The Desert Island

The participants are given the following scenario:

You are all stranded on a desert island, and may choose only three of the following objects to survive. 

The list of objects may include items such as: 

• a bag of fruit and vegetable seeds
• a Swiss army knife
• a fishing net
• sunblock
• a 100 ft rope
• a waterproof bed sheet, 
• a large, strong bucket 
• 2 litres of kerosene, 
• A lighter, and so on.

You can make these objects as obscure and strategic as possible so that members are challenged to really think and plan for their survival.

For smaller teams, you can ask each person to individually choose their three items and explain why.

For larger teams, you can split the team into groups and allow them to collaborate on which items they want to choose (using multi-room video conference options). Once all the smaller groups have decided on their items, continue the virtual meeting and ask each team in turn to explain their choices.

Activities like this naturally make team members see each other as teammates. It can also create pride, healthy competition, and excitement within the team, plus it can help virtual workers learn how to collaborate in a virtual setting.

Debriefing

The goal of this activity is to encourage creative thinking and decision making.

As a facilitator, you might ask people to explain why they chose the items they picked, and how it plays to their strengths. The rest of the team will now have some new information and a fresh perspective about their fellow team members.