Purpose: To help participants relate with more ease at the start of class. (This exercise is tailor-made for team-building sessions.)

 Time Required: 10 to 15 minutes.

 Size of Group: Unlimited.

 Materials Required: Flipchart paper.

 The Exercise in Action: Yvonne Thornton, a training specialist with UT Southwestern in Dallas, asks participants, one at a time, to write their first names on a flipchart at the front of the class. They’re also asked to write a nickname they’ve had in their lives, explaining the nickname’s origin as they write. Someone nicknamed “Bones,” for instance, might trace it back to being skinny as a child.

Thornton says the exercise is well-suited for team-building efforts within departments because “it helps team members begin training with reduced tension and increased rapport. It also provides more insight into personalities and backgrounds.” Many times participants are called by their old nicknames throughout the rest of the session, she says.