Top 5 Icebreaker Questions and Games
Nothing is more boring than sitting around in a meeting room, waiting for things to start. The best team-building exercises can help to relieve some of this tension and help break the ice during those first crucial moments with employees or friends. Here are some excellent icebreaker questions and games that will work well with any group of people, from your friends at the office to new employees you’ve just hired. This helps you to learn the truth from them.
1. The One-Word Icebreaker
If you’re looking for a way to break the ice with a group of strangers, try the “one-word icebreaker.” It’s easy to do and doesn’t require you to know any other person in the room. Begin by asking everyone to go around the room and think of one word that describes themselves. Once they’ve spoken up, everyone else will continue by telling their word. This helps to understand the mood of other people.
2. The Solve a Murder Icebreaker
If you’ve ever been a fan of murder mysteries, you’ll find this team-building exercise to be fun. First, pick a workplace setting in which people have been murdered. For example, put everyone in the role of being at their office on a Friday afternoon when they’re about to leave for the weekend. Continue by telling them that each person has been murdered to get them thinking about who they might have worked with that’s now dead.
3. Pick a Card, Any Card
It is an excellent icebreaker for getting to know new people very quickly. First, pick up a playing card and place it behind your back. Then ask everyone else to pick a card and reveal it to you. Once everyone has revealed their card, take turns asking the other person questions about their selection – things like who or what it represents or what they think about that particular topic, they end up telling the truth. The experienced players will guess right away, whereas those who have just been introduced will be less likely to guess.
4. The Politeness Game
This game is so simple yet so effective. It works exceptionally well in a group of new people over some time. The idea is that everyone stands up, and then one person says, “I’m going to go first.” The person who went first goes to the back of the room and gets a drink from the refrigerator, after which they walk back to their seat next to another person. That person says, “Thank you for getting me a drink.” Then they go to the fridge and get a drink of their own. They then walk back and say to the first person, “Thank you for your help.” It continues for each person in the circle, with each person saying a new thank you. Once everyone is back into place, the first person says that it’s their turn again. The group of people will realise by this point how much they can appreciate one another – even those who may not have been friends beforehand.
5. Laugh Out Loud Icebreaker
It is a good icebreaker for a group in which you’ll all be in the same room together. For this exercise, figure out a word that’s funny about who you’re meeting. Then, ask everyone in the room to think of another even funnier word. Once everyone has said another word, have them pair it with their name and then repeat it back to them. For example, if the word is “moon,” someone might say, “Moon story.” The following person then says that they’re “going to tell a joke about the moon and what you’ll find out there.” It continues until everyone has said a couple of funny words that everyone can think of.
Final Thoughts
When you’re looking for an easy and effective way to break the ice with strangers, know that there are plenty of ways to do so, you can use our list of icebreakers as a place to start, or you can come up with your ideas. Whatever you do, be sure to relax and have fun! It will help the ice thaw quickly and prevent any uncomfortable silences from occurring.
