21 Best Communication Games for Teams To Transform Workplace Dynamics
Communication is the invisible net that keeps your successful team together. When it breaks down, so does productivity, morale, and ultimately, results. But here's the thing about communication skills—they're not just innate talents some people possess. They can be developed and refined through intentional practice.
That's where communication games for teams come in. These structured activities create a safe, engaging environment where team members can practice crucial skills while building stronger team connections. Unlike traditional training methods that often feel forced, these team building games make learning interactive and—dare I say it—actually fun.
Teams who play together stay together. More importantly, they communicate better together. The right communication game can transform how information flows through your organization, breaking down silos and creating pathways for clear communication.
In this comprehensive guide, you'll discover 21 proventeam-building activities that address various aspects of workplace interaction—from active listening to non-verbal communication, from giving verbal instructions to collaborative problem-solving. Each game has been selected based on its effectiveness and adaptability. Ready to discover the best suggestions for your team style?
The statistics around workplace communication are sobering. According to the Salesforce statistic, 86% of employees cite ineffective communication as a primary reason for workplace failures. Another report from Gallup found that disengaged employees—often the result of poor communication—cost U.S. companies up to $550 billion annually.
But beyond the numbers, the real impact of communication breakdowns affects team dynamics in tangible ways:
Projects derail when assumptions replace clear communication
Interpersonal conflicts simmer because feedback remains unspoken
Remote teams feel isolated when virtual communication lacks the intention
Innovation stalls when people don't feel safe sharing ideas
Communication exercises address these challenges by creating opportunities to practice better habits. They work because they:
Build Trust Through Communication
You can't build trust through team happy hours or team-building events alone. It is something you develop when people consistently communicate with honesty and respect. Games that encourage vulnerability and active listening skills create psychological safety, the foundation upon which all effective teams are built.
During well-designed activities, even the most reserved team members tend to open up. There's something about the playful structure that makes it safer to connect authentically and encourage team bonding.
Improve Clarity in Workplace Messaging
Miscommunication costs businesses dearly. One study estimated that companies with 100 employees lose an average of $420,000 per year due to communication inefficiencies. Team building exercises highlight where messages get muddled and provide immediate feedback on how to improve communication.
Consider the tech company whose product team was constantly misinterpreting requirements from the business team. After implementing regular communication exercises, they developed a shared language that dramatically reduced errors and rework, getting everyone on the same page.
Strengthen Relationships Across Teams
Departmental silos remain one of the biggest barriers to organizational success. Communication games that bring together people from different small teams help break down these barriers by creating shared experiences and revealing the humans behind the job titles, ultimately enhancing company culture.
Enhance Remote/Hybrid Team Connections
The rise of remote and hybrid work has created new communication challenges. Without intentional practices, remote teams can quickly become disconnected. Virtual-friendly team-building activities help bridge the physical distance by creating meaningful interactions that go beyond status updates and project discussions.
Verbal Communication Games
1. Word Wizardry
This quick team-building activity is a fast-paced vocabulary game that challenges team members to explain concepts using increasingly limited language, highlighting the importance of word choice in clear communication.
How to Play:
Divide participants into pairs—one explainer and one guesser.
Give the explainer a list of 5-7 workplace-related terms to describe.
In round one, they can use any word except the term itself.
In round two, they can only use three-word sentences.
In round three, they can only use single words, no sentences.
The guesser tries to identify each term, with teams scoring points for correct guesses.
Switch roles and repeat with new terms.
Skills Developed: This activity is an effective communication team-building exercise that develops precise language use, concise messaging, and the ability to adapt communication style based on constraints. Participants learn to focus on essential information and eliminate unnecessary words—a valuable skill for emails, presentations, and everyday workplace communication.
Time Required: 5-15 minutes
Materials Needed: List of workplace terms, timer
Group Size: 4-20 participants
2. Back-to-Back Drawing
This classic communication exercise reveals how easily instructions can be misinterpreted when visual cues are removed, emphasizing the importance of communication and specific verbal instructions.
How to Play:
Pair participants and have them sit back-to-back.
Give one person a simple picture and the other a blank paper and pen.
The person with the picture must describe it so their partner can draw it without seeing the original.
The describer cannot use shape names (e.g., "square," "circle") but must describe using directions and relative positions.
Allow 5-7 minutes for the description and drawing.
Compare the original and the drawing, then switch roles with a new picture.
Skills Developed: This team-building exercise is a way to improve communication skills among team members. As part of many team building activities, it focuses on strengthening descriptive language and active listening—key components of communication team building. Whether for remote teams or an in-person team-building event, this team-building game encourages clearer explanations, which are essential for delegating tasks and explaining processes effectively.
This communication team-building activity is a reimagined version of the classic and demonstrates how messages transform as they pass through multiple people, highlighting the importance of message clarity and verification in workplace communication.
How to Play:
Arrange participants in a circle or line.
Whisper a detailed work-related message to the first person (e.g., project instructions with specific details).
Each person whispers what they heard to the next team member, passing the message around the circle.
The last person announces what they heard to the entire group.
Compare the final message with the original.
For the enhanced version, repeat the exercise but allow each person to ask one clarifying question before passing the message.
Skills Developed: This activity enhances communication skills between team members and shows how easily information gets distorted. It teaches the importance of message verification, active listening skills, and the value of asking clarifying questions—essential skills for preventing costly miscommunications in the workplace.
Time Required: 10-15 minutes
Materials Needed: Prepared messages
Group Size: 6-20 participants
4. Word Association Chain
This rapid-fire verbal game builds team cohesion between the entire team while developing quick thinking and associative communication skills that enhance brainstorming and creative thinking.
How to Play:
Have the team sit or stand in a circle.
The first person says a word related to your workplace or industry.
The next person must immediately say a word they associate with the previous word.
Continue around the circle with each person adding an associated word.
If someone takes longer than three seconds or repeats a word, they're out.
The last person remaining wins the round.
Play multiple rounds starting with different workplace-related terms.
Skills Developed: This fun game improves verbal agility and associative reasoning. It's a communication team-building game that helps team members build on each other's ideas—a valuable skill for brainstorming sessions and collaborative problem-solving where connections between concepts drive innovation.
Time Required: 10-15 minutes
Materials Needed: None
Group Size: 5-15 participants
5. Instruction Challenge
This eye-opening communication team-building exercise reveals how differently people interpret the same instructions, highlighting the importance of clarity and specificity in workplace directives.
How to Play:
Prepare a set of written instructions for completing a simple task (e.g., folding an origami shape or drawing a specific design).
Distribute identical materials to all participants but give the instructions to only half the group.
Those with instructions must verbally guide their partners through the task without showing them the written directions or the final product.
Set a time limit of 5-7 minutes for completion.
Compare the final results across teams and discuss the variations.
Skills Developed: This team-building game improves instruction-giving clarity and team collaboration, and develops patience in communication. Engaging team members in quick team-building activities that promote strategic thinking and good communication will help your company thrive.
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Materials Needed: Written instructions, task materials (paper, markers, etc.)
Group Size: Any even number
6. Story Building
This collaborative narrative exercise develops active listening and builds upon others' ideas, strengthening team bonding and creative communication skills. It's also an excellent communication team-building activist that allows team members to work on problem-solving skills, promoting team bonding through invented narratives.
How to Play:
Gather the team in a circle or virtual meeting.
Establish a work-relevant theme or starting scenario (e.g., "The day the server crashed" or "When the client changed everything").
One team member begins a story with one sentence related to the theme.
Each subsequent person adds exactly one sentence that builds logically on the previous content.
Continue until everyone has contributed at least twice.
The last person must bring the story to a reasonable conclusion.
Skills Developed: This activity enhances creative thinking and narrative coherence. It encourages team members to pay close attention to others' contributions and build upon them constructively. It develops skills essential for meetings, project planning, and team collaboration.
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Materials Needed: Optional recording device
Group Size: 5-15 participants
7. Pitch Perfect
This persuasive communication game develops concise messaging skills and helps team members articulate value propositions clearly—essential for client interactions and internal advocacy. It promotes healthy communication, crucial for a cohesive team.
How to Play:
Divide participants into small groups of 2-3 people.
Assign each group an everyday object (stapler, coffee mug, etc.).
Give teams 5 minutes to prepare a 60-second pitch presenting this ordinary item as an innovative, must-have product.
Each team delivers their pitch to the larger group.
After all pitches, participants vote on the most convincing presentation.
Discuss what made the winning pitch effective.
Skills Developed: This exercise builds persuasive communication, concise messaging, and value articulation skills. Participants learn to address audience needs and deliver compelling messages—crucial abilities for sales conversations, project proposals, and stakeholder communications.
Time Required: 20-30 minutes
Materials Needed: Everyday objects, timer
Group Size: 6-20 participants
Non-Verbal Communication Games
Non-verbal communication games are team-building activities that focus on gestures, body language, and facial expressions to enhance collaboration and understanding among team members. These games promote creative thinking and problem-solving skills by challenging participants to convey ideas without words. Here are some examples:
8. Mirror Movement
This synchronized movement exercise heightens awareness of non-verbal communication cues and develops the attentiveness needed for effective interpersonal communication.
How to Play:
Pair participants and have them stand facing each other.
Designate one person as the leader and one as the follower.
The leader slowly moves their hands, arms, and upper body while the follower attempts to mirror these movements exactly.
After 2-3 minutes, switch roles without speaking.
For round two, don't designate a leader or follower—let leadership emerge naturally through non-verbal cues.
Discuss the experience.
Skills Developed: This activity enhances synchronization and attentiveness to subtle cues. Participants develop greater sensitivity to body language and micro-expressions, enhancing overall team performance and problem-solving.
Time Required: 10-15 minutes
Materials Needed: None
Group Size: Any even number
9. Emotion Charades
This expressive game develops emotional intelligence and non-verbal communication skills essential for workplace empathy and interpersonal understanding.
How to Play:
Create cards with different emotions written on them (frustration, enthusiasm, disappointment, etc.).
Divide participants into small teams of 3-5 people.
One person from each team draws a card and must silently act out the emotion.
Their team has 30 seconds to guess the correct emotion.
Teams earn a point for each correct guess.
Rotate actors until everyone has had a turn.
The team with the most points wins.
Skills Developed: This fun team-building activity strengthens emotional expression, recognition of non-verbal cues, and empathetic understanding. Participants improve their ability to read emotional states from body language and facial expressions—crucial skills for managing team dynamics and navigating difficult conversations.
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Materials Needed: Emotion cards
Group Size: 6-20 participants
10. Silent Line-Up
This straightforward nonverbal communication game demonstrates the power of visual communication and develops problem-solving skills without verbal cues.
How to Play:
Ask all participants to stand in a line.
Explain that they must rearrange themselves in a specific order (height, birth month, years at the company) without speaking.
Only gestures, facial expressions, and other non-verbal communication are allowed.
Set a time limit of 5 minutes.
After completion, discuss the strategies used to communicate without words.
Skills Developed: This exercise builds improves visual communication skills, and develops creative problem-solving. Participants learn to communicate without words—a valuable skill for international teams, noisy environments, or situations where verbal communication isn't possible.
Time Required: 10 minutes
Materials Needed: None
Group Size: 8-20 participants
11. Blind Drawing
The Blind Drawing/ Back to Back Drawing activity is a team-building exercise that fosters team spirit by emphasizing communication among team members. This engaging team-building game involves one person describing an image to another who draws it without seeing it. It's an effective way to integrate new team members into the company culture by teaching them the value of precise instructions and active listening, which is beneficial both in in-person and remote settings.
How to Play:
Pair participants and have them sit back-to-back.
Give one person a simple geometric drawing and the other a blank paper with a pen.
The person with the drawing must describe it to their partner without using shape names (no saying "draw a circle").
The drawer cannot ask questions—they must rely solely on the instructions given.
Allow 5 minutes for completion, then compare the original with the recreation.
Switch roles with a new drawing.
Skills Developed: This game develops precise verbal description skills, careful listening, and the ability to translate verbal information into visual form. It demonstrates how easily miscommunication occurs when feedback channels are limited—a common challenge in one-way communication scenarios like emails or recorded instructions.
The Human Sculptures activity is a creative team-building game where team members join to form physical representations of predefined topics using their bodies. This team-building exercise works to develop non-verbal coordination, problem-solving, and strategic thinking. It enhances employee engagement while helping team members learn to communicate without words, promoting a stronger sense of connection and purpose.
How to Play:
Divide participants into groups of 4-6 people.
Assign each group a concept related to workplace communication (collaboration, active listening, feedback, etc.).
Give teams 5 minutes to create a human sculpture that represents their concept without speaking.
Each team presents their sculpture while other teams guess what concept is being portrayed.
After all presentations, discuss how effectively each sculpture communicated its intended message.
Skills Developed: This exercise enhances creative expression, non-verbal collaboration, and abstract thinking. It helps teams develop shared understanding through physical representation—a powerful way to conceptualize abstract ideas through physical cooperation.
Time Required: 20 minutes
Materials Needed: List of communication concepts
Group Size: 8-30 participants
13. Human Knot
The Human Knot is a classic team building game that challenges team members to untangle themselves from a physical knot without breaking their grip. As one of the best team-building activities, it promotes problem-solving, strategic thinking, and communication. This fun and interactive exercise helps team members learn to work together effectively, improving employee engagement and strengthening connections within the group.
How to Play:
Form a circle with 8-12 team members standing shoulder to shoulder.
Each person reaches across the circle to grab two different people's hands.
Without letting go of hands, the entire team must work together to untangle themselves into a simple circle.
If the human knot seems impossible to solve, allow one strategic disconnection and reconnection.
After completion (or a 10-minute time limit), discuss the communication strategies that helped or hindered progress.
Skills Developed: The human knot activity builds problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and collaboration. It requires team members to coordinate movements through instructions and feedback.
Time Required: 15 minutes
Materials Needed: None
Group Size: 8-12 participants per knot
Problem-Solving Communication Games
14. Desert Island Consensus
Desert Island Consensus is a decision-making team-building game that challenges team members to collaborate and agree on essential items for survival on a deserted island. This communication team-building activity develops consensus-building skills, perfect for a team-building event focused on enhancing teamwork. Encouraging group members to share ideas and negotiate priorities fosters team bonding.
How to Play:
Divide participants into small groups of 4-6 people.
Present a scenario: "Your team is stranded on a desert island with only 5 items for survival."
Provide a list of 12 possible items (water purifier, knife, rope, etc.).
Each person privately selects their top 5 items.
Teams must then discuss and reach a consensus on which 5 items the entire group would keep.
Allow 15 minutes for discussion and decision-making.
Each team presents their choices and reasoning to the larger group.
Skills Developed: Ideal for both remote or in-person settings, this exercise is a great example of communication team building in action. It teaches participants to articulate reasoning clearly, consider diverse perspectives, and find common ground.
Time Required: 30 minutes
Materials Needed: Item lists for each participant
Group Size: 4-24 participants
15. Bridge Building
"Bridge Building" is a dynamic team-building activity that challenges team members to collaborate on constructing a bridge using limited materials. This is simultaneously a problem-solving activity that promotes team bonding. It's an engaging way to enhance teamwork through team building, encouraging collaboration and innovation among team members.
How to Play:
Form two teams and place them in separate areas where they cannot see each other.
Explain that each team will build half of a bridge using provided materials (paper, tape, straws, etc.).
The teams have 5 minutes to plan separately, then 5 minutes to send one representative to meet and coordinate specifications.
After the meeting, teams have 15 minutes to build their half of the bridge without further direct communication.
Finally, bring teams together to connect their bridge halves.
Test the bridge's strength by placing small weights on it.
Discuss the communication challenges and strategies used.
Skills Developed: This exercise builds specification clarity, cross-team communication, and project alignment skills. It demonstrates the critical importance of detailed communication when work is divided between teams—a common scenario in matrix organizations or complex projects.
Time Required: 45 minutes
Materials Needed: Building materials (paper, tape, straws, etc.), small weights for testing
Group Size: 8-20 participants
16. Communication Maze
Communication Maze is a team-building activity where small groups navigate a maze by providing instructions to each other. Often conducted in an in-person setting this exercise enhances team collaboration by challenging group members to communicate effectively. It's a popular team game that highlights the importance of clear communication.
How to Play:
Create a simple maze on the floor using tape or rope, or arrange obstacles in an open space.
Pair participants—one blindfolded person and one guide.
The guide must direct their blindfolded partner through the maze using only verbal instructions.
The guide cannot touch the blindfolded person or enter the maze themselves.
If the blindfolded person touches an obstacle, they must restart.
After completion, switch roles with a reconfigured maze.
Discuss the communication strategies that worked best.
Skills Developed: This team-building activity enhances precise verbal direction, spatial description, and trust-based communication. It teaches team members to give clear, timely instructions and to listen when navigating unfamiliar territory—skills directly applicable to onboarding, training, and crisis management.
Time Required: 30 minutes
Materials Needed: Materials for creating a maze, blindfolds
Group Size: Any even number
17. Broken Telephone Picture
Broken Telephone Picture is a creative team building activity that tests communication and problem solving skills among team members. Participants pass a simple drawing through a line, with each person attempting to replicate the previous image without seeing the original. This exercise showcases how miscommunication can occur.
How to Play:
Seat participants in a line where each can only see the person next to them.
Give the first person a simple picture to study for 30 seconds.
Remove the picture, then give them 1 minute to draw what they remember on a new sheet.
The first person passes only their drawing (not the original) to the second person, who studies it for 30 seconds.
The second person then draws what they saw from memory and passes only their drawing to the third person.
Continue until the drawing reaches the last person.
Compare the final drawing with the original and discuss how the image transformed.
Skills Developed: This exercise demonstrates information degradation, interpretation bias, and the importance of verification. It shows how easily visual information changes through multiple transmissions—a powerful metaphor for how project requirements or strategic visions can drift when passed through organizational layers without verification.
The Group Decision Matrix is a strategic team-building activity that involves team members in a structured decision-making process. This exercise is one of the effective team games that helps teams evaluate options and reach a consensus. Facilitating collaborative decision-making enhances team-building efforts and encourages team members to work together.
How to Play:
Present a workplace-relevant decision scenario (e.g., selecting a new project management tool).
Divide participants into small teams of 3-4 people.
Each team must create a decision matrix with 4-5 evaluation criteria and weights.
Teams then evaluate 3-4 options against their criteria, calculating scores.
After 20 minutes, each team presents their matrix, criteria, and final recommendation.
The entire group discusses differences in criteria, weights, and evaluations.
Skills Developed: This activity builds structured thinking, evaluation criteria articulation, and evidence-based decision communication. It teaches participants to communicate decision frameworks and use objective criteria—valuable skills for transparent decision-making and stakeholder alignment.
The Resource Allocation Challenge is a team-building activity where team members must collectively allocate limited resources to achieve a common goal. This exercise simulates real-world scenarios, requiring teams to prioritize tasks, manage resources, and make decisions. It's an engaging way to enhance collaboration, problem solving, and decision-making skills, making it a valuable tool for team building.
How to Play:
Divide participants into 3-4 teams representing different departments.
Explain that the organization has limited resources (represented by tokens) that must be allocated.
Each team receives a description of their department's needs and priorities.
Teams have 10 minutes to prepare arguments for why they deserve resources.
Conduct a 20-minute negotiation session where teams must collectively decide how to allocate all resources.
The final allocation must be unanimous.
Discuss the communication strategies that led to the final agreement.
Skills Developed: This exercise enhances persuasive communication, priority articulation, and collaborative negotiation. It teaches participants to communicate needs while finding compromise—essential skills for budget discussions, resource planning, and cross-functional collaboration.
Time Required: 45 minutes
Materials Needed: Resource tokens, department description cards
Group Size: 9-20 participants
Virtual-Friendly Communication Games
Who says only in-person teams get to participate in structured communication team building? Check out our top suggestions for top virtual activities:
20. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are crowd-pleasing team-building activities for different reasons: These energetic remote challenges develop quick thinking and descriptive communication while building team connections across distances.
How to Play:
Prepare a list of 15-20 items or concepts that participants might have in their remote workspaces.
During a video call, the facilitator announces one item at a time.
Participants have 30 seconds to find and show the item on camera.
For conceptual items (e.g., "something that represents your work style"), participants must explain their choice.
Award points for speed, creativity, and explanation quality.
The person with the most points after all items wins.
Skills Developed: This fun team building activity enhances quick thinking, improvisational communication, and personal sharing. It helps remote teams learn about each other's environments and personalities—building connections that support better virtual collaboration and communication.
Time Required: 20-30 minutes
Materials Needed: Item list, video conferencing platform
Group Size: 5-20 participants
21. Emoji Stories
This modern communication game develops narrative skills using limited visual symbols, highlighting the challenges of digital communication. It's an effective icebreaker activity that can easily be implemented at the start of a meeting to get your group focused and engaged.
How to Play:
Using your video conferencing platform's chat feature, each participant creates a short story using only emojis (10-15 emojis maximum).
One by one, participants share their emoji stories with the group.
After each sharing, other team members take turns interpreting what they think the story means.
The emoji story creator reveals the actual intended narrative.
Discuss the gap between intended and interpreted meanings.
Skills Developed: This activity builds awareness of digital communication limitations, visual storytelling skills, and interpretation flexibility. It demonstrates how easily messages can be misinterpreted when limited to symbols—a valuable lesson for teams that rely heavily on text-based communication channels like Slack or email.
Time Required: 20 minutes
Materials Needed: Video conferencing platform with chat feature
Group Size: 5-15 participants
Wrapping Up
Communication games offer a welcome bonus of fun. They're investments in your team's success. By creating structured opportunities to practice crucial communication skills, these activities build the foundation for everything else your team does.
The 21 team-building games outlined in this guide provide a starting point for transforming how your team communicates. Begin with activities that address your most pressing communication challenges, then expand to develop a comprehensive communication skill set across your team.
Remember that lasting improvement comes from consistent practice and intentional application. After each game, help participants connect the experience to their daily work communication. Recognize and celebrate when you see improved communication behaviors in action.
Most importantly, approach these activities with a spirit of curiosity and growth. To elevate your team-building event and create a memorable experience, partnering with a professional event planning service can make all the difference. TeamOut specializes in crafting customized retreats and team-building activities tailored to your company’s objectives and budget.
With access to over 5,000 venues and expertise from organizing 600 successful events, we simplify the process by managing logistics and personalizing every detail. Our partnerships also offer up to 30% savings on venue costs, ensuring a high-quality experience without overspending.
Let TeamOut handle the planning so you can focus on fostering stronger connections within your team. Schedule a free consultation today to start planning an exceptional retreat.
Thomas Mazimann, a French entrepreneur and former international kayaking athlete, transitioned from sports to tech after moving to the U.S. He co-founded TeamOut, revolutionizing team gatherings.
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