Charades—Improving Your Nonverbal Communication
Goals: Guess what the actor is doing without the actor saying a word. This classic game plays well in virtual meetings. A charade was a form of literary riddle popularized in France in the eighteenth century. This acting game is a great way to extend nonverbal communication and raise energy by involving every attendee.
Time: 2 minutes per round
Participants: 2–50; can extend by using breakout rooms
Technology: Audio, video, chat, (optional) breakout rooms
Category: Fun, communication
Instructions: Choose one person to be the actor. Everyone else are guessers. The host private chats a word or phrase to the actor. Ask the actor to give a thumbs up when they see and understand what the host sent them. Count down 3, 2, 1 and start a 60-second timer, usually held up to the camera. Attendees can take guesses by saying a word or a phrase out loud.
Common charade rules are: No talking or sounds by actor. Silent mouthing, spelling, and pointing are banned.
Tips: A basic strategy is to start with easy words and work your way to harder ones. You can also teach basic charades strategy such as denoting how many words and then how many syllables are in each word.
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