Adults Don’t Want Activities-They Want Impact!
In corporate training, experiential learning has the power to transform team building. We’ve all been there. The team building event ends, everyone’s feeling good, and the facilitator asks that dreaded question: “So, how did you feel?”
Don’t get us wrong, emotions are important. But if every post-activity debriefing starts and ends with feelings, you’re missing a massive opportunity to drive real behavioural change.
Think of the debrief as the bridge between the experience and the workplace. It’s where the abstract becomes concrete, where the ‘fun and games’ turn into actionable insights. And if that bridge is weak, the learning won’t stick.
The biggest mistake we see is facilitators asking the same, tired questions over and over:
- How was the experience?
- How was the teamwork?
- What did you learn?
These questions are generic, predictable, and frankly, boring. They elicit superficial answers and fail to dig deep into the underlying dynamics at play.
At Mustardseed, we believe that post-activity debriefing is an art form. It requires careful planning, skillful questioning, and the ability to connect the dots between the activity and the real-world challenges your team faces.
If you want to drive transformational team building results, you must move beyond surface-level discussions. Instead of asking “What did you learn?”, we might ask:
- What surprised you about your team’s communication style?
- Where else in the organization have you seen this pattern of behavior?
- What’s the cost of not changing this behavior?
These questions force participants to think critically, challenge their assumptions, and identify concrete steps for improvement.
Transformational team building doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built during the reflection process, where experiences are connected to real behavior change.
Don’t let your training dollars go to waste with ineffective debriefing. It’s time to elevate the conversation and unlock the true potential of experiential learning.
🔗 Want to learn how experiential learning can drive real-world impact in your training programs? Explore our Team Building Training to transform your team’s performance.
FAQ
Experiential learning is a hands-on approach where employees learn through real-world challenges instead of just theory. It helps teams apply skills immediately in the workplace.
Unlike traditional training, experiential learning engages employees emotionally and practically, helping them apply insights directly to workplace situations and driving long-term behavioral change.
Experiential learning strengthens team building by creating shared experiences, uncovering communication patterns, and connecting activities to workplace challenges, leading to stronger collaboration and trust.
The impact can be measured through improved team performance, higher employee engagement, better communication, and sustained behavior change observed after training.
About the Author:
Anil Thomas is a certified Corporate Trainer and Founder of Mustardseed Training. He specializes in designing Leadership Development Programs, Culture Transformation Programs, and Team Building Training that help organizations build high-performing teams and strong workplace cultures. His insights on leadership, collaboration, and performance excellence have been featured in several corporate learning and development programs across India.
For more such videos, you can follow Anil Thomas on Youtube & Instagram
