On the look out for great training freebies? Cheryl Taylor has trawled the net for us and hauled in a huge range of free training materials! Here's her updated guide to free team-building exercises.

About.com Education

This site provides a Top 10 Icebreakers for Adults. Don’t like Silly Games for Adults? There are other choices, take Marooned, a team building game for up to 30, takes about 30 minutes. If you were marooned on a deserted island, which three people would you want with you? They can be dead, alive, or imaginary. Ask participants to introduce themselves and share their choices with the group.
Start with yourself so they have an example: “If I were marooned on a deserted island, I would want Tim with me because he’s smart, strong, and fun, and I love him. He would know how to make a shelter and find food, and we’d have wonderful conversations. My second choice would be someone who tells great stories, like Garrison Keillor or Eoin Colfer. And my third would be Solomon Burke, the blues singer, so we’d have soulful music.”
Debrief by asking if there were any surprises in the group and if anybody has a question for another participant. You will have listened carefully to the introductions. If somebody has chosen a person related in any way to your topic, use that person as a transition to your first lecture or activity.

Brainstorming

Everything you could ever want to know about brainstorming (traditional and advanced) downloaded to your PC free of charge for 30 days. Includes the manual, how to brainstorm, the rules, benefits and risks. Also, free training in creative thinking techniques and how to extra new ideas.

Building teams

Executive and conference trainers and coaches looking for some great adult team building activities, exercises and ideas should take a look at Building Teams.
For example: Executive Mental Crunches include a mental workout to truly let a small group of executives experience and witness behaviour under stress in a safe environment.
The instructor collects everyone’s cell phones, PDA’s and watches and put them into a bag. Participants are taught basic sailing skills and conduct man overboard drills. When everyone is starting to feel comfortable they hold up the bag and toss it overboard. A real man overboard drill. Have you ever seen how people react when they lose their cell phone, Blackberry, etc? Provides the chance to see how people react under pressure and whether they were paying attention, the instructor steps aside and will only help them in dire need.
When they get the 'man overboard' or bag back in the boat, the discover the bag is simply a duplicate and their belongings were safe and sound the entire time down below. This provides the basis for discussion of behaviour under stress and how it relates back to be helpful or hurtful as an executive, boss.
As they sail back to the harbour, the instructor pulls the bag back out, shows them a zip lock bag with all their stuff and throws it over board again. This time, they know it is real and we get to see if there is any change in behaviour from the first time. What do you think they do?

Businessballs

Two team games, one for identifying leaders, the other a fun game for two teams based on team work, can be found on Businessballs.
You’ll also find free handouts on everything from self-discovery, motivation, management and leadership models, sales, marketing strategy, business management and planning and self-publishing.

Complete Trainer

This site offers a whole host of free training resources, ranging from team building games and leadership activities to icebreakers and communication games. Plus, 63 project management tips, developing sensory acuity and anger management advice. They are regularly added to as well.

Improvencyclopedia

If you're willing to get a bit silly and physically active, look into improvisation exercises. A huge collection can be found at Improvencyclopedia.
One simple exercise is walking. Let all (or some groups) walk around. The goal is to find a common rhythm without anyone taking the lead.
Another walking exercise is 'Stop and Go'. The whole group walks around and if someone stops, the whole groups has to stop. And when someone starts walking again, the whole group has to start again.Great exercise to train perception, awareness, and group spirit.

Nasaga

This is a link to a Wilderness Survival game. Assume you are alone and have a minimum of equipment, the season is fall, the days are warm and dry, but the nights are cold. Select what you believes is the best of the three choices given under each item. A great team game !
For adventure games, team games for trainers and access to training websites including Silly Monkey, offering stacks of free games.

Skills Converged

Here you will find one of the largest collections of free training materials easily accessible through categorization. Using the free training resources on offer, you are given the opportunity to design your own course based on your clients' needs and focus on delivering an effective and valuable training session. A huge collection of team building exercises, energisers, icebreakers and communication exercises are on offer, which can be used in different soft skills training courses.

Teampedia

This enormously useful site provides an encyclopaedia of team building activities, icebreakers, riddles, party games, teamwork resources and tools for teams that anyone can use. Designed for a wide audience, including team leaders, trainers, teachers, managers, camp directors, counsellors and youth groups, it provides masses of free handouts.

TrainerBase

One more for the pot on TrainerBase in the Downloads section; there are 27 resources from a range of trainers, including team building acivities, business management and training theories, business planning material, facilitation resources, IT course material, team games, some great icebreakers, warm-ups and warm-downs.

Team Performance Benchmark Survey

If you are interested in evaluating how any team is currently performing to assist with your training needs analysis, then this free Benchmark Survey is available . Addressing the four key organisation factors of high performance together with the four key people factors, the analysis generated will illuminate the roof causes of any current under-performance, to ensure any proposed training intervention can deliver the hgher possible measurable impact.

Trainer Bubble

No training list is complete without the free training resources provided by Trainer Bubble. A virtual treasure-chest of training materials, management documents, models and tools for all your business development needs. Here you will find loads of great training games, team building activities, icebreakers, energisers and PowerPoint games, quotes, puzzles and quizzes.

Wilderdom

This site is literally packed with group activities, teambuilding games and exercises, icebreakers, warm-ups and energizers. There are group games for fun and ideas for camp activities and games, trust-building activities, psychological self-awareness exercises, environmental education games, physical activities for groups, rope challenge courses and team building activities like Raptor, Executive Marbles and Feeding the Zircon.

 
We think Cheryl has done a great job, but keep your eyes peeled for any more free team-building resources, and we'll add them to this list. Email us at [email protected] or add a comment below