7 Fun Communication Games That Increase Understanding

Communication is essential to life. Whether work or personal, life goes

smoother when you communicate well.
But communication is a problem for many people. Even leaders have issues making themselves
understood at times. In fact, the better you might think you are communicating, the worse it
often is.
A study at the University of Chicago found that when subjects spoke with someone they knew
well, they communicated just as well as with strangers.
“Our problem in communicating with friends is that we have an allusion of insight. Getting close
to someone appears to create the illusion of understanding more than actual
understanding,” according to the study co-author Nicholas Epley.
George Bernard Shaw had it right when he stated “The single biggest problem in
communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
Poor communication has real consequences. It can be as benign as missing a movie with a
friend, to more seriously missing a deadline at work. There are negative outcomes when we are
not getting all the necessary facts, or not expressing them properly.
The good news, though, is that successful communication can be learned. Like most skills, you
can get better with more practice.
Here are 7 games to help you and your workers improve your communication skills.
1
Card Pieces
Card Pieces consists of separating groups of 3 or 4 into at least 3 teams. Each team will then
receive an envelope of mixed cut up cards. The teams then have a set amount of time to barter
and trade in order to complete their cards. The team with the most completed cards wins.

The game works well because it builds negotiation skills and empathy, which are key
components of communicating effectively. Negotiation skills help people navigate to the most
successful (or win-win) outcomes. They also help them to deal with less successful outcomes
skillfully.
Empathy helps people to see things from another’s perspective. This helps them tailor their
communication more effectively. Not everyone communicates the same, so being able to adjust
and understand another’s communication style is key.
2
Blindfold Game
This game entails breaking off everyone into teams of two. One member is blindfolded and
navigates an obstacle course relying on the shouted directions of the other member.
Blindfold Game works because it builds trust, listening, and instructional skills. Trust among
team-members is crucial for effective communication. It encourages cooperation and successful
teamwork. Lack of trust, though, builds suspicion and prevents buy-in.
Clarity in giving instructions is a must for effective customer service, especially in technical
fields. When customer have a difficult time understanding technical directions, the temptation is
to use more words to explain.
In reality, the more words technicians use, the more confused customers will get. Brevity and a
careful use of words is key for better understanding.
Lisa McLeod explains it best in her article on effective communication, “Sharing too much
information lessens your impact, especially if you share it in big, long droning sentences, like the
Charlie Brown teacher.”
3
Building Blocks
Building Blocks starts by having a team of 4 and 2 identical sets of building blocks. One is a
director, one is a builder, one is a runner and one is an observer.

The director and builder are across the room and their backs are to each other. The director has
their structure already built and must give directions to the runner who will bring them to the
builder. The builder must then use the directions to create an identical structure that the director
has.
This game builds descriptive and instructional skills, as well as teamwork. Task division in
teams helps with efficient completion of projects. However, there must be cooperation, effective
communication and trust in order to work. Building Blocks helps foster these important parts of
teamwork.
If your team is a larger group, you can split into teams and see who completes it best. If you
have a smaller group, the director can give directions directly to the builder without a runner.
4
Crazy Comic
In this game from the book 104 Activities that Build by Alanna Jones, everyone is divided evenly
into groups. Each group must come up with their own comic strip.
Each person is responsible for one frame of the strip, so the comic’s length is based on how
many people are in each group (three people make a three-frame comic, for example). Each
team has a set amount of time to discuss what the comic will be about, what each person will
draw, etc.
Everything must be discussed in detail because once they start drawing, there is no interacting
with the other team members. They cannot even look at what the other members of their team
are drawing. Afterwards, all the teams come together to look at and discuss their comics.
Crazy Comic works so well because it encourages teamwork, standardization, and co-
ordination. The most effective teams organize themselves with minimal help needed from
leaders. This is an excellent game, then, for distributed teams to practice cohesion of vision
across components.
This game can also work with team members in separate locations, such as some working
remotely. They can work verbally over the phone or skype to create the comic.
5
Four at a Time
In a room of sitting people, only four can be standing at a time. The four can only stand for 10
seconds before they must sit down and be immediately replaced by someone else. However,
the trick is that there is no speaking during the game. All communication about who will stand or
sit must be non-verbal. The goal is to keep the game going as long as possible.

Four at a Time is great for teaching non-verbal communication and teamwork. Non-verbal
communication is essential in a group sales environment. Team members can help each other
while keeping a customer engaged.
Practicing teamwork helps members gel effectively so in operational environments they can
function more cohesively.
This game works best in large groups. The larger the group, the better the non-verbal
communication must be. Its simplicity means that it can be played almost anywhere.
6
Get It Together
One member of a two-person team is blindfolded. The blindfolded member must retrieve
specific items from the center of the circle based on directions given by their partner. The game
gets more complicated as another two-person team joins the fray. Eventually, the game
becomes impossible because of the number of teams added into the game.
Get It Together builds focus and encourages teamwork. Practicing teamwork helps members
work effectively so in operational environments they can function more cohesively. Building
focus is important for concentrating on the person you’re communicating with despite any
distractions that may be present.
This game works best in large groups in order to increase the difficulty in the game. The more
chaos by the end, the better!
7
Misunderstanding
This game entails two persons who must sit back to back. The first person has an object and
must describe it (without explicitly saying what the object is) to person B. Person B must then
draw it based on the person A’s descriptions.
The game Misunderstanding helps drive creative communication. Finding creative ways to
communicate despite barriers builds problem-solving skills. No communication works exactly
the same and creativity is required to make sure effective communication happens each time.
This game can be adapted for larger groups by working in teams of two. It can then become a
competition based on who has the most accurate drawing.
Games - key to better communication
Practicing communication should be an ongoing part of personal and professional development.
These communication games are great to reach for time and again in all settings. They are
useful for honing the all-important skills required for effective communication.
Also check out our posts on customer service training games and sales games.