You’ve felt it before, haven’t you?
When you’re listening to someone who feels convincing, and you feel sure that “it’s more than just their words that have convinced me here.”
There certainly is more happening than just what they're saying. That’s why we’re bringing you the best activities to develop non-verbal communication at work.
Because it’s still true that in many cases, “Actions speak louder than words.”
Why should companies use non-verbal activities at work?
Whether we recognize it or not, a large proportion of workplace communication happens before anybody even speaks.
So many factors go into it, too. Eye contact, posture, facial expressions, gestures, and tones all shape how messages are sent, and how they’re received. The data most certainly confirms it:
- Research from UCLA famously suggested that communication is heavily influenced by non-verbal signals like body language and tone of voice.
- Extensive studies on workplace collaboration consistently show that teams with stronger communication habits tend to build trust and solve problems more effectively together.
And this is why more companies than ever are understanding the value of non-verbal communication in the workplace.
25 of the best non-verbal games and activities for your team
So here are 25 of the greatest non-verbal games and activities to elevate teamwork in the office:
1. Frozen body language
First on our list is one of the best and easiest to set up activities. It relies almost completely on body language, which is a powerful non-verbal tool in any worker’s arsenal.
In this activity, you create pairs in your team. You give everyone a topic to talk about, something they really enjoy, like holidays or special food. At a random moment, you should “FREEZE,” and one side of the room holds their pose until you say “unfreeze.”
During frozen moments, the partner should write down what the frozen partner’s body language was like. Were they talking with their hands? What gestures did they show? Did body language match what was being said?
This is a great way to get your teams to think about how body language can affect the way we communicate.
2. “Walk and stop”
This activity sounds almost too simple at first, but it’s actually a real gem for sharpening non-verbal awareness.
Ask the whole group to walk around the room at a relaxed pace. At random moments, one person stops walking completely. The goal is for everybody else to notice and stop as quickly as possible too, without speaking or calling attention to it.
After a few rounds, teams naturally become far more observant of movement, pace, and body language. This one’s great as a teambuilding without materials activity, quietly improving focus, awareness, and a sense of group-belonging
3. “BF Skinner” games
B.F. Skinner was a famous psychologist and behaviourist, who spent his life studying the way groups interact, both verbally and without words. Long story short, there are some powerful non-verbal games you can use with his ideas as a basis. Try this one:
One person leaves the room while the group chooses a small action to complete, like sitting in a certain position or holding an object. When they return, the group can only guide them using non-verbal positive reinforcement, like a thumbs-up or nodding, when they move in the right direction.
It’s surprisingly entertaining to watch unfold. At the same time, it works as a communication game activity that highlights how strongly we all respond to non-verbal feedback.
4. Copy clap game
Some non-verbal communication activities prove just how difficult timing and attention can become when people stop relying on words.
For this game, one person starts with a simple clap rhythm, and the group copies it exactly. The one more clap is added to the rhythm, making it faster, stranger or more unpredictable as time goes on. If anyone loses focus for a second, the whole chain falls apart, usually in a funny way.
It’s fast, simple and genuinely fun. Use it as a quick teambuilding game at the start of your next meeting.
5. Replacing “one, two, three”
This activity helps your temas to communicate without relying on words.
Start with two people counting “one, two, three” back and forth. Then, after a duration, replace each number with a gesture, or a movement, or a facial expression. Before long, you’ll see how the exercise has become a crazy mix of pointing, spinning and confused laughter.
The challenge is to stay focused while adapting to the changes. It’s one type of improv game for collaboration that sticks in the mind of the players. Great fun!
6. Spectrum questions
This activity helps you realise how much we communicate before we even start speaking.
Create an imaginary line across the room representing two opposite opinions or preferences. Then ask “spectrum questions” like “morning person or night owl?” or “strict plans or spontaneous chaos?” Team members position themselves somewhere along the line without explaining their choice straight away.
Before anybody says a word, the group already starts reading posture, hesitation, confidence, and reactions from others nearby. It’s a great insight into the unspoken influences over our decisions.
7. Body language with Pictionary
Pictionary becomes a completely different challenge when people rely on body language instead of drawing.
You just need some Pictionary cards for this activity. One person picks a plausible card and has to act it out, using only gestures, posture and movement. The rest of the group’s job is to decipher what the person is doing.
This usually becomes chaotic very quickly, especially when people feel the need to start overcommitting to dramatic acting. Super fun and easy, great as a teambuilding activity or game for medium to large teams.
8. Negotiation game
“How on earth can you negotiate when you can’t use words?” I hear you ask. It’s doable and it’s fun.
Let your small groups know they’re doing a negotiation challenge, and tell them they can only act without words. You can even make this one competitive, too, by measuring results at the end of the negotiation.
People quickly realize how much confidence, hesitation, frustration and agreement are communicated non-verbally. It’s a brilliant example of how much goes unspoken in the world of business.
9. Eye contact game
Eye contact is something we don’t think about too much, until we’re forced to rely on it entirely.
In this activity, make your teams walk randomly around the room while avoiding speaking to, or even looking at other people. At a random moment, tell them they need to make eye contact with a person nearby. If both people hold eye contact for more than 5 seconds, they have succeeded and can sit down.
It sounds simple, but the room quickly fills with laughter and staring competitions. Activities like this are great as a quick teambuilding activity, as it builds awareness and non-verbal confidence very quickly.
10. “Fist to five”
For this active listening activity, you’re going to raise topics of discussion, such as the group's effectiveness in communication or confidence levels for an upcoming project.
After discussing it, you want each member to put a hand behind their back, and extend between zero (a fist) and five fingers, which shows how they feel about your questions. Zero is the lowest score, and five is the highest. After they’ve thought about their number, they then show the rest of the group how many fingers they have up.
This activity is a quick and honest way to get opinions on feedback and confidence about any work your teams are currently on.
11. Video clip reflections
This one’s really simple. It just involves watching (and reflecting on) good video examples of body language.
You should curate the clips yourself first. Look for videos of exemplary body language, be that in motivational speeches, movies, or just someone you know. As they watch in silence, ask teams to write down what emotions, reactions or power dynamics they picked up on, based purely on body language and facial expressions.
Then share your ideas as a group and reflect. You’ll naturally discover how differently people can interpret the same scene, encouraging conversation and discussion.
12. Partner mirror stretch
This activity is a surprisingly good test of focus, patience, and non-verbal awareness.
Split people into pairs and ask one person to begin making slow stretches or movements while the other mirrors them as closely as possible. Let a minute or two roll by, then swap roles. The trick is to keep movements smooth enough that the partner can follow, without speaking.
It’s a good mix of physical expression and memory, all while remaining non-verbal. That’s why activities like this work well as a trust-building exercise, especially for teams that need stronger coordination and cooperation.
13. “Right about… Now!”
This one’s great for silently testing a group’s perception of time passing. It’s also just a barrel of fun.
Have your group make 2 lines, 10 meters apart. Split the group 50/50, one for each line, facing one another. You need a stopwatch, and you’ll tell them to jump over the line after exactly 60 seconds have passed.
It’s interesting to think about how our internal sense of passing time can be accurate, or just way off! Share with the group who was the champion of crossing the line on the 1-minute mark, and enjoy the feeling of non-verbal communication as you play.
14. Wordless acting
Here we can see how expressive people become once we’re restricted from speaking. Ask one person to act out a situation, emotion, movie title, workplace scenario, or an everyday activity, without using any words at all. Everyone else needs to guess what is silently happening in front of them.
Simple, fun, and potentially very expressive. Some people might look like they’re fighting invisible bees, though, and that’s part of the game. Use it as a teambuilding activity for work to hone your observation skills while keeping the whole room entertained.
15. Body language feedback
For most of us, we focus a whole lot on what we say during a conversation. Yet, so much of what we communicate to others is not through the words we use.
For this activity, just have pairs hold a short conversation, but make it inaudible for the rest of the team. The rest of the group silently writes down things like posture, eye contact, gestures and facial expressions. Afterwards, have observers share what signals they picked up.
Simple, but effective, often with surprising results. Don’t make anyone feel uncomfortable, but also reflect on how we communicate our confidence, nervousness, openness or frustration, all without saying a word.
16. Emoji cards
This is a really simple one that only requires a set of cards that show famous emojis.
Spread that selection of cards out on a table, showing different expressions, moods and gestures. Every member then chooses one that matches how they’re feeling about a current project, challenge or general situation of your choosing. Then they explain why afterwards.
It’s simple on the surface, but it often opens up some surprisingly honest conversations. It’s also brilliant to use as one kind of improv game for the office, as it doesn’t feel so serious.
17. Climer cards
In a similar style to emoji cards, “climer cards” have grown in popularity, in homes (and offices) around the world. These cards were designed to get the ball rolling in communication, without forcing anyone into awkward conversations straight away.
Each climer card contains an image, word or prompt that’s connected to emotions, communication styles or group dynamics. They were designed with the business world in mind, too, relating as much to friends as to co-workers.
Team members pick a card they relate most to in the moment, and explain their choice, if they’re comfortable. What makes it so interesting is that people can interpret the cards in different ways, too. Try them out with your teams today.
18. “Gotcha!”
In this quick teambuilding game and activity, teams stand side by side in a circle with one finger resting in their neighbor’s palm, while their other hand stays open for the person beside them. Once the moderator shouts “GO!” everyone tries to grab the finger in their palm, while pulling their own finger away at the same time.
A really fun, simple and fast energizer for the start of gatherings, it also helps sharpen senses in the group. They’ll be anticipating their reflexes, focus and group energy, without the need for any materials at all.
19. Statues of emotion
Statues have long been used to convey a grand sense of emotion, history and meaning for humans. Turn this idea into an activity for your teams.
One person calls out an emotion or a certain scenario. Then, the group has a few seconds to freeze into a “statue,” showing how they would physically express it. This is great for bolstering confidence, excitement and even a bit of panic before a deadline.
Some poses might be surprisingly accurate (like an elderly fisherman), while others might be more challenging (like the feeling before your wedding day). The fun is in the variations.
20. 5 minutes, 5 handshakes
First impressions are almost completely built through non-verbal communication, which is what makes this activity a really solid choice.
Give all of your participants one minute to move around the room and greet 5 different people, using only handshakes or body language. No speaking allowed. After each round, make the greeting slightly more challenging, or longer, so that it’s a bit trickier each time. You’ll soon find that people really have to try hard to replicate your handshakes and body language signs, before the minute is up.
Once the activity finishes, teams can reflect on what made each one easy or hard to remember. It’s a great way to start some fun conversations. Use this as a communication game or activity that quickly highlights how much people can pick up from small social cues.
21. Finger snaps
This activity turns coordination into complete chaos very quickly, in the best possible way.
Using small “finger snaps” made from sliced foam noodles, participants launch the pieces into the air using their thumb and index finger while trying to catch them at the same time. Once everybody gets the hang of it, pairs begin launching snaps toward each other simultaneously before eventually forming larger groups.
Sounds wild, and it is! It gets even funnier when multiple snaps start flying through the air. Then you’ll notice even more improvements in coordination, teamwork, quick reactions and non-verbal timing all at once!
22. “Mute and line up!”
The challenge with this one is to get the whole group lined up in a specific order, without using any words at all. It’s actually completely up to you how you choose to create the criteria. It could be ordered by people’s birthdays, height, years at the company, or even how many miles they have to travel to work each day.
One of the best things about this active listening activity is how quickly teams start relying on your audio cues, and on observation instead of verbal instructions. It’s also a great way to deepen bonds among people who might not know each other too well, and it's great for large groups.
23. Poker face
Some people are incredibly easy to read. Others somehow look cool as a cucumber, even under the most intense pressure.
Why not make the most of their differences, and create a game? For this activity, each person takes turns reading prompts that you create. You want to make these funny, while still being considerate. It could be silly questions or unexpected situations, then, it’s the rest of the group’s job to figure out whether they’re bluffing, nervous, confident, or just trying to hide.
It can get really funny when people start trying to over-control their expressions. At the same time, it’s quite an insightful way to see how much emotion slips through out body language, even when we’re trying out best to hide it.
24. “We need to move. Now!”
You know those times in life, where you literally have to move, right now? Well, this is a great spin on that, and a great way to show how much emotion changes communication, even when the words stay exactly the same.
Write down a list of different moods or emotional states on a small piece of paper. These could be feelings like nervous, suspicious, excited, guilty, panicked, or overly confident. Each person playing picks one strip, and doesn’t tell anyone. Then you give them the scenario, such as “the building is on fire, we need to exit” or “we have to go and meet the CEO right now.” They need to act out the scenario, using the emotion they have on their paper.
The group then guesses which emotion was being acted out. It’s a really good way to get creative juices flowing, and for loosening up after a hard day’s work. Try this improv collaboration game with your teams next time!
25. Debriefing with traffic lights
Finally, consider adding a non-verbal twist to your usual debriefing wind-down session.
Your teams have likely spent some time now working on non-verbal communication in the office. So for debriefing, place red, orange and green objects around the room. Red represents anything they found difficult or hard to understand, orange is for anything they are unsure about, and green means they enjoyed something or found it useful.
Then it’s up to you how you debrief your gathering. Your teams will likely appreciate the length you’ve gone to let them know the importance of non-verbal communication, in any aspect of life.
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