Fun Games For Work Meetings
Virtual icebreakers are a great way to get know people on your team. They’re quick and fun questions, intended to lighten the mood, start conversation, and get everybody talking and participating from the very get-go!Subscribe to the Collaboration Superpowers Podcast on or.Why do icebreakers?Icebreakers are useful for a variety of reasons:. They create the opportunity for everyone to speak at the start of the meeting. This increases the chances that they will speak up again during the meeting. They give you insight into your teammates’ personalities or moods. Over time, icebreakers can help you get to know people and add a layer of fun that helps the team bond in a very unique way. Suddenly “Bob from engineering” is “Bob from engineering whose favorite food is pizza, whose favorite smell is the rain and who wants to build a canoe.”Although virtual icebreakers can be a lot of fun, they’re not appropriate for every meeting.
It’s important that you identify your audience first. If the team is new if you don’t meet that often and in various other situations, they can be a great way to warm up.
If it’s a meeting with a new client or if you’re with a group of new people it might be too silly depending on the question. Try different kinds of icebreakersCHECK IN PROTOCOLMany people have suggested the for check-in protocol allows the meeting participant to say how he or she is feeling, e.g. “I feel one or more of mad, sad, glad, or afraid.” And then they give an explanation as to why they feel that way.PERSONALITY TESTSOther fun and interesting things you can try are personality tests. The is fun and interesting to see. There’s also one called the, which shows what strengths you would market yourself with if you were to market yourself.ICEBREAKER QUESTIONSIf you’re looking for a fun way to start a meeting, try any of the following icebreaker questions (listed in no particular order):. What was a favorite moment of insert any time frame?. What was your first job?.
What is your favorite food? Drink?.
Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?. What is your favorite smell?. Do you have any pets?. What is your favorite color?. Show your home on google maps and describe your environment: do you live near the city center?
A climbing gym? (courtesy of Morgan Legge). What is your favorite movie?. Do you have a favorite music group, era or album?. When I dance I look like. Share a favorite memory that includes food (courtesy of Sarah Baca).
What is the story of your name? (courtesy of. Take a picture from your window and have people guess where you are. Show any picture from your life and tell the story behind it.
What does the weather look like where you are? (pro tip: use pictures for more fun). What is your favorite comic strip?. Create a video tour of your house.
Boost the Productivity of Your Meetings with These 26 Icebreaker GamesHow much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice.Don’t you feel better now that we’ve gotten that out of the way?Icebreakers make meetings better by loosening everybody up and getting them into “meeting mode.” Consider the icebreaker meeting warm-up, an exercise you need to avoid awkward cramps throughout a meeting.Despite persistent cliches, icebreakers for adults do not have to follow any particular format, and they definitely do not have to be lame. You can use pretty much any game or activity you want to break the ice before your meeting, as long as it gets people talking and smiling. (Bonus points for fun icebreakers for meetings that support your cultural values!)Without further adoFree Bonus: Easily save it on your computer for quick reference or print it and share with your coworkers. The One-Word IcebreakerOur friends at keep things simple by having everyone describe their current mood in one word. You can have people explain their one-word mood descriptor if you want to add more depth to your icebreaker activities, but you can also just go with the flow and enjoy how cryptic some of the answers can be.I feel alpaca.2. Solve a Murder IcebreakerCue The Office theme song Michael Scott enters “There’s been a murder”In all honesty, Michael was actually on to something!
Solving a murder mystery can be a great way to break the ice with your team. Mindfulness IcebreakerMeetings can sometimes fail because of what we bring to them, and we’re not talking about notebooks and cell phones. If meeting attendees feel stress, especially about the meeting itself, then tension will dominate the agenda. Reduce stress by opening the meeting with a mindfulness icebreaker.
Start with three minutes of silent contemplation, and then have everyone write down what is stressing them out. When everyone finishes writing, tell them to rip up their stress. Put all the scraps together in a bowl on the table. Minefield: The Obstacle IcebreakerThis classic classroom activity from makes the perfect meeting icebreaker. Set up “obstacles” around the conference room table. (We recommend something harmless and funny, like squeaky toys.) Now everyone takes turns navigating the obstacles while blindfolded, guided only by the shouts and direction of their teammates. The Props IcebreakerTo conduct this inspirational icebreaker, give everyone five minutes to think of a recent situation where one of their co-workers blew them away with their skills and kindness.
(It’s a major plus if the situation involves someone in the meeting!) Now have everyone tell the stories to the rest of the group. Company History Icebreakericebreaker helps employees learn some valuable company history. Make a list of ice breaker questions, pop them on the projector, and ask employees if they know the answers. (Individual buzzers could be totally cool if you have any on hand!) Here are some question ideas:. Mission statement.
Founding year. Biggest goal. Founder’s name.
Number of employees. Biggest competitor20. The No Smiling Icebreakerhas a counter-intuitive icebreaker that actually leads to lots of laughter. Tell everyone they can’t smile during the first five minutes of the meeting.
You’ll be amazed at how humorous some people become when they’re told not to smile. Get the camera ready to take some silly pictures. The Instagram IcebreakerTo conduct this idea from, just give employees a few minutes to scroll through their Instagram photos and pick a snapshot they want to share with the group.
They can share the photo and explain why they picked it. This will help some personality shine through, especially if people on your team need to get to know each other. If you were looking for some team icebreakers – this would be the one.
The Friendly Debate IcebreakerUse this student-centric icebreaker idea from the in your next meeting. Start out by posing a harmless question that prompts people to choose a side. Here are some examples:. Which food is better: pizza or tacos?. Would you rather go on a hike or to a movie?. What skill is more valuable: creativity or logic?. Which is worse: being bored or being too busy?Have everyone physically divide into sides—pro pizza to the right; pro taco to the left.
Let all the like-minded people discuss the virtues of their position for a while, and then have a representative try to sell the other side of the room. This will give everyone a chance to see things from different perspectives. It will open everyone’s minds for a productive meeting. The Employee-Driven IcebreakerThis icebreaker takes the cake on ease. Have each meeting attendee bring their favorite icebreaker. This “icebreaker” can be a joke, a quote, a phrase, an activity—anything at all. This icebreaker works because it removes the “Why are you making me do this?” factor.
Everything employees do will be self-inflicted. Electric Fence IcebreakerThis icebreaker gets employees up and moving as they build an imaginary electric fence and try to cross it without getting “electrocuted.” Make the fence by tying some string between two chairs. They can cross the fence however they like as long as they don’t go under it.
Things-in-Common IcebreakerThis icebreaker helps teammates get to know each other on a deeper level by discovering what they have in common. Split people into groups and tell them to find out how many things they have in common.
The group who discovers the most things in common wins, so it pays to be persistent and thoughtful. (Physical features and clothing colors do not count!) Each group will announce what they have in common to the rest of the group. Have everyone else raise their hand if they also have the thing in common. The Inspirational Speaker IcebreakerPut meeting attendees out of the spotlight and invite an inspirational speaker to break the ice before your meeting. Pick someone with expertise in what your company does or what you’re meeting is about. Ask the presenter to make the talk super quick so there’s plenty of time for Q&A.Free Bonus: Easily save it on your computer for quick reference or print it and share with your coworkers.
Bonus #1 Conflict Resolution Role PlayMost people, especially in work environments, avoid conflict like the plague. That’s amazing right? Why shouldn’t we all just get along? Because just “getting along” isn’t that simple all the time.
And if most people eschew conflict, then most people probably don’t know how to deal with it, or more importantly, resolve it, when it does come up. This role-playing ice breaker deals out some conflict-resolution takeaways, and it also captures everyone’s attention and get them invigorated for your meeting. Because this exercise involves drama, and there are few things people find more compelling than that. Start by selecting your conflict premise. You can make up your own based on your personal office experiences or use/borrow some of these for inspiration. Keep things simple by sticking to just two “characters.”.
Adam confronts Mimi, angry that she got the promotion he wanted. Agatha asks Martin why he shot down an idea they’d discussed many times before during an all-hands meeting. Andre asks Tim why he didn’t get a raise this year.
Lena tells Mary she finds her recent work inadequate.Create your discussion questions. These are the questions you’ll discuss as a group after the role-play skit is complete. Design questions that make people examine the success of the characters’ conflict resolution efforts and explore how things could have been handled differently. For example:.
How do you think each person felt after this exchange?. What would you have said if you were Mimi?.
How do you imagine these two will behave around each other when they meet again?When it’s meeting time, ask for 2 volunteers to play the characters. Tell them your premise and set a timer for 5 minutes. Make sure they know they can behave however they want and say anything they want. People will get the most from this activity if it’s truly organic and open-ended. After the skit, set a timer for 10 minutes and pose your discussion questions with the group.
Bonus #2 Play a Round of Spyfallis a role-playing and guessing game rolled into one. You can play it on phones or computers, and you don’t need any materials to get started.
Game summary: The interface assigns each player an identity. One person is the “spy.” All the non-spies are in the same location (their identity assignments tell them what this location is). The spy’s identity assignment includes no location. The objective for the non-spies is to guess who is the spy. The objective for the spy is to guess everyone else’s location.To play, everyone asks each other thoughtful questions until someone has enough clues to wager a guess.
Spyfall makes a perfect icebreaker because it gets people thinking critically, talking to each other, and also getting unprecedented insight into how their coworkers’ minds work. It’s also incredibly fun.
(Most games last less than 15 minutes.) Bonus #3 Thought Experiment IcebreakerWarm up everyone’s active thinking muscles before your big meeting with a thought experiment icebreaker. Thought experiments prep people to challenge assumptions and status quos and to think outside the box. This icebreaker will be especially helpful before a brainstorming session.
The that will help you get started with some meeting-appropriate, quick thought experiments that get participants considering the work competencies and skills they value most in themselves. Bonus #4 The Artsy IcebreakerPrep your meeting table with art supplies.
At the very least, provide 2 sheets of paper and 1 pencil for everyone. But if you think your team will be into it, then go ahead and go crazy with colored pencils, paint, glue, dry noodles, and anything else you can stick on paper. Give everyone a prompt to avoid creative block.
We love prompt, “Illustrate a cause or current event that you are passionate about.” Allow 10 minutes for creating and 10 minutes for sharing and discussing. Bonus #5 Peek Into Each Other’s Home Office/WorkspaceAn icebreaker for distributed teams, the good folks at recommend an exercise that encourages team members to open their home offices/workspaces to one another virtually. Each team member will make a short video showing off their home office/workspace and some of their favorite things. This activity allows team members to get to know one another on a more personal level and can lead to feelings of welcomeness and friendship. This activity may be better suited for small teams, but it’s undoubtedly a great way to get the personal feel going. Another way to do this is by allowing one team member to show off their home office/workspace at the beginning of each week’s work meeting.Do you have any favorite fun icebreakers you want to share? Let us know in the comments below.
Motivating & Managing Employees Resources. Re idea for a conflict management ice breaker.Get a two litre bottle of fizzy drink and pass it to someone.
Fun Games For Work Meetings
Ask them to say something that makes them feel really angry, they can say it in an angry voice and as they say it; they should give the bottle an angry shake.Then ask them to pass the bottle onto the person next to them; and repeat with each person in the room.When the bottle comes back to you, get a cloth and gently open the bottle releasing all the gas. You have choices in how you respond to anger, you can add more, or you can find ways to reduce tensions. I am an Orientation leader at my community college and i have to get the Freshman coming in involved during our orientation session! One Ice breaker I use is cheap and simple! Go to your local Walmart or Dollar General and get a soccer ball, look up questions on the internet and fill in each section of the ball with a question, then throw the ball (gently, unless the person ate your lunch) at someone and call out a finger, where ever the finger is located on the ball is the question they answer!
Fun Games To Play For Staff Meetings
Its fun and a really good way to get to know someone!. Ice Breaker ActivityTitle: Dum Dum FunTime: 10-15 MinutesType of Group it would be appropriate for: Educational/Discussion/Support GroupsPopulation: AnyAge: AnyMaterials Needed: Bag of Dum Dum LollipopsExplanation: Each member will be encouraged to choose their favorite flavor lollipop out of the bag/basket upon entry to the meeting. Once everyone has chosen, then the facilitator/leader will provide instruction. ‘Look at the wrapper of the lollipop you chose, take note of the flavor.
Count the number of letters in the flavor name. Please be prepared to share that amount of facts about yourself. For example, if the flavor is -Cherry- please share 6 things about yourself with the group. They can be things like your favorite color, food, favorite place, restaurant, favorite time of year, or even how many pets you have’ Then after instruction the facilitator will provided 1-2 minutes for the members to come up with their ideas, then they will demonstrate, and then choose someone to begin.Benefits: The success of any group is based on the level of comfort each member has for the group.
When entering a group of people you don’t know sometimes you can be shut off from building a relationship with them to establish any sort of comfort. This activity encourages you to get to know the members of your group. You, can discover that maybe you share the same likes or interests as another member which can lead you to feel more comfortable; and encourage you to open up more in the future.Attachments: NoneConsiderations: May want to get sugar free lollipops for those who may be diabeticPrecautions: limit each members share to about 30 seconds to a minute, discourage other members making comments on shares.
Fun Games To Play For Work Meetings
Mad LibsDid this at a meeting and it was a big hit.Ahead of time, write several sentences on easel paper, replacing key words with blank lines, e.g. “Members of my team are.” “I like my because they are.”Create a card for each removed word. Write the type of word on one side, e.g. Group of people, noun, adjective, etc. Leave the other side blank.Each participant should have a card placed face down on their chair. (This will determine how many sentences you need.)Once you reveal the game, they can look at their card. They write a word that matches the category, e.g.
Elephant, blue.You may want to ask if everyone knows what an adjective is. Don’t assume everyone does.When time is up, ask “Who has a (noun? Adjective?)” and fill in the blanks.Reveal the sentences with the new words in them.Laugh.