Picture it: You’re in a meeting where you know only a few people. The meeting leader announces that he’s going to open things up with a question to help attendees get to know one another. He asks everyone to go around the room and answer: “If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?” Did you just cringe a little?
Or imagine this: The meeting leader asks everyone to stand up, hold hands, tie themselves into a human knot, and then work together to untangle themselves. Did you just cringe a lot?
We have a few non-cringeworthy ideas on how to connect while team building. (Photo Credit: Sam Moghadam Khamseh Ball)
If leading a meeting, these ice-breakers will set the mood in the best possible way. (Photo Credit: Ben Moreland)
Ice-breakers are a common part of every meeting, and for good reason. It’s all about connection before content. Getting to know one another speeds up trust-building and collaboration. When we know personal information about others, it creates a sense of communal ease. Not only does this allow you to be more connected as individuals, it actually helps you become more productive when working with one another.
So, okay, fine, we know they’re important, but how do we make them less… lame? Below, we’ve put together some actually great ice-breaker ideas for various meeting situations. No human knots required.
If you don’t have a lot of time:
Face it, agendas are packed. As meeting leaders and planners, we want to create connection, but we also need to get down to brass tacks. Here are some ideas that take 10 minutes or less.
Whether leading a large or small meeting, cater the ice-breaker to the setting.
If leading a large meeting, consider breaking out into smaller, more personal groups.
If leading a small meeting, look to create a more intimate atmosphere. (Photo Credit: @thewillardgallery)
1. Complete a sentence
“Right now I’m feeling ____ and by the end of this meeting I’d like to feel ____.”
Something people might be surprised to learn about me is _____.”
“I live in ___ and my favorite place to vacation is ____.”
2. Ask a [non-cringe-worthy] personal question or two
What are you reading, listening to, or watching right now?
What’s your favorite hobby?
What’s the first job you ever had?
What’s one of the best meals you’ve ever had?
Note: If your group has more than 10 attendees, consider breaking into groups of 4 or 5 to do this.
If you need to add some levity to a serious or stuffy meeting:
Connection is an essential part to any successful team meeting. (Photo Credit: @krakenimages)
1. Host a pop culture trivia game
So that nobody feels excluded, take a hint from Jeopardy and add questions spanning topics from various pop culture categories. A few examples:
Who directed the film that won this year’s Academy Award for Best Picture?
Which city in Europe is also known as the City of Light?
Who is married to (insert popular celebrity)?
What was the #1 best-selling non-fiction book last year?
This is a surprisingly good way for people to get to know each other, because you learn about what they’re interested in and what they pay attention to by noting the questions they’re able to answer correctly.
Cozy settings make for great team building.
Get to know your team a little better with some pop trivia to see what they pay attention to. (Photo Credit: @thewineshutter)
2. Play Pictionary
No complex rules to explain here. Pictionary is a party game lots of people are already familiar with. Even if they’re not, it’s easy to outline the instructions. Bring cards with words on them (frog, kiwi, rose, duck, rain boots, dictionary, computer mouse) and arrange for a dry erase board or an easel pad and a marker.
Each person draws a card, and then sketches a picture of what’s on their card while the other attendees try to guess what it is. You can play this one in teams or have everyone working together on the same team for added team-building gusto.
If you want to keep it professional:
1. Ask relevant professional questions
What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn in order to improve your job performance?
What drew you to this industry and keeps you working in it?
What’s your best productivity or time management trick?
Don’t forget to ask the relevant questions. (Photo Credit: @lapeerhotel)
Remember: Professional doesn’t have to be stuffy. (Photo Credit: Hillary Ungson)
2. List some positives
Starting your meeting by spending time focusing on the good can sustain optimism throughout the entire day. Go around and have everyone share one thing that’s going well in their professional lives and one thing that’s going well in their personal lives.
If you want attendees to go deep and form long-lasting connections:
1. Try IDEO’s “Uniqueness Share”
Design & innovation firm IDEO uses a great exercise to break down barriers in meetings. It’s called “Uniqueness Share.” Each person takes a turn sharing an interesting fact about something they’ve done or something that sets them apart.
If someone else in the room has done the same thing or has the same trait, the person who shared it originally has to come up with another interesting fact about themselves. For example, if someone says “I’ve been to New Zealand,” and nobody else in the room has, it’s the next person’s turn to share. If someone else has, in fact, been to New Zealand, the person who first shared that tidbit has to think of another interesting tidbit about themselves to share.
You’ll find something unique about each person by the end of this exercise.
2. Share photos
So many of us have a few favorite photos on our mobile phones that we enjoy sharing — photos of kids, pets, trips, home gardens, dishes we cooked, the list goes on. Showing them to others can instantly break down barriers and create meaningful connections.
Have attendees share photos of their favorite trips to help form those long-lasting connections. (Photo Credit: @jonigwu)
Remembering a favorite trip will bring untold joy to any meeting. (Photo Credit: @jonigwu)
Who knows how travel stories will inspire your attendees. (Photo Credit: @jonigwu)
Depending on your group size, have every attendee pick between one and three photos to share of things that bring them joy. Tell them they have 2 minutes to find their photo(s), and then it’s “phones down” while you go around the room and listen to each person talk about their photo(s) as they share.
If you have a group over 10 or 15 attendees, break into smaller groups to do this so that everyone can see one another’s pictures.
3. Play two truths and a lie
Have each attendee share three things about themselves, with one being a lie. Ask the rest of the attendees to try to guess which one is the lie.
If you have a group larger than 10, break into smaller groups and have each group play the game among themselves.
We hope you have gravitated toward some of these ice-breaker exercises for your next meeting or event. And trust us, your attendees will be glad you didn’t ask them what animal they would like to be and why.
