Team Building That Doesn't Feel Like Team Building
Your team has sat through enough slide decks. Hand them a rope and watch the whole room wake up.
Kristen's lasso lessons are built for planners who want:
Real team bonding, not another forced icebreaker.
People out of their shells, including the quiet ones in the back.
A boring conference spiced up, as a break, a kickoff, or a surprise in the middle of the agenda.
Nobody needs to be coordinated, athletic, or brave. The ropes do a lot of the work, and the room does the rest.
A lasso lesson station or a scheduled block. Guests learn to make a rope dance, or take on the steer dummy for a classic western challenge. Run it as a drop-in station, or have Kristen roam the venue and teach one-on-one. Most events book about two hours, and it can run anywhere from one to three.
A smaller-group session for 15 to 30 people, or more with a bigger space. Not everyone has to spin. A handful of people can get hands-on while the group goes deeper into the topic you choose. Topics that pair well with the rope: resilience, confidence, and change. Self-esteem is on the menu too. The rope rewards steady, consistent leadership, which makes this a natural fit for a leadership breakout.
Lassoing Your Life: The Impossible Dance Is Possible. About 20 minutes of live roping and one true story about what a rope can teach you. Details below.
Can't decide? Mix and match. Kristen helps you plan how each piece fits your agenda, so your event runs smoothly and your people get the most out of it.
Want to see everything lasso lessons include? See the full lasso lessons offering →
When Kristen was a kid, she sat on the gray gas meter back home and watched the school bus go by without her. She had been pulled out of school after fifth grade.
She also had a grandma who told her every single day, "You can do anything you put your mind to as long as you believe in yourself."
Then a cowgirl spun a lasso, and Kristen wanted to do it. Grandma gave her a first rope. She failed. Over and over. She kept her eyes on what it could look like if it worked, and one day a tangled knot turned into a rope that danced and defied gravity.
That feeling changed everything. If a rope that looked impossible could dance, what else could she do? Kristen went from a fifth-grade education to a college degree.
The rope is the metaphor. When something feels impossible, or you don't feel good enough, you keep picking up the rope, no matter how many times you mess up and no matter how many times it hits you. If you keep trying, you do eventually make it.
Your team can hear the whole story in the keynote, or feel a little of it in the activity and breakout.
It depends on the rope. The ropes Kristen brings to events are beginner ropes. They make you look cool without all the extra work. A real trick rope takes more setup, so here are both side by side.
| Step | Kristen's beginner ropes | A real trick rope |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grab it | Take hold of the handle. | Find your honda (the eyelet) and your spoke (the rope between the end and the honda). |
| 2. Make a loop | Nothing to build. The rope is ready. | Make a full-size loop with a spoke about as long as your arm. Hold the handle and the loop where it's easy to let go. |
| 3. Get moving | Start a spinning motion with your wrist. | Draw a giant circle with the loop to build momentum, then let the loop drop. |
| 4. Spin it | A couple of seconds to get the feel, and voila, you're spinning a lasso. | Keep it going with your wrist at a steady tempo, one cycle per beat, like "I've Been Working on the Railroad." |
| 5. Keep it tangle-free | Twist the end of the rope in your fingers as it spins. | Twist the end of the rope in your fingers as it spins. |
Not your whole arm. This is the most common mistake.
The rope likes a certain tempo. The calmer you are, the happier the rope is.
Don't watch the rope and react to it. Keep a steady, repeating spin and trust that the rope will follow. It always does, because a rope is looking for consistency.
Spinning a real lasso is time consuming and takes a lot of work. Kristen's ropes look just like a normal lasso, but they spin about 10 times easier, so anyone can do it.
That means your people get to feel extra special, because they did something that looked really hard, really fast. And they still get the lesson the rope taught Kristen: something that looked and felt impossible can suddenly feel possible.
Want your attendees to leave with more than a story? Order ropes ahead of time and every person walks away with their own lasso.
Small ropes: red handle, easy for any kid or adult to spin. Kristen can order as many as you need.
Full-size ropes: handmade by Kristen, so supply is limited to about 30 to 50.
Learning to make a rope dance, and cheering each other on when it works. If you like, they can also try to catch the steer dummy.
Nope. Kristen can run a station in one spot, or roam and teach one-on-one. She adjusts the space she needs as she moves to different areas of your venue.
It depends on the group. As a rule of thumb, a 10 by 10 area serves about two to four students, and a larger group needs a larger area. Kristen has taught up to 30 at once, and a whole auditorium can spin together with enough ropes and enough room.
Either. Outdoors is usually better, since nothing above can tangle the rope. Indoors, plan for at least 10 feet of clearance overhead, mainly for Kristen's demonstrations, when the rope goes above her head.
Every event is different, so Kristen tailors the offering to fit yours. That's why there's no one-size-fits-all quote. Tell her what you have in mind and she'll build something that fits your event.
Tell Kristen about your event, your team, and what you want people to walk away with. She'll help you pick the right mix.
