Team building
Team Building Your Employees Won't Dread: A Planner's Guide to Comedy Workshops
How to choose between improv, sketch comedy, game shows and a humor-at-work talk, with what each one is best for, how long it takes, and what to ask before you book.
By Mike James · · 3 min read
Most people have a team-building horror story: the scavenger hunt in the rain, the trust fall nobody trusted, the "fun" activity that everyone quietly checked their email through. The problem usually isn't the idea of team building. It's choosing an activity that people experience as homework.
Comedy-based team building avoids that because the reward is built in: people laugh. Here's how to pick the right format for your group.
The four main options
| Format | Best for | Typical length | Group size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improv workshop | Communication, listening, adaptability | 60 to 90 min | Small to medium |
| Sketch comedy workshop | Collaboration, creativity, cross-team mixing | 90 min to 2 hours | Small to medium |
| Hosted game show | Energy, friendly competition, big rooms | 45 to 60 min | Any size |
| Humor-at-work talk | Conferences, leadership retreats, lunch-and-learns | 30 to 60 min | Any size |
Sketch comedy: the underrated option
An improv workshop is about thinking on your feet. A sketch comedy workshop is about building something together. Small groups get a few simple writing tools, then create a short, clean sketch about their own workplace: the meeting that should have been an email, the printer with a personal grudge, the reply-all that would not end.
Then every group performs for the others.
Why it works:
- It mixes people who don't usually work together. Put sales, finance and IT in one writing group and they'll find common ground fast. Every department has a printer story.
- Everyone contributes differently. Some people write, some perform, some are the one who says "what if the printer is the villain?" All of it counts.
- It lets people laugh at shared frustrations in a way that's affectionate rather than bitter, which is surprisingly good for morale.
- The finale is a show. Teams cheering each other's sketches is a great way to end a day.
The key is a leader who knows how to teach the basics quickly and keep every sketch clean and kind. Mike James has taught improv and comedy workshops for more than 20 years and keeps the focus on the group having fun, not on producing polished comedy.
How to choose
Ask three questions:
- What problem are we solving? A new team that hasn't gelled needs something interactive, like improv or sketch. A big conference crowd that needs energy needs a game show. A leadership group that wants a takeaway might want the talk.
- How many people, and how much time? Workshops are best when everyone gets plenty of turns. Game shows and talks scale to a ballroom.
- How comfortable is this group with being in front of others? Every good format keeps the spotlight optional, but a game show lets reluctant people participate from their seats.
Questions to ask before you book
- How do you adapt the session for our industry and group?
- How do you make sure nobody feels put on the spot?
- Is the content completely clean?
- What do you need from us in terms of room, sound and screens?
- Can we combine a workshop with a show or game?
Any experienced facilitator should answer each of these clearly and quickly.
The bottom line
The best team building is the kind people bring up months later. Comedy workshops and game shows get there because they're genuinely fun, and the skills they build (listening, collaborating, staying loose when plans change) show up in the office long after the laughter stops.
Explore the formats on the comedy team building page, or read more about improv workshops for teams and game show team building.
