Not too long ago, I led this corporate drum “circle” for a corporate group in Pune. I use the word circle very loosely but we somehow managed to “close” the circle in the larger sense of the term. The group was going through a very high stress period and when the senior HR representative called me telling me that he wanted to surprise the team with a high energy corporate team building activity in Pune, I jumped at the idea. We were worried about the amount of space available but I recalled feeling this at the end of the session: ‘We had limited physical space but we had unlimited fun, learning and epiphany through this corporate team building activity led by Taal Inc. 

We set up the drums right on and by their work spaces when the team was out for lunch. We did get some smiles from some of the team members since they probably recognised the drums, the Taal Inc. logo but nonetheless the energy of excitement was palpable. As the group got back from their lunch break, they almost immediately started rumbling on the drum training which in turn helped us remind the others to join in soon. The next thing I know is the whole room being packed with people, thunderous drumming & happiness.

This was a one-off session and yet I never miss a chance to bring the audience to a place where they can experience the power and benefits of corporate drum jams on a first hand basis. So in addition to having fun, I take every opportunity I get to ask them how they are feeling, what they expected in the start and how they felt surprised by even their own abilities and potential during the session. We talk about how this happened so naturally, automatically and effortlessly… Invariably we almost always arrive at the same conclusion

  • The drums help us forget about ourselves and hence our egos (identities)
  • The group drumming helps us release unwanted emotional content. It helps with catharsis and hence leaves us feeling light at the end of the session
  • We feel a sense of connection with everyone in the group and even without using words, we played together, communicated with each other, we led and and followed effectively. In essence, we showed the qualities of a fully functioning, well-oiled-machine-like-team! If this is not drumming – team building, I don’t know what is…

As a facilitator this was a wonderful challenge for me to navigate through as well. I usually get out of the group’s way and stand outside the circle so that the group can stop depending on me like a conductor of an orchestra and learn to look at each other as anchors of the group rhythm to explore and find their inner rhythm. In this case, I was stuck in the small facilitation space created for me beforehand. The group was also stuck where they were for the duration of the session. So whenever possible I ducked down and emphasised that, even though we couldn’t all see each other, we could hear one another and that is enough. We already have all the resources we need to deal with any hurdle or conflict that may await us in the future. 

Check out the happiness, the energy, the excitement and jubilation in the video above. Isn’t that just priceless? I hope that this blog inspires you to be a part of a drum circle near you or better still, organise a corporate team building activity, a corporate drum circle or an experiential arts-based corporate training session for your team very soon. We’re excited to drum with you…

Think drum circles. Think Taal Inc. 
Come. Drum. Be One.