Before asking the team to pick a Challenge, find out what each team member is looking forward to doing. Is it acting, building, writing or painting? Each of the six Challenges focuses on a particular area, however all six contain opportunities for every aspect of performance. If you have five actors and one builder, your team may choose to do a more theatrical Challenge, but the builder can contribute in many ways. By establishing this ahead of time, you can help your team find something to like in every Challenge.

The challenge synopses and preview videos are a good starting point for picking a challenge. Read each synopsis aloud, watch the video and have the team briefly discuss what they like or dislike about it. They may eliminate some right away. Select the challenge they are most interested in. Read the challenge requirements. Have a brief discussion of how they might solve that challenge. If they can agree to do this challenge, terrific, you’re done. If they can’t, ask them to write down each challenge in order of preference from first choice to last. Remind them that the goal is to find a challenge that everyone will enjoy doing

If every challenge is listed last by someone, then look at the challenge(s) that has the fewest number of last places, and read through it. Try to find some aspect that can appeal to the team members who don’t like it. Remember, the solution is what the team makes of it. If you have a builder who has his heart set on building a balsa structure, and no one else on the team wants to do the structure challenge, remind the builder that the team can include a wood prop or set piece in most of the other challenges. The Improvisational and Service Learning Challenges are somewhat different than the others and their differences may need to be explained to the team.