Here is a way to build a strong group identity by acknowledging the strengths each person brings to the mix.
You can adjust this activity to work with groups as small as 5 or as large as 80+. I’ve used it as an opening activity at board meetings and a closing activity for the first evening of youth programs.
Begin by asking each person to think of a strength they bring to the group. This would be a quality or a talent like enthusiasm, creativity, or listening. Once everyone has a strength in mind, you begin to make a group statue that includes everyone. The statue begins when one person moves to the center of the floor, takes a dynamic pose that represents their strength and says, “My name is (name), and the strength I bring is (state the strength).”
One by one, participants step into the circle, take a pose that represents their strength and says, “My name is (name), and the strength I bring is (state the strength).”
Each person’s pose should connect physically with the other poses so that together the group is building a connected statue of strengths. Once everyone has joined the statue, ask people to say on the count of 3, “We are (name of your group), and we bring (each person says their strength).”
The power of this activity comes through engaging the body and the imagination and giving each person the opportunity to have their voice heard.
Author: Peggy Taylor, MEd is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Partners for Youth Empowerment