Posts Tagged ‘competition’
Nobody Likes Hard Trivia Questions
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Most trivia enthusiasts pride themselves on their ability to tackle challenging questions. If you or someone you know is a diehard buff, than you know that the buzz received from puzzling, pondering and ultimately retrieving the correct answer to a query is highly rewarding and satisfying. Perhaps, though, what is even more fulfilling when correctly answering trivia is having avoided that sense of frustration, anger and/or self-loathing which comes immediately after getting a question wrong.
I see it all the time at the live trivia parties we host as corporate team builders or pub quiz nights, and am even a victim of it myself when playing trivia: getting a trivia question wrong – especially one where I should have known the answer – is a mildly traumatic experience. Yes, it’s only a game, and yes it’s all in good fun. But I KNEW that one! Arghhhh! You know what I’m talking about.
This of course begs the question: who really likes hard trivia? When the questions are extremely difficult, the chances of knowing the answer logically plummets. With the odds of people correctly answering hard trivia questions so low, and since getting trivia questions wrong is such an unpleasant experience, why would anyone reasonably enjoy them? Sure, the feeling of success and pride which comes with correctly answering hard trivia is arguable a degree higher than that which comes with answering a more manageable question, especially when you or your team are the only ones in the room who got it right. But by and large, you’ll likely be getting a lot wrong as well. Does the one question you knew about scalene triangles cancel out that punch to the gut you felt for not remembering who killed Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks? Unless it’s for the win, I’d bet probably not.
And that’s of course assuming participants even understand the question. What if it’s so hard, obscure or complicated, folks don’t even have a clue? Now, in addition to feeling frustrated, attendees feel stupid.
Frustrated, angry and stupid. Does that sound like fun to you?
Me neither. That’s why I keep “hard” questions to a minimum at my trivia parties, usually limited to the very last round where I clearly state that the questions will be more challenging, but will be worth more points as a tradeoff. This is hard for quizmasters to do, as I can surely attest: we love coming up with clever questions, in order to keep things fresh, vibrant and stimulating. However, I’d much rather see people get a lot of “easy” or “challenging” questions right than a bunch of smart, clever yet impossibly difficult questions wrong.
But then again, that’s just my opinion. Are you a trivia lover, writer or host? Do you love hard trivia? Let your voice be heard below!
Why New York City Team Building Events Are Tops
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
New York City corporate team building events are awesome. That may seem like a rather broad, stereotypical NYC-centric statement, but it’s true. Our city is really like no other in terms of diversity, density and sheer variety of options for truly everything imaginable, and team building activities are no exception.
Prior to starting a professional live trivia company, I had the unique pleasure of working for two years with one of the city’s best scavenger hunt companies – yes, there are scavenger hunt companies in New York! These events were so much fun for participants, but were even more fun for me, who’s job it was to write & produce them. At my disposal? A city with so many museums, parks, zoos, landmarks and historical sites, I was like a kid in a candy store. I ultimately decided that live trivia events were more convenient and customizable for team building purposes, but the fact remains that NYC is just a perfect place for scavenger hunts.
New York City is perhaps also the greatest food town in America. If you love to eat great food from a variety of cultures, this is the place to do it- and you’d better believe there are options for food-related team building. Competitive cooking can be found at culinary schools and specially-designed lofts, and with so many star chefs and “foodies” jammed into this city, you can be certain that some of the biggest names in the business are willing to open up their famous kitchens for the ultimate food lover’s cooking experience (for a price, of course- but the option remains none the less).
Speaking of stars, let’s also not forget that many celebrities of all stripes live and work in New York City, making them available for appearances at events - which are suddenly more impactful and memorable. Of course, for the ultimate in employing celebrities for team building purposes, they should do more than simply attend, but should actively engage with the audience somehow – serving as a special celebrity host at a trivia event, perhaps?
Manhattan island also happens to be surrounded by water, creating even more possibilities for team building – competitive rowing, sailing, kayaking, even swimming (for those who dare). For the ultimate group bonding experience, there’s also the Polar Bear Club, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
While there is absolutely a thriving presence of both team building professionals and enthusiasts in other cities, in my opinion no place beats the Big Apple for corporate team building in terms of sheer variety of activities, range of experiences and overall convenience of choice among many, many options.
Do you think that your city has got New York beat by a mile as far as team building goes? Sound off here! The comments section awaits you.
Don’t Take Trivia Nights Too Seriously
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
There are a lot of reasons why bar trivia nights have become so popular in recent years. People love a good mental challenge, which combined with some competition, the chance to socialize & blow off steam after work, and the opportunity to have a fun time making trivia an ideal weeknight activity. Bars of course love seeing business which they wouldn’t otherwise have on an “off” night, and have welcomed trivia nights in New York City and beyond as a crowd-friendly gimmick for generating both patrons and buzz.
But if you’ve been to pub quiz nights, you know that not everyone is there for the lighthearted fun and happy hour drink specials. Lurking just beneath the surface of the otherwise relaxed competitive environment, you will also find a very different cadre of trivia night attendees- and having fun is not on their agenda.
These people who are only here to win.
You may recognize them. They’re the team who comes an hour early to claim a table, and brings their own water. They repeatedly approach the host to argue their score, request frequent “points of clarification” and generously offer their obscure knowledge of arcane facts which would also technically serve as correct answers, and are thus worthy of points. In a nutshell, these are the people who take trivia nights way too seriously.
I am always baffled by this phenomenon. To my mind – and I suspect the majority of trivia night attendees as well – pub quiz is an escape from the stress of the workday, a way to kick back and socialize over beer and friendly competition. Sure, every team at pub quiz wants to win- however, most teams know the odds of them winning are slim, and that the point of the event is to have fun. For some people, though, simply having fun isn’t part of the game plan; they are here because they are great at trivia, love showing how smart they are, and want to beat the pants off everybody else.
I feel like shaking these people and saying, “Relax! It’s only a GAME!” But alas, I guess some people are just programmed that way. One event which stands out particularly in my mind, from my early days as a trivia host: during a jam-packed pub quiz, a clearly agitated young man interrupted me mid-question to demand that I re-count his last answer sheet, insisting that he had 7 points, but that I had only given him 6. I explained that I was in the middle of hosting, but would gladly double-check his score afterwards. No good- he wanted his score updated NOW, or he and his team were leaving. Calling his bluff, I offered to refund his entrance fee – it was a free event, after all (this is a good line to use, by the way- I’ll talk more about this in an upcoming post about dealing with hecklers and other people who disrupt trivia night).
Undeterred and enraged at my snarky retort, he then began whining about how I wasn’t being fair. Having reached the end of my patience and letting my frustration get the better of me, I told him he could take the matter up with our complaint department. As if on cue, 3 very large, scary-looking men observing this exchange jauntily hoisted their beers into the air and proclaimed, “That’s us!” The complainer did an about-face and left; I bought the Complaint Department a round of shots.
(Photo courtesy of Dennis Goedegebuure)
My point is this: if you’re attending a trivia night, go in to have fun, not to win. You’ll be happier in the end.
Are you one of the people I’ve described above, and think I couldn’t be more wrong about this? Tell us your side of the story in the comments section below!
Does “Winning” Help or Hurt Team Building Activities?
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
The recent Charlie Sheen saga included this Tweet about “Winning,” which served as fodder for late night TV show host, but got me thinking about an interesting topic.
There are myriad “team building” activities out there, ostensibly designed to facilitate group interaction and bonding, foster collaboration and leave a lasting positive impact. Many of these activities involve breaking a larger group down into smaller teams, who then compete against each other in a friendly rivalry lasting only for the duration of the event- scavenger hunts, boat races, trivia events etc. The reason for this of course is to introduce a more immediate objective to the team building goals listed above, and that is the element of “winning.”
For a small team of people within the larger group to “win” a team building activity, the lasting positive impact is even greater than that of the group as a whole. However, what about the vast majority of co-workers who didn’t win- are they losers? How does making the bulk of the event attendees “losers” make for a positive team building experience? Additionally, won’t the majority of “losers” come to resent the “winners” back at the office?
I would argue an emphatic “no” to this. While it’s true that in competitive-based, zero-sum team building events such as trivia, the driving force of the event is indeed the chance to “win” (it doesn’t matter if you’re giving away iPads or a week in Tahiti as prizes, folks just want beat everyone else). However, this competition is always good-natured and fun. Even among the most competitive of professions– investment banking, law, etc. – I’ve found that while the inter-team ribbing & trash talking is intense, it’s accompanied by lots of smiles and laughter. After the event is over, the “winning” team is allowed to gloat (usually quite loudly), but the rest of the group provides encouragement and congratulations.
The reason that nobody feels like a “loser” after a competitive corporate employee event is that while only one team in fact “wins,” everyone has just enjoyed the same shared experience- and that experience was fun, energetic, enthusiastic and impactful.
There is of course one exception to this, and that is when one of the “losing” teams feels that they were robbed of their rightful “win.” This can happen when the activity is trivia, as there is always a chance that questions may have multiple correct answers – or even worse, the official “correct” answer given is actually wrong! (these and other topics will be addressed in future posts on quality control, and ensuring trivia questions are “bulletproof.”) If and when this does happen (and if you run enough team building activities, it inevitably will) it’s best to rectify as quickly, fairly and publicly as possible. People don’t mind not winning- unless they are convinced they did, and aren’t recognized for it.
What are your opinions on the positive/negative role of “winning” in corporate team building events?
Anatomy of a Trivia Team Building Event
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
In an earlier post, I explained general terms how trivia may be used as a corporate team building activity. Now I would like to describe the live trivia event in further detail, in order to illustrate its value for this unique purpose.
The first step is customizing the trivia questions themselves, to tailor them specifically for the participants in attendance. The goal of customization is to make the event as relevant, meaningful and enjoyable to the group as possible- and thus more impactful. While you could certainly get by using generic trivia questions designed for a mass audience, by generating custom-made trivia you are virtually guaranteeing an event which participants will find meaningful.
The second step with these types of events is to break the larger group of attendees into smaller teams, who will be competing against each other. The breakdown of teams provides an opportunity to match up people who have little to no interaction in the office; conversely, it allows for coworkers who do work closely together to engage in a fun new environment, far unlike from their day to day teamwork and utilizing entirely different skill sets.
Once the trivia questions have been written and their groups broken down to their optimal teams, the next step is to run the event. The method I use is to pass out answer sheets and pens to each team, and to then have a host read out questions; after announcing the questions, teams are then given a moment to discuss, debate and ultimately arrive at a final answer as a team. I’ve found that this method offers the greatest opportunity for the group to practice those skills which we want to develop in a team building activity, primarily collaboration, communication and leadership.
After reading out each “round” of trivia, answer sheets are submitted for scoring. This presents an excellent opportunity for the entire group to briefly socialize, ensuring that the competition doesn’t become too serious. It’s also a good chance for teams to egg each other on in a friendly way, as well as break up the event so it stays fresh and fun.
Finally, the conclusion of the event by announcing the winning team & awarding prizes offers a chance to wrap up the skills utilized. A dramatic finish, high-stakes “showdown” finale or huge/humorous prize also ensures the event will end on a high note.
When done in this manner, live trivia naturally lends itself to positive inter-group and intra-group experiences, and offers an opportunity to practice important team building skills in a fun, challenging way.
How might a trivia event be run differently, in order to make it more effective for corporate team building?
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson blogs daily on a wide range of topics relevant to corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. 
