Energizers!

-This article featured in RECOFTC E-news October 2006-

Energizers may often seem like just fun games, but they can significantly heighten the effectiveness of many different capacity building events including training, workshops and community meetings. Energizers can be used for a variety of reasons. They can be used to invigorate a group after a break (especially lunch!) and increase people’s energy, enthusiasm, and concentration levels. Energizers can also be used as a fun way of introducing people or ‘breaking the ice’ and team-building within a new group. Energizers are also a subtle way of introducing new concepts and issues. Energizers can also help people to think creatively and laterally. The examples below demonstrate the different ways energizers can be used.

Three truths and a lie

This energizer is a fun way of both breaking the ice by learning more about the interests and experiences of participants. Everyone writes their name, along with four pieces of information about themselves on a large sheet of paper. For example, ‘Alfonse likes singing, loves football, has five wives and loves participatory research’. Participants then circulate with their sheets of paper. They meet in pairs, show their paper to each other, and try to guess which of the ‘facts’ is a lie.

Reflecting on the day

This energizer can be a highly effective way of consolidating key messages for the day. Make a ball out of paper and ask the group to throw the ball to each other in turn. When they have the ball, participants can say one thing they thought about the day.

Whispers

Although most people will be familiar with this game, it is still one of the best ways to explore the difficulties of effective and succinct communication. Sit in a circle. Have one person whisper to the person next to them a story or piece of information. This person then whispers the story to the person next to them and this continues right around the circle. Each person can only hear the story once. After the last person in the group has heard the story, they relay it to the group and the person who told the story tells their version.

There are some important things to consider when using Energisers. They are most effective when they are used regularly during an event to ensure maximum concentration. It is important that the energizers you use are appropriate for the local context, for example, thinking carefully about games that involve touch, particularly of different body parts. Similarly, energizers are only effective if they include everyone in the group, so for example ensure people with different levels of comfort with literacy are able to join in. Safety is obviously an issue for more active energizers. Always make sure there is enough space and it is clear of obstacles; especially for the energizers that involve running. It’s usually best to ensure that energizers don’t go for too long and that a mix energizers are used.

One of the keys to the successful use of energizers is to make sure that they are related to the particular event. Energizers really can be a highly effective tool to communicate a specific message.

Click here for useful energizer links.