Training Skills

Fun Training Activities




Use these Fun Training Activities to energize your sessions, boost engagement, and make learning enjoyable! These activities work for both in-person and virtual training and can be adapted to different topics or audiences.

1. Icebreakers?

Purpose: Help participants relax, connect, and get into the learning mindset.

  • Two Truths and a Lie:
  • Each participant shares two truths and one lie about themselves. The group guesses which is the lie.
  • Virtual Tip: Use the chat or polling features in Zoom/Teams.
  • Human Bingo:
  • Create a bingo card with fun facts (e.g., “Speaks two languages,” “Has been to Europe”). Participants mingle to find someone who matches each box.
  • Virtual Tip: Use digital bingo tools like BingoBaker or breakout rooms.

2. Scavenger Hunt????

Purpose: Encourage teamwork and active learning.

  • How It Works:
  • Create a list of training-related items or concepts for participants to "find."
  • Examples:
    • In a workplace training, ask participants to find examples of safety violations (e.g., cluttered desks).
    • For virtual training, ask participants to find objects in their homes (e.g., "Find an object that represents teamwork").
  • Award points to the fastest teams.

3. Role-Playing

Purpose: Practice real-world scenarios in a low-pressure environment.

  • How It Works:
  • Assign participants specific roles (e.g., customer, employee, manager).
  • Create scenarios relevant to the training topic (e.g., resolving a customer complaint, coaching a team member).
  • Participants act out the situation while the rest of the group observes and provides feedback.
  • Virtual Tip: Use breakout rooms for small groups to role-play privately.

4. Quiz Show?

Purpose: Test knowledge in an exciting and competitive way.

  • How It Works:
  • Divide participants into teams and create a game-show-style quiz. Use formats like:
    • Jeopardy: Create categories and point values.
    • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Use lifelines like "Ask a teammate."
  • Tools for Virtual Training:
    • Kahoot!, Quizizz, or Mentimeter to create interactive, live quizzes.

5. Case Study Challenge

Purpose: Encourage problem-solving and critical thinking.

  • How It Works:
  • Present participants with a real-world case study related to the training topic.
  • Example: “Your team must increase sales by 10% this quarter with a limited budget. How would you allocate resources?”
  • Divide into small groups to brainstorm solutions and present their ideas to the group.
  • Virtual Tip: Use collaborative tools like Google Docs, Miro, or Jamboard for brainstorming.

6. Training Pictionary

Purpose: Add fun and creativity while reinforcing learning topics.

  • How It Works:
  • Write key terms from the training on cards (e.g., "teamwork," "innovation").
  • Divide participants into teams. One member of each team draws the term while the others guess.
  • Virtual Tip: Use an online whiteboard tool like Miro, Microsoft Whiteboard, or Zoom’s annotate feature.

7. Problem-Solving Relay???

Purpose: Practice collaboration and decision-making.

  • How It Works:
  • Create a multi-step problem or challenge that requires teamwork to solve.
  • Example: “Build a paper tower that can hold a book using only paper and tape.”
  • Teams must complete different steps in sequence, passing the challenge to the next person/team.
  • Virtual Tip: Use shared documents or collaborative tools to create a relay-style brainstorming activity.

8. Interactive Polls and Surveys

Purpose: Foster engagement while gathering opinions or checking knowledge.

  • How It Works:
  • Use live polling tools to ask fun or thought-provoking questions related to the training.
  • Examples:
    • "What’s your biggest workplace challenge?"
    • "Which of these habits is most effective for productivity?"
  • Tools: Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, Slido.

9. Storytelling Session

Purpose: Help participants connect emotionally with the topic.

  • How It Works:
  • Ask participants to share a personal story or experience related to the training topic.
  • Example: In leadership training, ask, “Share a time when a leader inspired you.”
  • Trainer Tip: Start by sharing your own story to encourage participation.

10. Picture This!

Purpose: Boost creativity and understanding of abstract concepts.

  • How It Works:
  • Ask participants to draw, find, or take a photo that represents a concept.
  • Example: “Find an object that symbolizes innovation and explain your choice.”
  • Virtual Tip: Encourage participants to share photos in the chat or present them via screen sharing.

11. Learning Escape Room

Purpose: Add excitement and challenge to training.

  • How It Works:
  • Create a series of puzzles, clues, or riddles learners must solve to "escape."
  • Tailor the puzzles to training content (e.g., solving a customer service issue).
  • Virtual Tip: Use tools like Google Forms, Microsoft Teams, or breakout rooms to host a virtual escape room.

12. Peer Teaching??

Purpose: Reinforce knowledge by teaching others.

  • How It Works:
  • Divide participants into small groups and assign each group a subtopic to teach to the rest of the class.
  • Encourage creativity (e.g., role-plays, demonstrations, or visual aids).
  • Virtual Tip: Assign groups to breakout rooms to prepare, then present to the main group.

13. Debates?

Purpose: Develop critical thinking and communication skills.

  • How It Works:
  • Divide participants into two teams and assign them opposing sides of an argument.
  • Example: “Is remote work better than office work?”
  • Encourage teams to present evidence and counterarguments.
  • Trainer Tip: Keep the debate friendly and focused on the learning topic.

14. Speed Networking

Purpose: Build connections and share knowledge.

  • How It Works:
  • Pair participants up for 2-3 minute discussions before rotating to a new partner.
  • Provide prompts like:
    • “What’s your biggest challenge at work?”
    • “What’s one skill you’d like to develop?”
  • Virtual Tip: Use breakout rooms to create one-on-one networking sessions.

15. Memory Challenge

Purpose: Reinforce learning and make it fun.

  • How It Works:
  • Show participants a slide with key concepts or terms for 30 seconds, then hide it.
  • Ask them to recall as much as they can from memory.
  • Award points for correct answers.

16. Collaborative Poster/Collage?

Purpose: Encourage teamwork and creativity.

  • How It Works:
  • Provide each group with a poster or digital canvas. Ask them to visually represent a concept from the training (e.g., “What does teamwork look like?”).
  • Groups present their creations to the class.
  • Virtual Tip: Use collaborative tools like Miro, Jamboard, or Canva.

Tips for Success with Training Activities

  1. Tie Activities to Learning Objectives: Ensure each activity reinforces key concepts.
  2. Encourage Participation: Set a friendly, inclusive tone to make everyone comfortable.
  3. Mix It Up: Use a variety of activities to appeal to different learning styles.
  4. Debrief After Activities: Discuss key takeaways to connect the activity to the training goals.
  5. Time Management: Keep activities short and focused (5–20 minutes) to maintain energy.?

These activities will energize your training sessions and make learning both effective and fun!


If you liked this, consider supporting us by checking out Tiny Skills - 250+ Top Work & Personal Skills Made Easy