Scavenger Hunt
A Distributed Work Tool
Team members are given a quest to find a specific object in their house and then show it on screen and tell a story.
This activity brings joyful personal connection as objects lead to concise and personal storytelling and playfully involve physicality in the virtual world.
Basic Version
The leader begins the experience by saying, “Today we are going to do a Scavenger Hunt. I want you to find something in your house that is . . . ” and then the leader fills in the blank with something simple like
“personal”
“random”
“blue”
“something you don’t know why you own”
Instruct people to hold the object up to the camera when they return.
Once everyone is back, the leader facilitates quick personal sharing and storytelling.
Variations
Integration: Meeting Topic Warm-Up
The leader begins a meeting by having people go find an object related to the topic of the meeting. If the meeting is about design, people are told to “Find an object with good design.” If the meeting is about efficiency, “Find an efficient object or an object that is a waste of space.” The conversation about the objects can create a great warm-up to the main part of the meeting.
Integration: Meeting Check-In
Everyone retrieves one object in their house to illustrate how they are feeling in general or about a specific project. The game creates an easy and comfortable way for people to share emotions in a non-vulnerable way.
Award Show
Here everyone is assigned one person on the team and then instructed to quickly find an object to give as an “award” to that person. Silliness and genuineness ensues as people use things like “a strong ruler” or “a Superman action figure” to praise another team member.
Why This Works
“Scavenger Hunt” is a simple show-and-tell for grown-ups
This activity takes advantage of the physical world and helps people move beyond the screen. Because it accesses people’s real objects, it also allows team members to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s realities.
There’s some science behind it
“Scavenger Hunt” is highly memorable for three reasons:
When things are distinct and different than the norm, we remember them.
When things are visual, we remember them more (visual primacy in memory).
When things involve story, we remember them more as well (our brains are particularly wired for stories).
This activity also facilitates storytelling and participation through constrained creativity, a process in which a simple script enables people to perform better and enjoy themselves more than if they were just asked to “tell a story” or “do something creative” on the spot.
