Icebreakers are a fun and light-hearted way to get to know each other, and to get all participants mentally present at a workshop or network event.
They are literary meant to ‘break the ice’ and could take the form of questions, activities or games. These facilitation exercises help to get the conversation going.
They could be simple thought provoking or interesting one-question answers, which all participants answer in turn, or they could be more elaborate games or activities.
The internet is filled with fun examples ranging from emoji games, get-to-know you questions, or more work and outcome focussed. You could also try mindfulness exercises.
Generally you try and achieve 3 goals:
Presence: Transition the group into the meeting
Equal Voice: let everyone be heard by setting this expectation from the start
Frame the conversation that follows
Download my 'Guess the Album Cover' ice-breaker
I’ve attached an Icebreaker based on record covers I created based on an article I found online. The photographer took pics of people in an aged care facility re-imagining iconic album covers. The idea is that the participants guess the artist and album name. At the same time they learn a bit about the artist and album.
Comments