Ice Breaker – ‘a thing that serves to relieve inhibitions or tension between people’ Oxford English Dictionary
It’s time for a confession, I am a massive fan of a good ice breaker! And just in case you missed it lets be super clear I said a ‘good’ ice breaker. I know for some that seeing ‘ice breaker’ on the workshop/meeting agenda will bring them out in a cold sweat. I get it, this ‘unknown’ activity may get people worried.
I have been in numerous workshops and big meetings where there has been an awkward introduction or an awkward ice breaker where they go round and ask everyone who they are and what they want to get out of the day/meeting. Arghhh. By the time they have got to me I have usually forgotten everyone else’s names because I am too busy panicking about what I am going to say. So hence the need for a good ‘ice-breaker’ than doesn’t make people panic!
As someone who runs meetings and workshops it is my role to put people at ease. Whilst I have been participant to some bad ice breakers over the years I have also been part of some really good ones, and actually really enjoy working out what ice breaker will be suitable for my events.
A good ice breaker can be very powerful and can help to ensure the meeting or workshop has got the attendees where they need to be to make it a success. Let’s talk about why.
The biggest benefit by far of a good ice breaker is enable everyone to get into the right headspace for the meeting and workshop, and allow them to leave any interference at the door. What do I mean by this? Well just think about how everyone arrives into the meeting/workshop.
- Have they just sat in traffic jam for hours to get there or got delayed from their previous meeting and then run in thinking they are late?
- Have they just come off the phone call from home about a family drama?
- Have they come out of another meeting where their head is filled with other challenges?
- Are they not feeling well today?
- Are they worried they may have to do an awkward ice-breaker and have to introduce themselves and tell everyone their goal of the meeting when they not sure why they are even here?
So many different things will be going on for each of the individuals which could impact on the success of the session.
If you are running the workshop or meeting it is in your gift to give them some opportunity to get motivated to tackle the session ahead by removing some of these potential mental/physical interferences. It’s like preparing for a run or doing a workout, its always really important to do a ‘warm-up’ before hand so that it gets you physically and mentally ready. This will help ensure that the activity goes well, and you feel good at the end. If you want the session to go well then an initial activity and ice breaker is the ‘warm-up’. Maybe even call it ‘warm-up’ on the agenda!
So what ice-breaker should you choose?! There are a few things to consider ahead of working out what ‘warm up’ you want to do:
- How long the meeting/session is may determine how much time can you give to this activity in the meeting.
- Have the people in the session met before? Do you want people to get to know each other?
- Time of day (first thing in the morning vs last meeting of the day) – what may this tell you about your attendees
- Location – face to face session vs virtual
- What is the objective of the session? How will you get the best out of the attendees?
Ice Breaker / Warm Up Ideas
Quick ice breaker for short meetings:
If you have a limited time a simple icebreaker which does not take long could simply be a ‘check in’ around the room to see how everyone is doing today. This helps others to acknowledge and recognise each other’s potential interferences because ‘this’ thing today may not be the only thing going on for them right now. By sharing it means this interference is no longer hidden and people may respond to each other in a better way. This one is also good for the early morning meetings, and the end of days ones.
Fun and quick ice breakers for large workshops:
My preference for a workshop or long meeting is to kick it off with a light-hearted activity to help properly ‘break the ice’ and get everyone in a positive state of mind.
- My favourite one that has never failed me yet is getting everyone to introduce themselves with their superhero name or unicorn name. It is really quick, and guaranteed to make people smile, and you are probably more likely to remember their unicorn name than their real name when you fly round the room for introductions. It may seem a bit silly but if you want people (including you who likely to be nervous too) to relax into the day then something like this really works. I have a unicorn name creator if you want to see how you come up with a name in a workshop – otherwise google Superhero/Unicorn name generator and loads of images will pop up that you can use. Just suss out your audience before you use this, might not work if you are meeting The Board for the first time 😉Unicorn Name Generator
“Getting to know each other” ice breaker
I have two great suggestions for this:
- Connections – this one I have run and been a participant in during coaching workshops with the great Claire Bradshaw. Basically you have a set amount of time to meet everyone in the session (lets say 5 mins per pairing), and you have to come up with something in common. It gives you an opportunity to ask loads of questions and find out quickly loads of things about each other until you have pinpointed something you have in common. Then you draw a connection on big white board or flip chart between each person with these things you have in common (ends up looking like a big spider’s web). Once done it is amazing to see all the different things people have that connect them. Great way to get a big group of people talking and enable them to make some great ‘connections’.
- 1 lie – I have run this quite a few times in team building sessions, and it’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Basically each person tells the rest of the group 3 things about themselves, 2 things are true and one thing is a lie. The others in the session have to guess which is a lie. (i.e. I have 2 gerbils, 2 sons and I have bungee jumped over the golden gate bridge….). You do, however, need to prep everyone ahead of the session so they are ready to bring these things along.
So as part of your preparation for your meeting/workshop block out specific time at the beginning of your session to ensure everyone can put all their energy into the meeting/workshop. Get them all on the same level playing field, and you will see a definite shift in the room energy. Maybe play music as people are arriving which is another great way to ease tension (obviously depending on the music you choose). Whatever you choose just ensure that you treat this as much of a priority for the agenda as your other items. It will help you engage better and aim to help improve the chances of a successful session!
Hope you liked my blog. I would love to hear about your favourite ‘ice-breakers’ and your worse!
Links to other ice breaker ideas:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ice-breaker-games#ice-breakers-for-meetings
https://teambuilding.com/blog/icebreaker-games
Best wishes
Ella
Dataliciously Ella 
Leave a comment