. Most icebreakers flop because the students don’t fully understand the directions or they feel corny or awkward doing it. It ends up being a lot of work and not a lot of play. Follow my script and you can skip the learning curve I had to take and move right into awesomeness!

This is one of my favorite icebreakers. It’s gone over well with every group I’ve worked with. It’s a low gradient activity so it can be done with a group of complete strangers. That also lessens the odds anyone one will feel awkward or think the activity is “cheesy”. What’s also nice is that even though this is an icebreaker, people seem to easily create a lasting and memorable connection with four different people. More than once I’ve come back to a campus and an orientation leader thanked me for this activity because four years later they are still close friends with one of their partners! And it only takes about 15 minutes. Follow this script with a brief pause between each question and you can’t go wrong:

In a moment you’ll find a partner. Someone you don’t know. When you get with this partner, find out at least 3 things you have in common. And go beyond something like, “You’re a student here, so am I!” See how random you can get. Ready, GO!

• Look at your partner. Know them, memorize them, you will come back to this person. They are your high five partner. Give them a high five and say, “see you later!”
• On three, shout your partner’s name as loud as you can. If you don’t know it, find out what it is now. If you can’t pronounce it, just say “blah blah blah” One, two, three! Nice to meet you all.
• Please pause. This partner you are with right now is officially your high five partner. Go ahead and give them a high five.
• What were some random things you found in common with your partner? (This is optional if I feel I have enough time)

What I like about shouting the partner’s name is it helps them remember names. By the time they get to the last partner, you won’t have to give them time to find out the name because they will have already anticipated it. Then quickly, on to the next round…

• In a moment you’re going to find your 2nd of 4 partners. Again, someone you don’t know so well. When you find this partner, find out 3 things that you have in common. Ready, GO!
• Please pause. This partner you are with right now is officially your low five partner. Go ahead and give them a low five.
• On three, shout your partner’s name as loud as you can. If you don’t know it, find out what it is. One, two, three! That’s a beautiful name.
• Look at your partner. Know them, memorize them, You’ll come back to this partner. They are your low five partner. Give them a low five and say “see you later!”

As you’ll notice, each round is almost exactly the same. The beauty of this is they get accustomed to the routine and feel comfortable in knowing what to expect. That helps the focus stay on the people and not on the directions. I do make occasional changes- they are very important, SO PAY ATTENTION. Generally the changes are just to shorten things up because you don’t need as much explanation.

Move into the next round loudly and immediately after they give their partner a low five. You want to keep the energy up and the flow moving quickly.

• Find your 3rd partner and find out 3 things that you have in common! GO!
• Please pause. This partner you are with right now is officially your knee-to-knee partner. Give them some knee love. (Model this by pretending to touch your knee to someone else’s)
• Shout out your partner’s name as loud as you can. One, two, three! Nice, you are getting good at this!
• Look at your partner. Know them, memorize them, You’ll come back to this partner. They are your knee-to-knee partner. Give them some knee love and say “see you later!”

Then quickly to the fourth and final partner…

• Find your 4th and final partner and find out 3 things that you have in common! GO!
• Please pause. This partner you are with right now is officially your toe-to-toe partner. Give them some toe love. (Model this by pretending to touch someone’s toes with yours)
• Shout out your partner’s name as loud as you can. One, two, three!
• Look at your partner. Know them, memorize them, You’ll come back to this partner. They are your toe-to-toe partner. Give them some toe love and say “see you later!”

Now it’s time to pump up your energy and get people excited and cheering if they are up to it…

Are you ready for the next level?

As quickly as you can, when the music comes on and I say go, you’ll find your high five partner, give them a high five and celebrate with them. Ready, GO!

Make sure you are modeling a celebration with an imaginary partner. If you model high energy and playfulness it’s more likely they will follow suit.

Sometimes, to bring their focus back, I do a count down. I’ll say, “5…4…3…2…1.” I do this if the group is large because you’ll have many people standing with their partner waiting for what to do next. While a few others are still trying to find their partner. I usually don’t do this count down with a smaller group.

Did you find your low five partner?!

Now, when I say go, find your knee-to-knee partner, give them some knee love and celebrate! GO!

Did you find your knee-to-knee partner?!

Find your toe-to-toe partner and celebrate!

Did you find your toe-to-toe partner?!

Are you ready for the next level?!! Could it possibly get any better?

In a moment, when I say go and the music comes on, you’ll find your high five partner and give them a high five. Then immediately find your low five partner and give them a low five. But not yet! Stay focused here. Don’t look around yet.

Sometimes you have people start to look for their first partner. This helps keep their focus on you and hearing the directions)

After you find your low five partner, you’ll find your knee-to-knee partner, give them a little knee love and finally find your toe-to-toe partner and give them some toe love. After you find your last partner you will celebrate with them like you’ve never celebrated in public before. Keep it rated PG of course, but celebrate like crazy, jumping up and down, yelling and screaming.

Are you ready? GO!

Are you ready for the next level? Wait for cheering (MODEL this)

Right now go find your high five partner, give them a high five and stay connected up here [hold your hand up as if you’re holding someone’s hand above your head], do not disconnect from them. Go!

Now, without disconnecting with your high five partner, go connect with your low five partner. Go!

5…4…3…2…1 Did you connect with both your high five and low five partners?!

You know what’s coming next. But first, when the music comes on and I say go, you’ll connect with BOTH your knee-to-knee and toe-to-toe partners. Do the best you can. Stay safe. GO!

Let some time pass but not too much. Unless you have a smaller group, not everyone will be able to connect with all four partners. That’s okay. Make sure you end before people get too uncomfortable.

Okay, that’s enough. Let your hands come down. Give yourselves a big round of applause! Congratulate yourself for the biggest round of twister ever played!

Music is so important in this activity. The rule I use is when they’re moving, music’s playing. When I’m talking, music is stopped. Music is helpful on so many levels. It heightens the energy and excitement. It helps control their focus. They will know to focus back on you when they don’t hear any music so you won’t need to yell for them to be quiet and listen.

Troy Stende

During my keynotes and retreats on college campuses, I talk a lot about commitment. I even have an audience member break an arrow with their neck [without using their hands] as a demonstration of being truly committed.

I recently took on a big commitment. I started P90X. It’s an extreme home fitness video series that’s a 90-day commitment. My commitment to the program is tested daily because the workouts are so extreme and I push myself to the limit every time. When you add to the mix raising two boys, being a husband, running a business with traveling and speaking… that’s when it gets really challenging.

The other week I was on the road facilitating a leadership conference at Sonoma State University in northern California. I spoke all day, went to dinner, took a hike in the beautiful red woods of John Muir forest and then drove to my hotel in San Francisco. By this time it was 10:00 p.m. and I still hadn’t done my P90X workout video. I could have called it a night, but I had made a commitment. So I moved some tables and chairs around, fired it up and got extreme. Half way through the program I received a call from the hotel manager who asked, “Is everything alright up there?” The occupants in the room below me were complaining and I couldn’t blame them since they were hearing someone jumping up and down while grunting for 35 minutes. And, truthfully, it was a little late.

So I had a choice to make. The easy way out was to shut it down and go to bed, but I asked myself, “How committed are you, Troy?”

My answer was “100 percent,” of course. So I took my computer outside to the parking lot [good thing for batteries] and finished my workout in a parking spot. Afterward I felt great! No regrets.

Your commitments will be tested. If you’re 100 percent committed your choice will be easy. Well, maybe not easy… but the choice will be obvious.

Troy

Here’s the next edition in the Sure-Fire Icebreaker series. This is a quick icebreaker that is very low gradient and an easy way to meet a lot of people you don’t know and learn random information about them. As a bonus, I often use this icebreaker to get large groups into smaller groups in the last round.

Set up

Have them stand up and get into a large bunched up group.

“I’ll say a number and a category. I might say the number is 4, and the category is ‘people born in the same month as you.’ The music will come on and you will go find 3 other people to make a group of 4 who were born in the same month as you.”

You might get people starting to talk and look around for people born in their same month. If that happens I say;

“I might say that, but I’m not right now. But I might.”

“So, when the music comes on you might put two fingers in the air and start yelling, ‘February!’ if you were born in February.”

Make sure you model this by holding up your birthday number on your fingers and by saying it loud.

“When you find 3 other people to make a group of 4, stand in a circle and get to know as much about the other people as you can while the music is still going. Please remember that a group of 4 is 4, not 5, not 3, but 4.”

“What questions do you have?”

How long you let them look for their groups is important. You’ll need to find the balance between too much and too little time. You want them to be able to form some groups and get to know a little about the people in their groups. But you have to remember that some people aren’t going to be able to find a group so you need to end quick enough that they don’t start checking out or feeling awkward for not being in a group. This is a judgment call and you’ll just need to figure that out in the moment keeping in mind that that timing will vary depending on the group size and participants.

When I feel the time is right, I pause the music and get their focus back (refer to “Getting the focus back” for ideas on how to do that without yelling).

“If you are in a group of exactly four let me hear from you now (If the group is not comfortable with yelling yet then I might just have them raise their hands)! If you don’t have exactly four in your group, raise your hand. Everyone else look at them and say, ‘We still love you’”

I find that most any group I work with is fine with saying “We still love you.” However, I usually only do this after the first round. I don’t acknowledge the people who didn’t get into a group after that round. It just seems to flow better.

Often times I ask questions about the category we just did to have more fun and include people in other ways. If we did a category about the same number of brothers and sisters, after everyone is in the groups, I’ll ask who has the most brothers and sisters. They yell out loud how many they have. I usually say, “Wow, you’ve got your own committee.”

If I want people to get to know others in the group I add an additional category: “People you don’t know so well.” That way they’re not always in the same group with the people they are comfortable hanging out with.

To get into the next round I simply ask them to come closer to me or to come gather around. Sometimes people are hesitant to move closer so I say, “It’s okay to come closer. I showered a couple weeks ago, it should be fine.” Then I say the next number and category.

Some examples of groups I might form…

• Form a group of 5… The category: People who have the same number of brothers and sisters as you
• Form a group of 4… The category: People who have the same number of pets as you
• Form a group of 3… The category: Form yourself in the shape of the letter “H” [I usually need to repeat this two times so everyone understands]
• Form a group of 3… The category: People whose phone number has the same last digit.
• Form a group of as many as you can… The category: People who were born in the same month as you

Bonus

I often use this activity as a smooth way to get them into smaller groups. On the last round I’ll say:

“This last round is a little different. The number is 8 to 10. No less than 8, no more than 10. The categories are (with emphasis on the plural) people you don’t know so well- do the best you can- and forming yourself into a circle, linking elbows, jumping up and down. You only link elbows when you have exactly 8 or 9 or 10 people. Ready, GO!”

Once they start, it might take a little time for all the groups to form. People are usually very good at making it happen but you might need to jump in and help after awhile. While they are forming I like to have the groups that are jumping already turn in a circle as they are jumping…and then reverse directions. That amps up the fun factor and gives other groups more time to form.

When I’m doing large icebreakers at a college campus I usually have orientation leaders in the group too. I’ll change up what a say a little.

“This last round is a little different. First of all, just the orientation leaders, please move yourselves to the outside of the group and spread yourselves out to make a circle around the group. So, the number is 8 to 10. No less than 8, no more than 10. The categories are (with emphasis on the plural) you must have at least one orientation leader in your group. Form your groups with people you don’t know so well – do the best you can. When you have exactly 8 or 9 or 10 people and only 8, 9 or 10 people, get in a circle, linking elbows, jumping up and down. Ready, GO!”

This is great for orientation, leadership retreats, new students and returning students. What’s the point? Everyone has a blast! When a group has fun together, magic happens. And at the same time it creates connections and strengthens your campus community!

Troy

To start this icebreaker, split everyone into two groups. Have them form two lines facing each other in the center of the room with their team standing shoulder to shoulder.

Your instruction to the two teams goes as follows:

“Welcome to a new planet! On this world there are only three creatures and they are at WAR. Let me introduce the creatures. First, there is the giant. It looks and sounds like this, ‘ROAR!’ Do this with me, 1,2,3, ‘ROAR!’

“Then there’s the wizard. It looks and sounds like this, ‘SSSSS!’ Do this with me, 1,2,3, ‘SSSSS!’

“And finally, there are the elves. They look and sound like this, ‘WeWeWeWe!’ [done with a high pitch] Do this with me, 1,2,3, ‘WeWeWeWe!’

“These creatures are at war! Here’s how it works- it’s kind of like rock/paper/scissors. The giants, ‘ROAR!’ Do this with me giants, ‘ROAR!’ Beat the wizards, ‘SSSSS!’ Wizards, ‘SSSSS!’ beat the elves, ‘WeWeWeWe!’ And the elves, ‘WeWeWeWe!’ Beat the giants, ‘ROAR!’

“An easy way to remember this is the big [do the giant without the sound] beats the medium [do the wizard without the sound]. The medium [do the wizard without the sound] beats the small [do the elf without the sound]. And the small [do the elf without the sound] beats the big [do the giant without the sound]. See! Just like Rock/Paper/Scissors”

Now that everyone has the sounds and the rock/paper/scissors idea, you continue your instructions. Make sure you’ve already set up the safety zones behind each group with a marker to show where it is. Use a backpack or a chair or something to mark the zone. I usually place the zones about 10 feet behind each group.

“In a moment each team will go back to their safety zones, which are right here for this team, and right here for this team. (Point to show where the zones are marked) You’ll go back and huddle up and come up with the one creature your whole team will be. Everyone on your team will be the same creature. Then both teams will come up to the front line — to the battle zone — and one person will yell, ‘Are you Ready?!’ and everyone will scream, ‘Yes!!’ Then another person will yell, ‘3, 2, 1’ and both teams will show their creatures!

“So let’s say this team is the giants and this team is elves – who wins? Right! The elves. So the elves will chase the giants and attempt to tag them. The giants will run from the elves and try to get to their safety zone before they get tagged. If they make it to their safety zone first then nothing happens to them. But if they get tagged before they hit the safety zone then they get to be on the other team for the next round. Both teams go back to their safety zones to come up with the creature they will be for the next round.”

“What happens if there is a tie? Actually, what you will do when you are huddling with your team in the safety zone is come up with your plan AND your backup plan. They can be the same or different. If, when you are at the front line, both teams are giants, then you immediately go into your backup plan. You don’t stop and talk about it when you tie. You just go right into your back up plan. If you tie on both rounds that would be just ridiculous — like you’re psychically linked. Then you’ll just go back and come up with another plan and backup plan.”

Have everyone go back to their safety zones and come up with a plan and backup plan. After they come back to the front lines, quickly review which creatures beat which.

Before we start I pick out the volunteers who will be yelling “Are you ready,” and “3, 2, 1”. I like to do this to get more people involved. I’ll ask for 2 volunteers who have loud voices. Then I tell the first volunteer to yell as loud as they can, “Are you ready?!” after I point to them, and the second volunteer to will yell, “3, 2, 1!” right after everyone responds to the “Are you Ready” with a very enthusiastic, “YES!”

Your final instructions:

“Before we start — a couple of things. Please remember this is not a full contact sport. If the only way to not be tagged is to run over someone else and step on their face – then please, just get tagged. It’s not that big of a deal. Please take care of each other and have fun. When you are tagging someone, it is a simple, non-aggressive touch. You don’t need to smack them in the kidney. Also, make sure no one is behind you in the shoulder-to-shoulder line. If someone is right behind you and you happen to be on the losing team you might turn around and run smack into someone on your own team.”

You, as the facilitator, need to make sure there is enough room for everyone to be spread out shoulder to shoulder. Make sure they are all lined up on the front line, shoulder to shoulder. I like to have the two teams about 4-6 feet apart. Then I point to the first volunteer who yells, “Are you ready!”

Once the first round is done I remind them that if they were tagged they go to the other team, if not, they stay on the same team. Then have them go back to their safety zones to brainstorm their plan and backup plan for the next round.

Don’t let the game go on for too many rounds, but make sure they get in at least four rounds.

After I announce the last round I like to play a little trick with them. I go to the smaller team’s brainstorm huddle and discreetly tell them that since this is the last round, they will all be donkeys — and donkeys beat everything.

I generally do a donkey sound and you can make up a look that isn’t like any of the other three, “Yell, ‘Heehaw!’ and then you just run at them!”

They definitely have a great time with this last round. After it’s over the other team will say things like, “What was that? What happened?” I just tell them they were donkeys, and donkeys beat everything. Then we have a good laugh.

This is great for orientation, leadership retreats, new students and returning students. What’s the point? Everyone has a blast! When a group has fun together, magic happens. And at the same time it creates connections and strengthens your campus community!

Troy