Meeting And Workshop Icebreaker Games

20 Amusing Ice-Breakers for Meetings to Foster a Positive Atmosphere [Don’t Miss the 5th One] 

Did you ever feel mind-numbing silence within a room filled with strangers at the beginning of a meeting? 

You’re not alone. Thousands of others have already faced the same struggle. Joe is one of them who has recently turned a meeting into hotbeds of collaboration. 

You may wonder what magic wand helped Joe to put everything at ease.

Let’s hear it from him-

“I felt awkward entering the meeting room filled with educated individuals from diverse backgrounds. The reason for my awkwardness was centered around the fact that the attendees felt no excitement as it was the same humdrum routine meeting for them!

I couldn’t help it either! However, I thought I must do something OUT-OF-THE-BOX to reignite the meeting attendees. 

Icebreakers for meetings were my brainchild to make the meetings a breeze! 

I implemented the same, and you probably won’t believe the result!

The frigid atmosphere became a stimulating, lively ambience within a stipulated time.“

It’s how Joe has managed to clear the air with the ice-breakers!

You can do it too! 

What is an Icebreaker? 

According to Wikipedia, an icebreaker is an entertaining activity that includes engaging activities, exercises, or games. This enables the team members to connect well, irrespective of whether they don’t know each other or not. Specifically, icebreakers are used to “warm up” the members who still don’t know each other or focus on something like-minded in between the work pressure.  

According to McKinsey, icebreakers showed a 15% improvement once appropriately incorporated to develop a collaborative decision-making process. Another study by the Gallup Poll shows that 60% of employees faced reduced anxiety levels once the meetings started with casual activities. 

Objectives of Using Icebreakers in a Meeting 

Being a wallflower in the meetings doesn’t make sense if someone wants to place his/her ideas on the table.  

Instead, that person should be enthusiastic when presenting things. 

But, 

Setting the stage for smooth sailing needs something UNIQUE!

That’s where the purpose of incorporating icebreakers fits in! 

1. To Build Community 

Developing a community isn’t magic! Instead, it takes time and goes through a process. Implementing an icebreaker allows an introverted employee to deal with the various ups and downs during the same routine work. Additionally, it enables individuals to break the shackles of uneasiness while getting to know each other. This opens the door for ultimate collaboration while maintaining compliance with the team meeting. 

2. To Shorten the Meeting Times

Introducing the appropriate icebreaker at the right time lets the participants focus intensely on the meeting context. This leads to 3X better productivity and quicker resolutions. A report claims meetings that incorporate icebreakers are 18% shorter than those that don’t. 

3. To Break the Silence

Sitting idle between unknown people may create awkwardness, sometimes worsening the situation. However, an icebreaker can resolve the problem within the stipulated time and reignite the meeting attendees' confidence.

4. To Take Creativity to the Next Level 

By reducing the awkwardness, icebreakers encourage the meeting participants to think more openly and widely about the topic. For instance, if a person is associated with making compelling event branding graphics and is stuck between meetings, breaking the ice will enable the person to unleash his/her creativity. 

According to the LinkedIn Workplace Insights Survey, teams spectated a 20% increase in innovative ideas during the brainstorming sessions. 

5. To Maximize the Satisfaction Level 

Participants can share their opinions at the meeting through funny yet logical conversations, which signifies that their contributions matter. Overall, this boosts a participant's satisfaction level. Moving forward, this helps an entire team work cohesively. 

63 Ice Breakers Games for Meetings

Implementing the icebreakers into a meeting is like warming up the orchestra team before a full-fledged symphony. Not only does it ensure that everything is aligned correctly, but it also harmonizes the whole group and leaves the stage for a jaw-dropping performance.

However, there are specific icebreakers for meetings to bring out a sense of humor. Here you go- 

1. Just One Word 

Many big corporate houses utilize this lucid yet persuasive activity to start workshops, meetings, or brainstorming sessions. It insists the participants share their thoughts with the other team members. 

To start this activity, select a theme/topic about the meeting's purpose. Now ask the questions like this-

• Can you describe in one word about how you’re feeling today?
• Describe in one word what defines teamwork for you
• How do you see innovation? Describe in one word. 

Once the participants share their responses, the group can share their insights. This ice-breaking game has a profound effect, as it helps the participants practice their listening skills and express their thoughts without being stuck. 

2. Two Truths and One Lie 

This funny ice-breaking game enables participants to learn more about each other lightly. It works best for team-building sessions, social gatherings, and meetings. You can ask a meeting attendee to share three statements about themselves:

• One statement is a lie 
• The two statements are true 

Now, ask the rest of the group to detect which of the three statements is invalid. Once they have detected an untrue statement, participants can shout. Next, the person will disclose which statements are lying. 

For instance, the participant can say- 

• I once cheated on my friend.
• I can play football. 
• I’ve never ridden a bike. 

Group Guess:

• The group will guess which statement is wrong 
• The participant will tell whether he/she has ever ridden on a bike. 

However, the participants were asked to share interesting statements to insist the other participants answer accordingly. Also, the lies and the truths must be surprising to enhance the game's engagement. 

3. Find Your Similarities & Differences 

This icebreaker is perfect if you want to learn more about your team members' memorable experiences. It can foster understanding and connection between team members. 

You can divide the participants into small groups depending on the team size. Once this is done, each group should identify several differences and similarities within a stipulated time. Moving forward, group members can clarify their differences and similarities in professional and personal interests, cultural perspectives, and professional traits. 

You can prepare a set of questions to make the game more interesting-

• What is the activity that the team members enjoyed thoroughly? (Similarity)
• Is there any famous place you’ve already visited but the rest of the team members? (Difference)
• What are your perspectives about life? (Similarity)
• What is the skill that you possess and the other doesn’t?  (Difference) 

Remember that the questions must be concise and aim to determine how many people have the same experience. There is no hard and fast rule about which questions to ask the team members, as mediocre questions can beat the fence! 

4. Diversity Bingo 

It’s one of the interactive ice-breaking games curated to uphold the participants' various experiences. It’s also a fascinating way to promote inclusion while sparking conversations. 

First and foremost, develop a bingo card comprising a grid of squares. Each square must represent a unique experience or trait. Once the players receive a bingo card, they shuffle it around themselves. Next, they find other participants who sign the cards to indicate a statement. 

There are a few samples for squares-

• A person who has already traveled to more than six countries
• Can play a musical instrument 
• Practises meditation/yoga 
• Already worked in some other countries 

However, the signatures should be limited to avoid people talking only one or two. Once people reach bingo, you can share what people have learned about each other. 

5. How’s the Weather? 

This is a funny yet unique way to ask the participants how they feel during a meeting. This helps people to know each other in a team. Ask someone to stand within a circle to see each other. Then, ask that person to describe his/her current mood by comparing the same with the weather. You may expect answers like this-

• Today, I’m feeling sunny because of the positive energies inside me. 
• My situation is like an overcast sky; I feel a bit stressed. 

On the other hand, the person will ask the same questions to the other team members to help connect everyone personally. This ice-breaking game can melt the pot because it is creative yet expressive and generates light-hearted moments. 

6. Speed Dating Icebreaker 

This ice-breaking game will help you develop an engaging environment between regular office activities. The participants get to know each other through a series of short conversations. Although this game is inspired by traditional speed dating, it primarily focuses on conversation, connection, and fun moments instead of romantic matchmaking. 

Arrange some chairs and tables. Set the same in rows. One group will stay seated while the other will rotate. Based on the group size, each interaction may last between 2-5 mins. You can start with the question like- 

• What’s your dream car?
• What’s your favorite childhood memory? 
• What’s your favorite place at your home? 

Once the time is up, signal the participants from another group to rotate to the next person. Continue the rotations until everyone meets all the participants. 

7. Pictionary

This group drawing and guessing game lets participants get to know each other funnily. This activity can be performed either offline or online with the help of the right tools. You need a big drawing pad, markers, drawing prompts, and cards for offline game preparation. 

If you’re hosting the meeting virtually, use a drawing app or keyboard. The participants will draw the phrases/words about the meeting topic. The other group can guess the answer at the same time. 

Pick up a digital whiteboard, allowing users to participate and draw together. You can divide the participants into multiple groups based on the team size, leaving everyone guessing. 

8. Trivia

“All Work No Play Make Jack a Dull Boy”

But, 

You don’t want your employees to be dull, which may affect their workflow! Don’t worry! With trivia, people will be more likely to be engaged in their work. You can take the reference of renowned music/TV shows or any other industry-related trivia.

Build a small team and have the participants together. Now, give them a light yet interesting topic to discuss. Also, ask them questions. Once the team members remember the answer, they will shout. 

9. Hot Seat

Do you want your team members to welcome them to the hot seat where the nerves sizzle and secrets spill? 

Let them face the hot seat, which will help them know each other better. Imagine you’re hosting two events/week. Ask one or two people at every meeting to sit in the hot seat. Therefore, the team members will get the chance to ask each other questions. 

If you don’t know your team members in person, this game will help you learn more about them; for example, you will learn who is more comfortable sharing his/her ideas in front of the other team members and who is not. 

10. Codenames

Inspired by the renowned board game Codenames, this game can be a perfect icebreaker. Playing this game aims to have fun, spark creativity, and foster teamwork.

Make a grid of 25 words, either handwritten or digital. Now, divide the groups into two teams and choose a “Spymaster” from each team. Assign words for each grid. Only the spymasters will know which word belongs to the team but cannot share it. The job of the other team members is to guess the correct word that belongs to their team. 

The spymaster will give a clue with a number indicating the number of words in the grid. For example, if the words “orange” and “tree” are on the team, the spymaster may say, “Fruit: 2.” The first team who covers all the words is the winner. 

11. Silver Linings 

“Corporate ice breakers are like the silver lining of the cloud-heavy meetings and induction sessions. Before you get yourself engrossed into serious business, casual fun can set the tone for a more open yet engaging interaction.”

With this ice-breaking game, help your team find the silver lining. Ask everyone to share one negative experience they have had recently. Then, they will share what lesson they learned from that experience. 

For example, a participant may say, “Got drenched in the rain.”

The silver lining in this sentence may be, “I got an opportunity to dance in the rain,” like Gene Kelly did in “Singin’ in the Rain.” 

12. Company Jeopardy

Ask your team members questions about your organization to test their knowledge. Prepare different question sets and assign different points based on difficulty. To make things compact, you can divide the questions into multiple categories, such as product questions or questions about the company’s leadership team. 

Once each team chooses the correct answer, they will earn points based on the difficulty of the question. For example, if a question has a difficulty level of 5, the team will earn 5 points. The team with the maximum points will win the game. 

13. High & Low 

It is a simple yet effective ice-breaking game for meetings to help people connect and share their experiences. Once at a time, the team members will share their “best part of a day” and the “worst part of a day.” This will help you get a detailed view of your team's positive and negative stories. 

The plus point of this game is that you can directly address the negative stories of your team, followed by discussing the same in-person/open meeting. This will enable the team members to gain more confidence in sharing their past experiences in the future. 

14. Share Your Favorite Photo

You can’t define a mobile phone as jam-packed with pictures clicked on various occasions. 

Can You? 

People store their favorite pictures in the gallery to check the same later. 

Imagine you are asked to share your favorite picture from the gallery. Which one will you pick? 

May be a cozy moment spent with your loved ones or playing your favorite game in your leisure time!

Playfully, you can do the same thing with your work team members. Ask them to show their favorite photos in a team meeting, or ask them to share their computer screens in virtual meetings. 

15. Whose Story is It? 

You only need the least things to start this ice-breaking game. Guess what? A small piece of paper and a pen only! Ask the team members to write their weirdest story on it. However, it must be true! Drop the paper in a container. 

Collect all the papers from the participants and read them one by one. Guess who wrote the story. This is a great way to dig deeper into each other’s lives while finding interesting things. 

16. The Name Chain

This icebreaker game is fun and makes people comfortable with each other, especially if the team members are new. Begin by gathering all the participants in a circle. Now, decide who will start the game, and he/she will say their name. Then, the next person will say their name. 

The game started to get trickier from here. The third person has to say their own name, including the second and first names. This develops a name chain. The list goes on as each person faces their turn. However, it becomes a challenge to recall each name. To avoid this, an individual must pay more attention to get everything right. Ensure that all the words are nouns to make things simple. 

17. Meet Your Match 

Multiple ways are there to play this game. However, the objective of this game is to assign a word to a player, which should be matched with someone else in the room. Take a piece of paper and write down the words on it. Stick the same on someone’s back. 

Now, the team members will ask questions about the assigned words, and they will try to find the match. For instance, one participant may have an “orange” stick on their back. They will ask questions about how to figure out what they have. They may discover themselves as food. From there, if they spot “Jam” around them and they’re peanut butter, their exact match is jelly. 

18. Conversation Questions 

The set of some basic conversation questions enables a team to know each other well. Create a list of questions and pass them on to each group. Each group will decide on a facilitator to ask the rest of the team members questions. Remember, the questions must be funny yet unique to keep the conversation light. 

19. The Human Knot

If you’re looking for a classic team-building activity icebreaker game, The Human Knot will be a perfect option to fit into your bill. This not only promotes teamwork but also fosters communication and problem-solving. 

Make a circle and hold the hands of two different people. Ensure that the people holding another person’s hand are next to them. Once the participants have grabbed their hands, the groups must work together to untangle the knot. Ask the participants to step over or to weave through the other participants' hands. 

The participants should collaborate with the other team members to untangle the knot while listening to each other suggestions. 

20. Line Up

If you’re looking for a quick icebreaker game that encourages your team consistently, Line Up can help to meet your expectations. Ask the participants to develop an orderly line without any discussion based on predetermined criteria. Now, ask the people to work together and get together in a format.  

That’s only the tip of the iceberg! You may face multiple hindrances while incorporating the icebreakers. 

Yes, 

That’s true! 

Let’s uncloak the challenges of implementing the icebreakers in a team.

What are the Challenges of Incorporating icebreakers in Meetings? 

Multiple challenges may occur during the implementation of icebreakers in meetings. Here are some common challenges that most organization already face. It includes the following-

1. Lack of Interest 

According to a 2020 LinkedIn Study, 31% of employees found that icebreakers are unnecessary, especially if they’re task-oriented. This leads to a lack of interest in participating in ice-breaking games. 

2. Cultural Gap 

According to Global Workforce Studies, 40% of employees don’t feel cultural diversity is inclusive. If the icebreakers are not culturally aligned, this can demotivate the participants. 

3. Team Dynamics Mismatch

The wrong icebreaker can create confusion, which can lead to awkwardness. For instance, a personal icebreaker may not be suitable for a newly formed team. 

4. Unclear Goals

Icebreakers have a short-term impact and may directly affect the team members. Icebreakers may struggle to convey the right message without a clear set of goals. 

5. Formal Icebreakers 

Some icebreakers might sound unprofessional to the team members, especially if they’re sensitive about a few matters. This will develop a less relaxed atmosphere moving forward. 

4 Tips to Create the Right Tone for Your Next Icebreaking Games Session 

Setting the stage on fire requires the right amber to produce warmth! Here are a few tips to make the wonder happen- 

1. Define Your Objectives

Determine why you’re using the icebreakers for your meeting and choose the game according to the abovementioned list. 

2. Keep it Simple 

Pick games that are straightforward and require little intervention. For example, limit the activities to 10-15 minutes, especially for business-focused meetings. 

3. Focus on Inclusivity 

Ensure the chosen activities are appropriate for the diverse team members. Avoid those games which only focus on retrieving the personal information of the participants. 

4. Use Team Relevant Games Only

Based on the team scenarios, you can set up the games. Don’t go for loud games that fail to captivate the audience’s mind. Otherwise, the objective of playing the icebreaking games won’t be fulfilled. 

The Stage is All Set! 

We understand that you’re leaving no stone unturned to tap into the pulse of your workforce. Can we introduce a cutting-edge software to perform the due diligence for your brand events and that too seamlessly? 

Planning icebreakers during events is like walking in the park with Eventify! This tool allows you to easily schedule events and streamline the activities needed to incorporate icebreakers into meetings. Still have a question? Let us take this off your plate!