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Written by Deena Patel on the programme
A fantastic team bonding exercise! We went into Loughborough town centre with a list of 26 tasks to complete. The tasks encouraged us to speak to local businesses and even complete strangers! It also made us get out of our comfort zones and be more engaged within the community and talk to people.
Some the tasks included interacting with local businesses and asking the questions about their business, and how they were impacted during the pandemic.
We spoke to Olivia’s, a local coffee and bakery, who cater to all food intolerances with their vegan and gluten-free bakes and bread.
Three facts about the business we found out were:
They opened in 2018
The owner Jose, rescued a cat in Madrid who was starved and sick. Jose took care of her and brought her back to health, he later named his cafe after her, Olivia!
They have their own in-house bakery so everything is baked fresh and one of the bakers has coeliac who creates all the Gluten free bakes so you can be sure there is no cross contamination.
This task encouraged us to approach a business and ask questions helping us to build confidence speaking to people and develop our communication skills, this can be helpful in our everyday lives as well as in work life.
Another task included getting us to ask strangers to help complete the task such as getting a selfie/group photo with them, to wear an item borrowed from them and taking a picture.
I felt this task help to develop observation skills and people skills as often you had to read people’s character and decide if your were going to approach them, often people who looked relaxed and not rushing were more likely to be approachable. This is another skill that can be used in life and in the work place as it can help read friends and co-workers and pick up non verbal cues.
Two of the tasks that really pushed us out of our comfort zones were ‘dress up festive and sing a Christmas carol’ and ‘Start a conga line” unfortunately nobody wanted to start a conga line with me but I did manage to ask a store owner to sing a Christmas carol with me.
I felt these tasks really pushed us mentally as these can seem as embarrassing or awkward to do in a public setting, however I felt it taught a very important point, as it not only encourages you to be braver but also to not care what others thought of you and march to your own beat!
Overall we had a blast completing the tasks and learned a few new things, I also felt that the tasks help push us and learn to become more confident, and obtain and develop communication, people awareness and team building skills that can be used both in personal and work life.
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Mistletoe & Mental-Elf Fete: Come & Join Us!
This December 2022, support the Find Your Fit team as they host the Mistletoe & Mental-Elf Fete as part of their Find Your Fit experience.
FREE Entry
12pm-3pm
Fearon Hall
Rectory Road
Loughborough
Raffle, Live Music, Stalls, Crafts & Activities!
Plus enter the Ugly Christmas Jumper contest - 2:30pm.
All proceeds go to Loughborough Wellbeing Centre.