Here are twenty very common examples of Brain Teasers.
Our MGRUSH Facilitative Leadership and Facilitator Workshop alumni have digital rights to access thousands of Brain Teasers (or, Brain Breaks/ Brakes as a double entendre). If you need help with the answers, simply reply with a comment or buy us a cup of coffee.
We like to use them at the end of a lunch period during full-day(s) workshops to get people seated on time, and having a little fun.
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Don’t ruin your career by hosting bad meetings. Sign up for a workshop or send this to someone who should. MGRUSH workshops focus on meeting design and practice. Each person practices tools, methods, and activities every day during the week. Therefore, while some call this immersion, we call it the road to building high-value facilitation skills.
Our workshops also provide a superb way to earn up to 40 SEUs from the Scrum Alliance, 40 CDUs from IIBA, 40 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) based on Federal Acquisition Certification Continuous Professional Learning Requirements using Training and Education activities, 40 Professional Development Units (PDUs) from SAVE International, as well as 4.0 CEUs for other professions. (See workshop and Reference Manual descriptions for details.)
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Terrence Metz, president of MG RUSH Facilitation Training, was just 22-years-old and working as a Sales Engineer at Honeywell when he recognized a widespread problem—most meetings were ineffective and poorly led, wasting both time and company resources. However, he also observed meetings that worked. What set them apart? A well-prepared leader who structured the session to ensure participants contributed meaningfully and achieved clear outcomes.
Throughout his career, Metz, who earned an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern University) experienced and also trained in various facilitation techniques. In 2004, he purchased MG RUSH where he shifted his focus toward improving established meeting designs and building a curriculum that would teach others how to lead, facilitate, and structure meetings that drive results. His expertise in training world-class facilitators led to the 2020 publication of Meetings That Get Results: A Guide to Building Better Meetings, a comprehensive resource on effectively building consensus.
Grounded in the principle that “nobody is smarter than everybody,” the book details the why, what, and how of building consensus when making decisions, planning, and solving problems. Along with a Participant’s Guide and supplemental workshops, it supports learning from foundational awareness to professional certification.
Metz’s first book, Change or Die: A Business Process Improvement Manual, tackled the challenges of process optimization. His upcoming book, Catalyst: Facilitating Innovation, focuses on meetings and workshops that don’t simply end when time runs out but conclude with actionable next steps and clear assignments—ensuring progress beyond discussions and ideas.
Some of these really had me stumped! I only had about half of them on my first try.
Please send the complete answer key. I got a couple but most escape me. Thanks!
Here you go . . .
1. Sandbox
2. Man overboard
3. I understand
4. Reading between the lines
5. Long underwear
6. Railroad crossing
7. Downtown
8. Tricycle
9. Split level
10. Three degrees below zero
11. Neon lights
12. Circles under your eyes
13. Highchair
14. Paradise
15. Touchdown
16. Six feet underground
17. Mind over matter
18. He is beside himself
19. Backwards glance
20. Life after death