Energisers

Energisers can help to break the ice, get everybody back in focus and keep the spirit up. They are mostly used in time-framed design exercises e.g. design sprints, brainstorms, creative sessions. There are multiple reasons for using energisers:

To energise and enthuse

As the name already indicates; energisers can be used to increase the energy and enthusiasm levels before, during or after a creative session. Besides being most often fun and resourceful, working in teams can also be an exhausting, intensive and draining activity. When you have the idea that your team suffers from an after dinner dip or that some of the participants in a creative session are losing their concentration an energiser can help you to get back on track.

To loosen up

Like sports, a warming up is key to get a creative session going. Creative thinking requires a specific state of mind and a no judgement mentality that functions better when it is practiced before. energisers can be used to loosen up participants who don’t feel comfortable with thinking outside the box.

To step-up to certain activities

Sometimes participants of a brainstorm or creative sessions are not familiar with the methods used. When these are centred around using a specific tool or technique an energiser could help to get everybody ready for the main part of the session. If a brainstorm for example requires everybody to sketch, a sketching energiser could help to take away first drawing fears of novices.

To break the ice

When you organise a session with people who don’t know each other well or who are uncomfortable with discussing a specific subject, energisers could help to clear the air and avoid first awkward moments. Keep in mind that as a facilitator your main goal of an ice breaker is to let the participants get to know each other and make them feel at easy with the group. Letting them speak up for the first time during an energiser could also help to lower the threshold to take part of discussions later on.

How to

There are tons of different exercises. A simple google search could give you hundreds of different exercises. However, spending some time to find the right energiser could be incredible beneficial for your creative session. Main questions to keep in mind are:

• What do I want to establish with this energiser? (focus, energy, breaking the ice, introduce a technique, introduce a mind-set, introduce a problem)
• Who are the participants? (open minded, formal, young)
• How much time do I want the energiser to take?
• Where will the energiser take place? (outside, inside a busy office)

For every energiser you'll need a facilitator (who also participates) and a (design) team.
Below you can find a selection of energisers. Be sure to check out some of the links on the bottom of this page for unlimited energising inspiration.

Tips & Tricks

• Be confident in your execution as facilitator. Act like you have always done it this way.
• Do the energiser, before you explain the reasoning behind the energiser to your team.
• An energiser shouldn’t take up a lot of time, so stay brief.

Paper Elephant

• A4 sheets of paper, every participant gets one

Step-by-step

• Arrange participants in a circle.
• Give each participants a piece of paper.
• Tear this piece of paper into the shape of an elephant behind your back.
• Look what you have created.

Why should you do this energiser?
Let participant get familiar with creating and presenting something in front of the group. The results will be received without prejudice or judgment from the others, because nobody will be an expert in doing this.

Telephone Pictionary

• Stack A5 Post-its
• Pens/Fine-Liners/Markers

Step-by-step

• Give every participant 1 post-it and a pen
• Ask everyone to write a sentence on a post-it, without any other instructions, for example: “Carnival is the best time of the year” or “The nights in Brabant or the longest”.
• Ask everyone to pass the set of post its clockwise.
• Each person reads the sentence on the post that he or she receives, sticks another post-it on top of it and then create a representative drawing.
• Again, everyone should pass the post-its clockwise.
• On a new post it, each person writes a sentence based on the drawing that was given to them, sticks it on top of the drawing.
• This process will be repeated until everyone receives its own post it again.
• Open the stack so that everyone can see the sentences and representative drawings.

Why should you do this energiser?
It warms up drawing skills and it helps in translating text into visuals.

Do the opposite

• All team members

Step-by-step

• Ask all participants to gather and do the opposite of what you are saying.
• Shout a command; e.g. raise your left arm (the participants should do the opposite).
• Shout a new command. Note: It won’t always be clear what the opposite is, there is no right or wrong.

Why should you do this exercise?
This assignment physically energises the team. It also helps getting participants into creative thinking as they have to come quickly with responses to the facilitator’s commands.

Collaborative face drawing

• A4 paper, every participant gets one
• Coloured pencils/markers

Step-by-step

• Give each participant an A4 paper and a pencil/marker.
• Instruct the participants to write their name on the bottom of the paper.
• Ask everyone to walk randomly in the room until you say the word stop.
• Each person should pair up with someone near by (try to find a new person each time if possible.
• Instruct the pair to exchange the papers.
• Everyone should draw the other person’s eyes.
• Instruct the pairs to exchange the papers again (now each person will receive the paper with their name again).
• Repeat steps 3 to 7 for all face parts (eyes, nose, ears, chin, hair, and accessories).

Why should you do this energiser?
This exercise works best as ice breaker and stimulates one-on-one interactions between team members. It also helps to get warmed up for drawing. The walking in between serves as a physical energiser.

Topic ball

• A (soft) small ball

Step-by-step

• Arrange all participants in a circle.
• Choose a topic (e.g. names from the people from your office, UI elements, zoo animals).
• Throw the ball around in high speed.
• The one who catches the ball has to come up with a word from the chosen topic.
• Continue the exercise until everyone has had a chance to speak.

Why should you do this energiser?
This assignment brings the participants back to focus and it requires them to be creative. It also helps in getting every person to speak.

Invisible objects

• All team members

Step-by-step

• Arrange all participants in a circle.
• Explain that in a moment you will have something in your arms and that as soon as you throw it to someone it will change in something else.
• You act out as if you are holding an object (e.g. a heavy stone, an annoying cat, a hula-hoop), you say it out loud and accordingly throw it to someone.
• The next person catches the object and transforms it into something else. He or she names it out loud and throws it to someone else.
• Continue the exercise until everyone has had a chance to speak.

Why should you do this energiser?
This assignment brings the participants back to focus and it requires them to be creative. It also helps in getting every person to speak.

Holy Banana Circle

• One banana

Step-by-step

• Arrange all participants in a circle.
• Declare the banana holy and ask all participants to lay down on their back.
• Place the banana between your feet in the air.
• Try to give the banana with your feet to the next person.
• Try to finish the round without letting the banana hit the ground.

Why should you do this energiser?
This energiser is mostly fun, but also meant as physically energising.

Learn more

• Great collection of 100 low key energisers (be sure to check out the ‘Wink Killer’). http://www.slideshare.net/vickthorr/100-energisers
• Collection with more elaborate explanation with every energiser (check out ‘Punctual Paulo’). http://www.funretrospectives.com/category/energiser/