Goals: Get attendees to realize that giving more information is better than just receiving for solving problems and collaborating.
Five teammates work together to put five triangles together with a fixed set of rules. This is a classic team-building event called Broken Squares that is updated for virtual meetings using Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint. The key lesson with this game is that the more you share, the faster the meeting will achieve their goals. Conversely, if you hoard your pieces
or your single solution, you can hold up the entire meeting.
Time: 20–40 minutes
Participants: 4–5 per team; use breakouts for more attendees
Technology: Share Screen, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Google Slides
Category: Collaboration
Setup: Click for a Google template or for a Microsoft PowerPoint template. Download a copy and save one copy for every team to your server so it can be shared. Get a link to the shared document.
Instructions to the Audience: Please connect to “Broken Squares” through the link I just chatted to you. Let me know when all five of your teammates are there and can move a piece. Each teammate selects an area where your three parts are—there are three spots on the top and two on the bottom. Your goal is to put together five squares, one in front of each of you.
Here are the rules:
- You may use only the pieces provided.
- No member may speak, gesture, or text to another member in any way throughout
the activity. - Members may not ask another member for a piece, take a piece from another member, or
signal in any way that another person is to give them a piece. - Members may give pieces to other members.
- Members may not place their puzzle pieces in the center area for other team members to take.
Any questions? Okay, remember, no talking, and GO!
Make sure attendees have the ability to share their screen.
You can Mute All and not allow attendees to unmute. You can send teams to breakout rooms. You can move from breakout room to breakout room to see how the groups are doing or you can assign one observer to every room to help enforce the rules.
Debrief: Your job is part observer and part judge. As a judge, make sure that each participant is observing the rules. It is okay for a member to give away all the pieces to their puzzle, even if they have already formed a square. In fact, it’s usually a good sign for a team.
As an observer, look for the following:
- How willing were members to give away pieces of the puzzle or completed squares?
- Did anyone finish their puzzle and then withdraw themselves from the group problem solving?
- If so, how did it affect the rest of the team? This behavior shows a silo mentality of getting one’s
- own work done and not looking at the team goal. It can also prevent an entire team solution as
- this one participant may be using a vital part of someone else’s square.
- Did dominant individuals emerge or did everyone seem to participate equally and share
- leadership?
- Did you see frustration? If so, how? How did it affect the group?
The key lesson to learn from this exercise is that attendees need to share with each other. Sharing resources, sharing information, and sharing relationships are good examples of how to make more engaging meetings.
Want to learn more?
Click to register for the Engaging Virtual Meetings Conference, every year in October.
