Want your team to know each other as people?

Looking for a speedy yet fun way to make that human connection in a meeting?

Here red10 ‘s Sarah Barber shares an icebreaker where people listen to a song, guess who’s nominated it, and find out why that track has meaning to them.

What are Desert Island Discs?

This game is based on a UK BBC Radio 4 series that has been running since 1942.

In the programme, guests are asked to imagine themselves as a castaway on a desert island. They choose 8 pieces of music that they would like to have with them and the presenter asks questions about why each piece is important to them and what phase of their life they associate the music with. The “discs” part dates from a time when music was only available on vinyl discs.

The Game – the fun bit

For your meeting, ask participants in advance to choose just one piece of music that they would take to the desert island and to share that choice only with you.

Set up a playlist, and then at intervals through the meeting, play someone’s choice. Everyone has to guess whose choice it was – either by pointing or, if you are working virtually, by typing into chat all at the same time (called a Chatbomb).

Keep a score – at the end of the meeting the winner is the person with the most correct guesses.

The Game – the important bit

After everyone has made their guess, the person whose choice it was identifies themselves.

Ask them why they chose this piece of music. The answers may reveal connections with people who have been important in their lives or with experiences that have shaped them or simply times of strong emotion. You will find that you learn new things about your colleagues and deepen your human connection to them.

Team Identity

A strong team identity can be summarised as “Team members know each other well and each other’s strengths, roles and personalities” It is one of the nine dimensions of highly effective teams. To learn more about these, click on the link  9-dimensions.

Try playing this simple game to strengthen your own team’s identity and let us know how you got on.