Want to know more about creating quick, fun ice breakers for training sessions, team building sessions, and regularly scheduled meetings? I am a proponent of ice breakers that reinforce the content and goal accomplishment of a team building or training session.
At the same time, there is a place for a fun ice breaker whose only purpose is to help session attendees know and appreciate each other. Here are several ice breakers that require time in preparation, but are quick to carry out at your meeting.
Ice Breakers That Help People Meet and Greet
At company or department meetings, to help attendees get to know coworkers outside of their immediate work group, this ice breaker, or any variation, works well.
Sweet Greet Meeting Icebreaker
In advance of the meeting, purchase candy bars for each attendee. Buy the number of varieties necessary for dividing attendees across the desired number of groups or tables. As an example, if you want five employees in each small group, purchase five Snickers bars, five Baby Ruths, and so forth. Place all of the candy bars in a bag and ask employees to draw a candy bar as they enter the meeting.
You have also either labeled the tables with the candy bar name or placed an additional candy bar on the table in advance so employees know where to sit. Instruct attendees that they are to sit with the people who drew the same candy bar. (Warn employees not to eat the candy bar on the table or people will not know how to find their group.)
Because this is such a fun approach to helping employees get to know each other, you can simply ask people to introduce themselves at their assigned table. If you want to be more elaborate, you can develop a series of questions for people to answer.
Sample questions or discussion points to use might include:
- Describe how and when you came to work at this company.
- Share your biggest current challenge you are experiencing at work.
- Share two things about yourself that you think no one at the table may know.
- Describe a positive customer interaction you have experienced.
- Tell your coworkers something you appreciate about your company.
This is a second, easy-to-lead, fun meeting icebreaker. Like the Candy Sort Meeting Icebreaker, this icebreaker takes some preparation, but not a lot of time during the meeting. The Plates Sort Meeting Icebreaker is best used when employees are gathering to share a meal.
Whether it's your celebrate safety pizza luncheon or an employee recognition banquet, a hot dog summer motivational lunch or a celebrate Thanksgiving luncheon, your eating and greeting opportunities have something in common - plates.
They likely have a second commonality, too. Employees who know each other best tend to sit with each other. This makes the shared meal a lost opportunity to encourage team building and employees getting to know each other.
You can change this by taping a number or a letter to the bottom of each plate. Just as with the candy bars above, you'll need to decide how many employees will attend. You'll need to decide, in advance, how many coworkers will sit at each table. Then make enough stickers to label every plate with a table.
Finally, because employees tend to arrive at luncheons with their friends, you'll want to mix the plates up so numbers or letters are not stacked together, but rather randomly, to facilitate coworkers meeting.
And again, you can simply ask people to introduce themselves at their assigned table. Or, if you want to be more formal, you can develop a series of questions for people to answer such as those listed above. Keep in mind that with this approach to a meeting icebreaker, people will want to eat hot food, so less formal discussion is better until after the meal.
More Icebreakers
- Team Building Activity: Radio-controlled Cars
- My Favorite Team Building Icebreaker: Ten Things in Common
