What Kinds of Questions are Asked at a Trivia Team Building Event?

Whenever someone inquires as to what I do, invariably the same questions come up (that is, after they give a sort of blank look, followed by a variation of: “…Seriously?” Yes – I really do ask trivia questions for a living!)

The most common things people want to know about using trivia as a team building activity include:

  1. Does everyone play at once?
  2. How are teams broken down?
  3. How long does the event last?
  4. Is it done using some sort of gadget, written on paper, or what?
  5. Is there a prize for the winner?

All of these questions about team building trivia are good ones (there are also plenty of other things people SHOULD ask about trivia team building events), yet the one that I get the MOST often, by far, is: what kinds of questions will be used?

After all, there are so many subject areas to choose from – just look at Jeopardy!, which has different categories every night! There are also many types of questions which can be asked (think back to taking the SAT’s, and you’ll quickly agree.) So, really – what works best for team building trivia?

After having produced so many of these events over the past 6 years (nearly 400 – which still blows my mind), I’ve had ample time to experiment with questions – believe me, a lot of proverbial spaghetti has been thrown at the wall. Here’s what I’ve discovered works best for trivia team building, and what we use today at our events:

1.      Questions with Only 1 Correct Answer – The answers are either right, or wrong – no gray areas in between.

2.      Limited Multiple Choice Questions – While a few multiple choice questions are okay, they shouldn’t dominate. It’s best to let the teams generate their own answers, rather than simple choose from a list of possible correct ones.

3.      Pop Culture – Regardless of the audience, industry or company, people love pop culture: TV, movies, music, fads, celebrities.

4.      Nostalgia – People love trivia questions about things in their collective memories, which they can’t quite put their finger on until they flesh it out as a team.

5.      History, Science & Literature – People probably studied a few subjects very hard in high school, only never to be used again. However, these subjects are still buried in the cold storage of their brains, and chances are they know the answers – regardless of what they’re doing professionally now.

Of course, since every group is different, the types of questions asked are always given on a case-by-case basis. Some groups HATE pop culture; some love technology; some love music, while others only want questions about their industry. In the end, the team building event has to be fun – so only appropriate questions will be asked. But in general, you can use the above as a broad guideline for the types of questions you will likely encounter at a trivia team building activity.

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