In conclusion, ice breakers are not just fun activities to start a meeting. When chosen carefully, they can serve as powerful tools to promote team building, foster a sense of unity, and create a more collaborative and productive work environment. Small groups are the perfect setting for relaxed, meaningful conversation.
A person’s wanderlust, as in, where they would love to travel to, can kickstart conversations that bring people together in an icebreaking session. Whether it’s the sandy shores of Bali or a cozy cabin in the Swiss Alps, hearing about each other’s dream travel plans gives a glimpse into their adventurous side. For example, a virtual scavenger hunt might not be the best choice for a meeting full of strangers. Instead, opt for something like “Two Truths and a Lie” to help people get to know each other in a fun way. On the other hand, for a team meeting where everyone is already acquainted, more interactive activities like scavenger hunts or group tasks can be a hit. Hypothetical questions put you in an imagined scenario, which can be unrealistic, funny, or even a bit absurd depending on what you ask.
This is a great alternative to the ‘turn to your neighbor’ kind of exercise – it’s interactive, and allows for more in-depth discussion between people. Introverts will appreciate this, as it feels more comfortable to share something in a pair, compared to the whole team. When was the last time you randomly bumped into someone in a hallway in your office and shared a good chat with them? Or, had a deep conversation about life, the universe, and everything with a bunch of colleagues in a kitchenette or by the watercooler? Then, he displayed people’s submissions on the screen and the team guessed who is who just from the three brands. It’s fun to identify people, plus everyone gets to share something about themselves.
The activity serves as a brief energiser during a workshop, and helps to get creativity flowing. At the end of this method, each team member will be a little more familiar with each other. Check out our collection of the best games to play on Zoom for more. After a few statements, I like to invite the group to include a stretch or other optional movement when speaking, which other team members must then try to follow.
One must go questions for every working environment!
Not every icebreaker can be carried out in a packed-out room with hundreds of attendees. Our next icebreakers are designed with bigger teams in mind, focused on keeping the energy levels up for bigger groups. Most people working remotely need some semblance of order and tidiness in their work area. Create an icebreaking activity where people need to guess whose desk belongs to who for a lighthearted way of bringing people together. Make it part of a weekly routine and rotate each person who shows off a loved one.
This format is an improvement over other question-and-answer exercises because the team member chooses which questions to answer. Ask the chosen coworker anything you want to know about their job or professional goals in a team chat and see what crops up. Casually playing games together is a good way to pivot when you’ve hit a wall on a task or project.
Apart from the ever-popular game of trivia, Bored has games in which you roast your colleagues, or play a game of accusations and deception. Recently, they launched ‘Icebreakers’ to help teammates get to know each other better by answering questions that are unconventional and fun. Electrodes were placed on the head and chest to noninvasively record the brain and heart activity of participants engaged in a virtual meeting. Empuls’ community wall and shout-out features allow teammates to share personal wins, weekend highlights, or fun facts—natural ways to kick off meetings with a personal touch. In today’s hybrid and remote work environment, the success of any team meeting often hinges on how well it begins.
Funny Icebreaker Questions
- This not only helps reinforce key points but also gets everyone reflecting on their takeaways and sharing insights.
- You could even quickly search for the commercial jingles on YouTube so everyone can hear them for a laugh.
- These questions are easy, engaging, and perfect for sparking conversation at work.
This activity allows team members to share a piece of their personal lives, fostering a sense of connection and mutual respect. Organize a quick virtual scavenger hunt where participants have to find items in their home based on given clues. This activity not only adds a dash of excitement but also offers a glimpse into each other’s lives outside of work.
- It’s no secret that a successful icebreaker is one that is ideally suited to the format of the meeting, the size of the team, and the personalities of the employees.
- After sharing some examples, each person writes a haiku that reflects their mood, their life on the outside, or even the meeting’s theme.
- Ultimately, the main goal of an ice breaker for virtual meetings is to create a relaxed and friendly environment that helps everyone participate more openly in the meeting.
- There are likely a few people who have forgotten about that will come back to mind as a pleasant surprise.
- Virtual meetings are an essential part of doing business today, and you can maximize their effectiveness by including virtual icebreaker games.
After a few minutes of drawing, everyone shares their creations in the virtual meeting, explaining their artwork if they’d like. There is no shortage of fun team games and activities to do even remotely. Here is a short list of team building ice breakers to make your virtual meeting more fun and effective. Thanks to Wooclap’s tools, you can create effective icebreaker activities or games for your work meetings, training and team building sessions and virtual onboardings. Online, just as in person, to break the ice and get to know each other, there is nothing better than a few great icebreaker questions, an icebreaker activity, or an icebreaker game.
Adapting to the Virtual Environment
Stories are a great way to connect with other people and get them sharing information about their life. Plus, it’s likely that people will relate to some of the stories and experiences which is guaranteed to build relationships with people in the group. Once you’ve got the conversational ball rolling, this will put people around you at ease. Icebreaker questions are also a great way to improve connection with people.
They’ll be tackling concepts of resource allocation and sunk costs, helping them learn together over a shared (and thankfully fictional) challenge. Here’s a thoughtful ice break that can encourage gratitude, even for the smaller things in life. This is an effective technique people practice for mood-boosting and positivity. This one is perfect for large, diverse teams, encouraging members to share a piece of their background. If your teams aren’t very diverse, use travel experiences instead. Depending on the amount of international members, set a task where they mark different countries on the map.
Virtual event platforms, including specialized webinar platforms, are a great way to streamline your online meetings and keep attendees icebreakers for virtual meetings engaged. They offer tools for managing registrations, hosting interactive sessions, and analyzing engagement, making the whole process much smoother. Picking the right ice breaker helps ensure everyone feels comfortable and engaged from the start.
Icebreaker questions for seniors
“Find Your Pairing” naturally leads people to get to know one another, great for newcomers who might feel some first-day jitters. Getting your employees fired up for a meeting—online or in-person—is about as easy as getting a dog excited for a bath. Have everyone introduce themselves, and then share their nicknames and the backstories that go with them. Simply ask attendees to share what they found most useful or intriguing. This not only helps reinforce key points but also gets everyone reflecting on their takeaways and sharing insights. Rather than putting someone on the spot, start with your own or a pre-selected piece of work to critique together.
In this ice breaker, one team member describes a scenario or object, and the rest of the team has a set amount of time to draw it. This activity not only sparks creativity but also leads to a lot of laughter when the drawings are revealed. Ice breakers can be instrumental in breaking down communication barriers. They also provide an opportunity to understand each other’s communication styles and cultural nuances, which is particularly beneficial in diverse teams. Adults often juggle work, relationships, and responsibilities but still appreciate a good question that gets them thinking or laughing.
I find it particularly effective to return to the rollercoaster at the end of a session and to ask people how their position might have changed. Give your colleagues a thought-provoking question to ponder, then pair them randomly using breakout rooms (check whether your video conferencing tool allows for it). We set up a virtual whiteboard, and each of us was supposed to write our ideas on little stickers that we then posted on the board. But be sure to schedule an informal team catch-up from time to time just to chat with your teammates about something other than work. This fun game is great for introducing new colleagues or getting to know each other better.
This is a fun and engaging way for team members to share a bit about their lives outside of work. Each participant can choose an object of significance from their home and share its story. This activity not only breaks the ice but also helps team members to understand and appreciate each other’s backgrounds and interests. A virtual scavenger hunt is an exciting way to break the monotony of regular meetings. With Scavify, you can create customized challenges that require team members to find items within their home or workspace. This activity not only promotes interaction but also offers a glimpse into everyone’s personal space, fostering a sense of familiarity and bonding among team members.
And at your next live event, engage attendees with icebreaker questions or dance parties. You may think you know your team, but chances are that you only know the tip of the iceberg. For instance, you wouldn’t know who has a great singing voice or can name all the 50 states of America in under 5 minutes! ‘Table topics’ is an easy pick for us from the list of fun virtual icebreakers where members can ask one another personal questions that will help improve team bonding and connection. Do you want to identify like-minded people, learn about their values or quickly get to know each other, ‘JAM or Just-A-Minute’ virtual icebreakers fit the description well.