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Paired Sharings
I always start my meeting icebreakers session with this activity. It is a great non threatening activity and it gets people to talk about stuff that they don’t usually talk about.
Time Needed
10 to 50 minutes, depending on how many questions you ask.
Materials Needed
None, unless you want to use music to create a more relaxed atmosphere.
Group size
Any size…the bigger, the better.
Benefits of this Meeting Icebreakers Activity
- It is a safe, non-threatening way for people to start conversations.
- Conversations take place at a different level.
- You can “ease” into the topic of your meeting with the last question.
Set-Up
- Have participants stand up from their chairs and find a person that they know the least. In a group with an uneven number, there can be one “threesome.” The rest have to be in groups of only two.
- If the room is big enough, let them remain standing.
- You pose a topic for them to discuss…a question that they have to answer.
- The conversation happens in pairs.
- Give them 5 minutes to have their conversation.
- Let them “decide” who’s talking first. More on this later, but it is sort of an icebreaker within a meeting icebreakers activity.
Process
- Once everyone has found a partner, you explain the process to them. Make it clear that you will give them a topic to discuss. Give them 5 minutes to BOTH have their say.
- Pose the question. Make it non-work related. Questions might include the following:
- What do you remember from your first day at work in the company? What was it like? What do you especially remember?
- If you won the lottery, where in the world would you take your most desired holiday…and why?
- If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would that person be and why?
- What would you like to get out of this meeting/conference/session?
- Remember to pose only one question at a time.
- Before they start, do this “deciding who’s talking first” activity. People love it and its great fun. As I have mentioned, it’s almost an activity within a meeting icebreakers activity. Use a different one before every question:
- “Put your thumbs together. Decide who’s got the biggest thumb and that person get to speak first.”
- “Stand next to one another with your hips. The person with the hips lowest to the ground gets to talk first.”
- “Look each another in the eyes. The person with the least amount of hair from the neck upwards get to talk first”
- "Decide who’s birthday is the earliest in the year. That person gets to talk first.”
- “Decide who’s wearing the darkest shoes”
- Give them five minutes to talk. Make sure that everyone is finished. Once they’re all done, ask if anyone wants to share his or her partner's story. They are not aloud to share their own story.
- If the group is small enough (6 to 8 people) ask everyone for feedback. If it is bigger, only ask two or three people to share their partner's dinner date or first day at work.
- Once they are finished, ask them to thank their partner in a special way (This might be a hug or hip flick or whatever), and to find a new partner.
- If your time is limited, and you only ask one question, finish your meeting icebreakers session with the Chaos activity to get them back into their seats in a fun way.
- If you want to carry on with this meeting icebreakers activity, ask them to find a new partner. Again, someone that they don’t know that well. The more they switch partners, the more they interact. The amounts of times they switch partners depend entirely on your time available.
- Repeat the process with their new partner. Only, this time, there is a new question, and a new way of “deciding who’s talking first” (The fist way only work once…no I’m just kidding)
- After the last question, end with the Chaos meeting icebreakers activity to get them back into their seats.
Who am I…?
Time Needed
10 to 30 Minutes.
Materials Needed
Stickers with a name of a famous person written on it. The usual name tag stickers will do just fine. The amount of sticker should match the amount of people in the team.
You can use any name as long as they are really word famous. George Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Hitler. Mother Theresa, David Beckham, Princess Di…any name that most people know.
Group Size
Any Size…The bigger the better
Benefits of this Meeting Icebreakers Activity
- People ask one another questions in a non-threatening way.
- It’s fun
- Anyone can take part. It doesn’t matter how old, fit or thin you are.
- It clear the participants minds from any clutter that they might bring with them into the meeting.
Set-Up
- Have participants stand up from their chairs and scatter all over the room.
- Give each person a sticker and ask them not to show anyone else the name on the sticker.
- Let them pair up in two’s (yes, I know a pair is per definition two, but you will be amazed at how many times people “pair up" in threes. Ask them NOT to show the name on their sticker to their partner.
- Each person sticks the sticker on their partner's back without their partner knowing what name is on the sticker.
Process
- Once everyone has their sticker on their backs they have to walk around the room and find out who they are.
- If someone asks you a question, you are only aloud to answer “YES” or “NO” You are not to give any other information.
- Once person A has asked a question to person B, they are not aloud to ask any more questions before they have moved on to someone else. If person A is finished with her/his question, then person B get to ask one question.
- And so everyone moves around the room asking question and trying to find out who they are. Typical questions can include:
- “Am I a male?”
- “Am I old?”
- “Am I black?”
- “Am I white?”
- “Am I an Actor"
- Once someone have found their identity, they shout, “STOP” Everyone then acknowledge them and give them a hand and the activity carries on.
- If you end up with only two or three people not knowing their names, get the group together and stand/sit in a circle. The people who don’t know their ID’s yet then get to ask questions to the whole group until they find their identity.
Two Truths and a Lie
This meeting icebreakers activity is an excellent way for people who think they already know one another to get to know things about each other that they didn’t know. At the same time, it is a great way to get people who don’t know one another to become more familiar with each other.
Time Needed
10 to 50 minutes, depending on how many questions you ask.
Materials Needed
None, unless you want to use music to create a more relaxed atmosphere.
Benefits of this Meeting Icebreakers Activity
- People get to know things about each other that they never knew.
- Great to do with old, familiar teams as well as new teams or groups.
- People’s perceptions of other’s change.
- It takes them away from any other issues that might clutter their minds.
Group Size
Any size
Set-Up
Have participants stand up from their chairs and find a partner. I.e. Pair up in groups of two.
Process
- Once everyone has found a partner, you explain the process. Person A gets a chance to share three things about themselves with person B. Two of those things should be the truth and one should be a lie.
- Person B needs to guess which one is the lie. If they are wrong, they should keep on guessing until they find the lie.
- After person B has found the “lie” about person A, he or she then shares his/her two truths and a lie with person B.
- One or both of the truths should be something that you think the other person would never guess about you. On the other hand, the lie should be convincing enough. Examples are:
- I once ran 60km between 2pm and 8pm on a Saturday morning.
- I have a child that is out of school.
- I am allergic to seafood.
- When everyone is finished, ask people to share what they have learned about the other person. Or what surprised them. Or what they think would surprise the rest of the group about their partner.
Variation
- Another way of sharing with the rest of the group is to get the same pairs to team up with another pair. And if the group are big enough, let those groups of four, team up with another group of four. Carry on in this way, until you have 4 to 7 bigger groups.
- Each group then find two truths and a lie, which they share amongst them. In other words, there might be someone in your group who doesn’t own any blue jeans. Another person might have been to Antarctica, etc, etc.
- Each group then shares their two truths and a lie with the rest. The other groups have to guess which one is the lie.
Sorts and Mingle
This meeting icebreakers game is another nice way of getting people to talk with one another at a different level. At the same time, they get to know things about one another.
Time Needed
15 to 30 minutes, depending on how many questions you ask.
Materials Needed
A flip chart or Power point with questions
Benefits of this Meeting Icebreakers Activity
- It's non-threatening way for people to interact on a different level.
- It’s fun.
- This meeting icebreakers activity clear their minds, by focusing on the here and now.
Group Size
Any size
Set-Up
- Have participants stand up from their chairs and scatter across the room.
- Flip chart your questions one by one (i.e. on different pages). Pose the first question and let people sort and mingle. Once they are done, pose the next question.
Process
- Pose your first question. Ask people to walk around the room and cluster together with others that are in the same “category” as themselves.
- Questions to ask could include the following:
- If you could be the best at something, what should it be?
- What car do you drive?
- You most favorite actor?
- Your favorite dessert?
- What chore did you like the least as child?
- What’s your favorite sports team?
- Carry on to the next question and the next, until you feel the people have mingled enough.
Autograph Bingo
Time Needed
10 to 20 minutes
Materials Needed
A list of question on a paper for everyone.
Benefits of this Meeting Icebreakers Activity
- People get to mix and mingle with all the other people.
- They learn new things about one another in a non-threatening way.
Set-Up
- Have participants stand up from their chairs and scatter across the room.
- Give each participant the paper with the questions. These questions might include the following:
- Someone who doesn’t own a pair of blue jeans.
- Someone who has never been outside of the country.
- Someone who is an only child.
- Someone who speaks more than two languages.
- Someone who has gone without a shower for more than 3 days.
Process
- After you’ve handed out the papers, people walk around the room and try to find people for whom a description of one or more of the questions are true.
- If they find someone, they then get that person to sign next to the question. They also shout “BINGO!”. Everyone stops and listen to whatever question the other person are linked to. They acknowledge it by clapping hands or in any other way.
- The goal is to see who get autographs next to all the questions first.
Never Have I Ever…
This meetings icebreakers activity can be done while sitting around a table. It’s a great way to energize people if their concentration starts to go down.
Time Needed
10 to 20 minutes.
Materials Needed
None
Group size
8 to 15
Benefits of this Meetings Icebreakers Game
- It’s fun
- Take peoples minds of the things that are making them worry at that moment.
Set-Up
Everyone sits around a table or on the floor. Ask them to put all 10 fingers on the table or on the floor. The challenge of this meeting icebreakers game is to see who remains with the most fingers.
Process
- Everyone gets a chance to complete the following statement, “Never have I ever…” It should be the truth and it should be realistic. For instance, “Never have I ever been to Mexico.”
- If the statement is, “Never have I ever been to Mexico”, then everyone who HAS BEEN to Mexico should take a finger off.
- So, the idea is to mention things that you have never done, but you think most other people in the group have done.
- Go around the room. Give everyone a chance and start again until you have only one person with fingers on the table.
First Impressions Game
This meeting icebreakers game involves sharing people’s first impressions of one another. It can be done with new members of the team or with more mature teams.
Time Needed
10 to 20 minutes.
Materials Needed
Pieces of paper that match the number of people in the team. Oh yes, and masking tape.
Group Size
8 to 30
Benefits of this Meetings Icebreakers Game
- People share nice things about one another
- It can also serve a personal acknowledgment activity.
Set-Up
- Have participants stand up from their chairs and stand in a circle.
- Hand out the paper and masking tape. Ask people to stick the paper on the back of the person on their right, using the masking tape.
Process
- People walk across the room and have brief conversations with another person for about 1 minute.
- After their conversation, they write down their first impressions of one another on their respective backs.
- Emphasize that they are only aloud to write positive things about one another. “You have a beautiful smile” or “You are a great listener’ will do just fine. Ask them to be truthful and sincere.
- People keep on walking around until they have mingled with everyone. If it’s a large group, stop them after about 15 minutes.
- Get them all back in a circle. Each person then gets the opportunity to read the stuff on the back of the person on his or her left out loud.
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