Talent Show Ideas & Tips for the Workplace

“You see talent shows for singers, dancers, and comics, but you’ve never seen anything like this”—Your Company’s Got Talent!

“Please step forward” and use talent show ideas in your organization.

Our crystal ball says a “happy hour” (with a couple of icebreakers at best). Admit it—this is perhaps the most habitual activity you’ve tried for team building in the workplace. But isn’t it time to promote a culture of talent, not just professional but also personal?

This article has a dozen talent extravaganza activities for recognizing and appreciating your employees’ unique knacks and cementing team bonds. We’ve broken them into four categories:

• For office workers
• For remote team bonding
• For winter holidays

• For belly laughs

After the lists, follow the pieces of advice from experts on throwing the best talent party at your company.

In-Office Talent Show Ideas

Songwriting Challenge

Even if they aren’t poets or songwriters but just enjoy a decent rhyme, this talent show idea would be perfect for in-person team building. You’ll set your lyrical genii free and get your creative juices flowing and filling up your office space.

Have never tried to compose songs and don’t know what to start with?

No worries. With the help of professional songwriters and TeamBonding, you may create a fantastic songwriting experience for your team.

Cultural Diversity Show

Again, let’s consult our crystal ball.

Aha, it says you most likely have a diverse team—or, to be more exact, a culturally diverse team.

If it’s correct, celebrate your employees’ unique cultural backgrounds by using one of the best talent show ideas with diversity and inclusion elements like these:

• Traditional dance/song
• National cuisine
• Traditional clothes
• Martial arts or sports (e.g., capoeira in Brazil or toe wrestling in England)

Let your employees be their true selves and foster a more inclusive workplace.

Art Contest

Prompt your employees to reveal their inner Picassos, Michelangelos, or other creative identities in:

For example:

During the latest talent extravaganza, the Temporal.io employees were to draw “emotional animal” cartoons from ChatGPT prompts.

Virtual Talent Show Examples

The Game of GIFs

“When you play the Game of Thrones, you win, or you die,” and when you play the game of GIFs, you have the best virtual team building ever!

In this joyful digital challenge, your employees should find the most descriptive GIFs for a specific situation, such as a chaotic Slack chat.

Get ready to out-GIF each other and vote for the best GIF-picker who will steal your talent show.

Virtual Improv Show

No scripts, no rehearsals—pure improvisation!

Take turns coming out on the digital stage, improvising, and leaving your colleagues in stitches in front of their web cameras.

Need practice?

Try a virtual improv workshop at TeamBonding and learn to think on your feet and create laugh-out-loud moments for the whole team.

Lip Sync Video Challenge

A lip sync battle is rounding up our sub-list of virtual talent show ideas for remote employees.

It may go like this:

1. Pick a song.
2. Choose a maximum video length (one or two minutes).
3. Set the deadline for video submission.
4. Let each employee record a lip-syncing video.
5. Host a virtual talent party.

Should someone astonish everyone with charisma or make you all ROFL—either way, it must be a showstopper who gathers the highest number of kudos or votes.

Winter Talent Show Ideas for the Holiday Season

Snowman-Making Contest

Yep, it’s that time of the year to test the snowman-building skills in your team!

It’s one of the best winter team building activities. But nope, you don’t even need snow for this talent show idea. Build snowmen with non-snow materials like marshmallows or paper.

Winter Olympics Talent Show

If you’ve already organized the summer Olympic games, you know the fundamental rule: you should compete in sports, but this time—winter ones.

Here are several “snowy” Olympics talents your team members can demonstrate:

• Snowball throwing
• Snow angel making
• Ice-skating
• Snowboarding
• Skiing
• Sledding, etc.

So, put your “winter athlete” hats on and go outside for this chilly talent show!

By the way, if you don’t want to leave your cozy office, you can consider indoor activities for your Winter Olympics talent extravaganza. A soft and fluffy “snowball” toss, perhaps?

Gingerbread House-Building Contest

Much like with a snowman, your teammates can show off their gingerbread house-building skills.

Who can build the most impressive gingerbread house on your team?

Decorate it with candies, frosting, and all the festive cheer to boost the holiday spirit.

It can be a great sugary showdown dedicated to Christmas—why not?

Psst, TeamBonding can help you organize a gingerbread house competition in a deliciously fun way.

Make it sweet, make it stylish, or just make it deliciously fun!

### Hilarious Talent Show Ideas

**Mock Commercials**

Lights, camera, action!

At this point, your team members should create humorous ads for imaginary products or sell something absurd with all the enthusiasm of professional sellers—the funniest or most creative ad wins.

This could be just the right talent show idea for marketing or sales teams.

For example:

Fueler.io ran an AdManiac talent contest among content writers and marketers.

**Fake Magic Show**

Who wouldn’t like to see magic?

But since it’s one of the funny talent show ideas, it’s all about humor and fun team building rather than the magical part itself.

In this talent extravaganza, your team will “perform magic” with a hilarious twist. For instance, here’s a “Disappearing Snack” trick for inspiration: dramatically cover a cookie with a napkin, cast a “spell,” and quickly eat it. And don’t forget to say, “Hocus pocus!”

**One-Minute Silly Talent Challenge**

Don’t have time to unwind an X-hours-long talent contest and look for a quick team building activity?

We’ve got your back covered!

This is one of the fastest talent show ideas because everyone has only 60 seconds to dazzle the team with their “skill.” Participants must showcase an intentionally ridiculous talent, such as chair-and-desk fortress-building or speed-typing nonsense.

Remember: you have only one minute.

### Expert Advice on Organizing a Fantastic Talent Extravaganza

**Give a sharper focus to employees’ skill/hobby sets.**

Hey, it’s time to peek into your workers’ resumes and look at the “Hobby” section more precisely. Or just ask your team members: “What exceptional skill or hobby do you have?”

According to Matthew Channell, Owner of TSW Training,

“Your talent contest theme should resonate deeply with your employees’ interests and skills for a greater appeal of the show. To raise the bar even higher, you can increase the feeling of camaraderie and collaboration by pairing co-workers with complementary talents: a musician + a visual artist for an art-and-music performance.”

Here are several ideas of skills and hobbies to showcase during a talent extravaganza at work:

– Singing
– Dancing
– Cooking
– Acting
– Parkour
– Juggling, etc.

Assuming one of your team members is a chef at heart. They can demonstrate culinary miracles that will make your mouth water.

Or let’s say you have a poetry recitation talent show. One of your employees may have taken Attic Greek classes and can now amaze their colleagues while reciting a poem in the ancient language.

**Set the stage (physical or virtual).**

Why bother, you ask?

Because that’s what will help you create the needed atmosphere for an unforgettable talent extravaganza:

– Red carpet
– Decorations (stage curtains, thematic backdrops, or glittery garlands)
– Tech (microphones, sound systems, and cameras)
– Chairs or cozy couches
– Snacks (the audience claps louder when fed)

For virtual talent shows in remote-first companies, David Speedy, General Manager at Workspace Direct, recommends creating an appropriate digital setting. He says,

“Your employees can decorate their work-from-home spaces for a more felt-through talent show experience. Alternatively, set a sparkling digital background on your video-conferencing platform or play an applause track after every contestant. These could be fun extras to generate the mood right for the talent competition.”

Indeed, you can choose a preset background for your talent show in Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

**Encourage your team to dress up for the show.**

Dressing up for a talent show at work is like adding a tasty seasoning to your dish.

Costumes drive memorable performances. More importantly, they boost confidence (who can be shy in an extravagant hat?!) and shift the focus from the skill to fun so that everyone feels included, regardless of their competence level.

How about hand-crafted costumes?

Crafting extraordinary designs for custom apparel, Murtaza Oklu, Owner of OMO Transfer, remarks,

“Handmade costumes can add both individual and artistic touch to your workplace talent shows and transform them into celebrations of creativity. The best part? Your employees don’t have to drain their pockets; they can use discarded textiles, such as fabric scraps or worn-out clothing.”

Suppose you want to celebrate Halloween in the office. You may hold a DIY costume contest (another talent show idea) to see who crafts the best (or scariest!) Halloween costume.

Just decide on the theme.

For example:

The Prologis team chose a Western theme for their Halloween costume contest at work.

Ensure psychological and physical safety.

Psychological safety

Create a friendly, supportive environment so that everyone should feel comfortable showcasing their talents:

• Make participation voluntary, not mandatory
• No judging or bullying
• Respect every contestant with a round of applause
• Avoid over-emphasizing the winner (concentrate on fun rather than competitiveness)
• Run post-show employee surveys to capture feedback and improve

If you use virtual talent show ideas, heed this call from Rodger Desai, CEO of Prove, who also emphasizes the significance of a psychologically safe digital space. “If you want to record your online talent show, get explicit employee consent beforehand. Also, consider moderating your chat to block insulting or inappropriate messages.”

Physical safety

Having dealt with numerous workplace injury cases, Kathryn MacDonell, CEO at Trilby Misso Lawyers, observes, “A large part of accidents happen during team building events when safety alertness decreases. Employees may get injured even amid non-harmful, at first glance, activities. For instance, a sliding race in socks only, aka a ‘sock skating’ contest in the office, may result in a sprained ankle or even a broken leg.”

Jeez… Just picture the outcome of such a talent competition. You wouldn’t want that for your corporate event, would you?

In this context, MacDonell advises to “Audit the space for safety risks, remove hazards, and establish talent show performance guidelines in advance. But in any case, it would be better to opt for safer activities and avoid risky ones.”

So, no fire-breathing in the office!

Throw the Best Talent Show at Work

Discover the hidden stars in your workplace and throw the talent contest of the century. Let them shine brighter than diamonds and crown the company’s MVP (Most Versatile Performer).

To help you revamp your workplace into a stage, reach out to us with your talent show idea. Arrange the perfect event for your team with TeamBonding.

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