Start your story during a team building exercise.

Posted in Adults on Oct 25, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 17 stories

“Death's new Pet” by Holly Guy

Submitted to Contest #146

“I can’t believe you just shot me.” Isla scoffed in amazement. Wide eyed, she stared down at the small, gaping hole in her hip. It spurted blood and looked fleshy around the wound, but surprisingly it didn’t hurt. Just like he promised. “I can.” The raven-colour haired man in front of her lowered the gun. A wicked grin licked his lips and the knowing twinkle danced around in his black orbs. For a second his coal-coloured irises seemed to split to mimic a man and a woman, dancing lovingly together in the moonlight in each eye. The man twir...

15 comments 15

Read story

“Anti-Heroic” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #146

TW: Swearing, a nose bleed, puberty.The gym coach points at A Group at the other end of the sports field. “Those lucky sons of b… people. People.” Students familiar with the effects of alcohol know that coach B is recovering from a good time. “Those lucky kids have superpowers. You don’t. You can’t run fast, or fly-” Above them the bright sun says it’s tough if you don’t want to sweat, deal with it. Grass beneath is having a bad hair day and balding in places. Clouds have...

23 comments 23

Read story

“Octopus Game p1 - The Other Way” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #146

Jason stared at the crocodiles in the pool and felt the beads of sweat on his forehead. Traces of blood from the previous team were still lingering in the water. “Let's have a moment of mindfulness, to calm our thoughts before the game begins,” a curly haired woman said. Jason had never seen her at work before, her name tag said Alice.“How can I calm my thoughts while I’m in front of crocodiles that want to chomp on my femur for breakfast?,” Jason said.“No need to be hostile Jason.” “They are the ones that are hostile!” he said poi...

16 comments 16

Read story

“Moo, baa, cluck, quack” by Wendy Hayes

Submitted to Contest #146

Mooooo, Baaa, Bock bock bock, quack, quack; farmyard sounds? Yes, and no. Are they the sounds of a children’s party game? They should be, but in this instance they are the sounds of adults walking around the reception room of a swanky hotel, engaged in a team building exercise. In this case, they are the noises emanating from your children’s teachers .Yes, that sixty five dollars you forked out for a babysitter, was so that those in charge of your child's education could make asses of themselves, in the name of professional development. I ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Welcome to the Suds and Duds Team!” by Abby Stone

Submitted to Contest #146

“There’s no I in TEAM!” the perky woman with the bubblegum pink hair screams from the stage.If Henry had to hear that catch-all mantra from every “Ted Talk” wannabe one more time he was going to scream.“Less than five minutes to finish your spaghetti towers! Remember the winning team gets 10 extra points for their Team!” Pepto Head spouts as she tries to talk over room.Henry was dying inside, little by little, with every piece of tape he handed over to the Engineering genius in their group that took charge from the word GO. He kept looking a...

2 comments 2

Read story

“There is No I in Scream” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #146

The memo goes out a month after I join EasyCo: everybody must attend the team-building exercises. I must remember to bring my opener. My group includes Jaden, also a new hire. He’s cute in a J.Crew unstained T-shirt kind of way. Six big sleek buses trundle us out to a rustic hideaway, a monster log cabin where we assemble in the frigid air conditioning. Perch on chair-sized wooden cubes, we watch the opening ceremonies. “It takes teamwork to make the dream work! People are our most important asset!” People are our most important resource! G...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Team Tundra” by Rochelle Miller

Submitted to Contest #146

Story begins in the voice of Patrick Warburton. You know, the M&M Buzz Lightyear guy."Hey, everyone. Thanks for showing up early for this meeting. We have an important task ahead of us. Practicing our ability to connect with one another will be crucial to making it outta here alive. We have one shot and gotta work together on this."Maksim addressed six other members of the team, hoping to test their focus and resolve before hitting the trail. Everyone gathered close. "This morning I'd like us to start with an exercise to streng...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Team Building” by Webb Johnson

Submitted to Contest #146

Team Building Bob, find Lew before you leave. An hour after I got the worrisome email I sat in front of Lew Cook’s neat desk while he informed me that the selection committee recommended Clara North for Regional Sales Coordinator. “They decided she’s better at team building.” I felt my face turn red as I tried to form a thanks-for-even-considering-me smile. “I know you feel lousy, Bob, but people skills are acquired. You’ll have other chances.” He walked me to the door with a hand on my shoulder then dashed back to a humming phone wh...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Team Building In Paradise ” by Sawyer Fox

Submitted to Contest #146

CW: Swear words. I didn’t even want to come on this stupid work trip. Yet, here I am, staring down at a one-hundred and fifty foot drop towards the ground - with what appears to be a wooden pallet shoddily attached to this tree trunk as the only thing between me and a sure death. I knew this godforsaken trip to Puerto Rico with a bunch of coworkers that I don’t even like was a terrible idea, but Karen insisted. “You should go! This will be a great chance to bond with all of your teammates!” Doesn’t she understand the main reason I work remot...

1 comment 1

Read story

“We're All just figuring it Out” by JJ Robinson

Submitted to Contest #146

"On your tables, each group has a large sheet of paper, writing paper, pens and markers, yes?" asked Marty, the team building and Adventure Ed. leader. The girls sort of half smiled at each other. "What are you making us do?" asked Julia,"Well, that's what I'm here to tell you. We're going to do something that will be easy for some and not so easy for some of you, and that may be where the team building comes in.""It's not going to embarrass us, will it?""I hope not. It's competitive too Julia, so you'll like it! So here's what you're doing....

0 comments 0

Read story

“Here we go again… ” by A M

Submitted to Contest #146

Another group exercise to help build moral like they actually care about us and the hours as put in, good grief . I hope they’re going to at least feed us this time I mean mandatory overtime and request for the need or urgency would be much more fueled off free lunch . As I grabbed my chair to take to the meeting room , I noticed a new face in the break room. Now typically fishing from the company dock has been a moral no for me , ok I did was at 18 but I was young and well hot and ready so to speak . But this woman was different someone I’...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Two Truths and a Lie” by Paul Wilhite

Submitted to Contest #146

“Your lawnmower burned my house down.” I tuned the headset volume and hitched myself up in my seat. I was on high alert. I scrunched my stress ball. The customer's voice paused and waited for my next move. My chair squeaked. “I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said. The thing was, at that moment I wasn’t sure if he was kidding. He wasn’t. The customer's voice got really mad and said I had a bad attitude. Our lawnmowers were dangerous and his insurance company sucked and he hated my accent. Something about hold times and his credit rating; he was ...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Everybody Wants to Hear the News” by Margo Harris

Submitted to Contest #146

Trigger Warning: themes of substance abuse and violence As I stood there watching this team building exercise, I thought of my own team and how it had dissolved not too long ago. See, the group I had wasn’t a bunch of coworkers needing a bonding experience, mine was a group of friends. We used to go out drinking on Wednesdays, because everything was half off. Then, we would do something fun like go bowling or to watch a movie. Differing opinions sometimes are just too much when it comes to relationships of any kind. “Great work ev...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Criminal Therapy” by C. P. Samuels

Submitted to Contest #146

“I’ve been feeling the same thing. Like, sometimes it’s almost like I want to be… a better person.” He spat out the words with disdain, and, from the circle of dirty men and women, several people shifted in their seats as if repelled by the very idea of this self improvement. “And you shouldn’t feel bad about that, right? We all think things without following through sometimes,” said the doctor from the bedraggled couch. “The important thing is recognizing those feelings, then we can go from there.” Heads bobbed and a general murmuring of ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Laugh and The Office Will Laugh At You” by Michelle Sholund

Submitted to Contest #146

Nora, along with her co-workers at a leading advertising company were notified, by email, of an upcoming team building day happing Friday and how it was mandatory to show up at 9:00 am and wear comfortable, casual Friday clothes. No one knew what was going to happen, but it was quite a buzz at the water cooler and break room. The twenty-five employees speculated what it could be or shared apprehension leading up to Friday. Friday came. Nora, a reliable hard working administrative assistance and her co-workers, includi...

2 comments 2

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write from the point of view of a character writing a letter to their past or future self.

Character – 70 stories

Write about a character attempting to meditate or do something mindfully.

Narrative – 38 stories

Set your story in an unlikely sanctuary.

High School – 34 stories

Write about a character discovering a surprising strength in either themself or another.

Character – 56 stories

Contest #146

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Getting to Know You (And Me)

$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

134

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 20, 2022 EST

Won by Michał Przywara 🏆

Title: 10 Days to Mindfulness

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Start your story during a team building exercise.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 17 stories

“Death's new Pet” by Holly Guy

“Anti-Heroic” by Graham Kinross

“Octopus Game p1 - The Other Way” by Scott Christenson

“Moo, baa, cluck, quack” by Wendy Hayes

“Welcome to the Suds and Duds Team!” by Abby Stone

“There is No I in Scream” by VJ Hamilton

“Team Tundra” by Rochelle Miller

“Team Building” by Webb Johnson

“Team Building In Paradise ” by Sawyer Fox

“We're All just figuring it Out” by JJ Robinson

“Here we go again… ” by A M

“Two Truths and a Lie” by Paul Wilhite

“Everybody Wants to Hear the News” by Margo Harris

“Criminal Therapy” by C. P. Samuels

“Laugh and The Office Will Laugh At You” by Michelle Sholund

🌟 Similar prompts

Write from the point of view of a character writing a letter to their past or future self.

Write about a character attempting to meditate or do something mindfully.

Set your story in an unlikely sanctuary.

Write about a character discovering a surprising strength in either themself or another.

Contest #146

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: