About 95% of the activities we deliver are kept completely secret from participants. So, when participants walk in or fully realise what is about to happen to them, the surprise is total. Clients love this option to create an immediate impact and so do we!
Imagine that you and your team have been in a meeting room for hours. You go for afternoon coffee. 15 minutes later, you return to find the same room now totally themed as a junk yard, with mountains of strange items everywhere and our team dressed as construction workers playing scrap items such as ladders and bins! You and your group are now immersed in Junk Funk.
Or what about all your group walking into the main conference room to discover a colourful drum on every seat. You glance up to see drummers playing on stage to welcome you, and spot that your managers and CEO are part of the performing drumming team!
It’s 9am, and it seems that it will be another quiet day at the office. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Maori warriors wearing nothing but animal-quill skirts jump out and perform the Haka. Next, your company directors burst into the room wearing the same animal-quill skirts and full face paint, to perform in front of you!
All these ‘shocks to the system’ are based upon having fun, and are perfect for starting a team-based activity. They help our expert facilitators create an instant bond with the group and win their trust so that they can lead the group through what is normally a very ‘out-of-the-box’ experience. Having a group first be stunned and then see the hilarious side to the situation means that everyone starts from a friendly and open condition.
We feel that surprises makes the task of getting everyone on board and up for anything that might happen much easier. The skill of our facilitator is being mindful of exactly when they receive that split second of trust, so that they can quickly use it, just like a spark, to move forward into the main activity.
Over the years we have offered ideas, and have had ideas suggested by clients, for surprise introductions. Some of these may have initially seemed absurd but in the right context they have totally changed the atmosphere and energy of a teambuilding activity, ice breaker or energiser.
One of our most popular introductions is shown on our video of a boomwhacker event. In this unique spoof introduction, the fake, dull and drawn-out speech of the visiting professor convinces the audience that they are in for the worst speech of their lives. As everyone sits back yawning in their seats and preparing for the worst, the drab professor suddenly changes out of his clothes and transforms into a vibrant facilitator, who orders for the boomwhacker plastic tubes to be released!
Very recently, we successfully tried a creative introduction to a conference Junk Funk event. As the conference began, the speaker was rudely interrupted by noisy workmen at the back of the hall, who started chattering and banging. Everyone in the room was bemused as the noise grew in volume and eventually became unbearable, and all heads were turned. Suddenly, the room was swamped from all sides by workmen playing scrap items as instruments, providing a fantastic opening for the activity.
Perhaps our biggest surprise introduction comes with our Crashing Waiters evening option. Just as the Maitre d’ is saying a few word to the diners, two waiters collide dropping all manner of kitchen equipment. There is always a gasp in the room. As the concussed clumsy waiters begin pick up the kitchen items, they start playing them. Before the astonished diners know what has happened, they are surrounded by kitchen-utensil-playing musicians!
As well as providing fun and entertainment, there is also another important benefit of having a surprise. It can fit perfectly with meetings or conferences focusing on adaptability, flexibility and preparing for the unexpected.
Of course, in a small number of cases, our clients quite rightly prefer for their particular groups to be forewarned about the forthcoming activity instead of it being a big surprise. Even though some will arrive with preconceived ideas about what the event will entail, they will still have a fantastic time.
For more information about our team events, please Contact Us now.
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