Ice breaker: 12 examples to get a meeting off to a good start

In meetings, the role of a facilitator is to encourage participants to express themselves in a good atmosphere. But it's not always an easy task because people may be intimidated, afraid of being judged, or feel that their ideas have no value. They then prefer not to speak and wait for the meeting to end without attending.

This generally works best when meeting participants already know each other and are used to working together. On the other hand, when it comes to a new project with a new team, it can be difficult to start the first exchanges. To help you, there are activities or small games that break the ice, and are rightly called “ice breakers”. Les Ice Breakers (or “icebreakers” in French) are activities, questions or exercises used to create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in a group. They are used to establish connections between participants, to encourage exchanges and to “break the ice”, especially in situations where people do not know each other well or feel a bit reserved.

What is an ice breaker?

An ice breaker is a short fun activity, set up at the beginning of a workshop or meeting in order to relax the atmosphere, allow participants to get to know each other and feel at ease so that they can then work more easily and effectively together.

An ice breaker is therefore a kind of introduction, a way to break the ice, create the first connections and dive into the meeting in a pleasant way.

During group work sessions, ice breakers are essential tools for several reasons:

• they help participants relax;
• they allow all participants to get to know and discover each other's personality and skills;
• they create a more friendly atmosphere and group dynamics through the game;
• they contribute to motivating and engaging the group;
• they develop and promote creativity.

Here are 12 ice breaker ideas to help you launch your next meetings in an original way. Choose them taking into account the purpose of the meeting, the number of participants and their profiles, and the duration of the meeting.

How long does an icebreaker last?

The duration of an icebreaker can vary greatly depending on the number of participants, the context and the expected objectives. These fun activities can sometimes exceed 30 minutes. However, we recommend that you opt for short formats, 5 to 10 minutes. This is enough to break the ice and it prevents too much interference with the duration of your meeting.

How do I choose an ice breaker adapted to my audience?

Above all, it is essential to know your audience well. Many factors such as age, group size, or shared interests between members need to be taken into consideration in order to identify the right icebreaker for your group.

You should also consider the context in which the meeting will take place. The length, location, or theme of the meeting can help you choose your method.

The key element is the purpose of the icebreaker. If a “Chinese portrait” method is thus ideal for getting to know each other, brainstorming exercises will be more relevant to stimulate the creativity of the team.

The 12 best icebreaker ideas to break the ice

To help you organize the perfect icebreaker, ease tensions and create a pleasant and productive work environment, we suggest you discover 5 icebreakers to use during your meetings.

1. Superpower cross presentation

Objective: present each participant in an original and fun way.

Principle: Divide the group into pairs. Each in turn, for five minutes, the members of the pair try to determine the other's superpower by asking questions (name your main quality; what is your talent? , etc.). Then, they have to be drawn quickly. At the end of the time limit, each pair introduces their partner to the whole group.

Number of participants : up to 12 people

Duration: 30 minutes maximum

2. The roll of the die

Objective: get to know your team more personally, stimulate creativity or strengthen the team cohesion by randomly asking a surprising question.

Principle: Before you start, you need to make a cardboard die with a question on each side. Orient the questions according to the objective of the game. For example, if you want to get to know your employees better, ask personal questions such as “If you were an animal, which would you be?” ”, “What is your favorite food/book/movie/sport? ”, “What is your favorite vacation destination?” ”, etc. In turn, each participant rolls the die and answers the question asked.

Number of participants : up to 12 people

Duration: 10 minutes

3. The scribbles

Objective: develop the creativity of participants and prove to them that everyone can be creative.

Principle: Each participant draws six scribbles on a piece of paper and then passes the sheet to the neighbor. Each person then has to turn these scribbles into birds. This ice breaker is ideal before a meeting that requires drawing, but not only. It is ideal for relaxing participants in the face of their creative capacity.

Number of participants : up to 12 people

Duration: 10 minutes

4. The right pickaxe

Objective: This ice breaker is perfect for teams whose employees already know each other and strengthens the existing bond.

Principle: Each participant writes personal information on a post-it note that the others do not know. It can be a passion or a hobby, the name of your pet, an exotic country already visited, etc. The post-its are folded and placed in a box. Each participant draws one at random and sticks it on the person they think is the author. If a participant comes across their own post-it, they pick up another one.

Then, everyone confirms or not whether it is really their post-it. If this is not the case, the person concerned should present their post-it note in a few words.

Number of participants : 5 to 20 people

Duration: 15 minutes

5. The Marshmallow Challenge

Objective: promote team cohesion by confronting participants with a challenge that seems simple but ultimately quite complex to achieve.

Principle: Divide participants into groups of 4. Each team must build the tallest or most original structure in a limited amount of time using spaghetti, tape, string, and marshmallow. Two conditions must be met: the structure must stand on its own and the marshmallow must be placed at the top.

At the end of the time limit, designate the winning team and offer them their reward (marshmallows?). Then, discuss with all the participants so that they share their experience and feelings.

Tom Wujec talked about this challenge in a TED Talk on how to make teamwork more effective.

Number of participants : 10 to more than 60 people

Duration: 60 minutes

6. The gluttony of colors

Objective: here is another ice breaker that makes speaking easier and allows each participant to speak and introduce themselves while eating candy!

Principle: choose a candy pack with different colors (M&M's, Skittles, Dragibus, Krema, etc.) and give each color information to give. For example:

• blue: something you can't do without;
• red: a childhood anecdote;
• yellow: a talent, a particular skill;
• etc...

The candy pack is being circulated. Each participant draws a candy and gives information about it according to the color of the candy.

Number of participants : 2 to 20 people

Duration: 20 minutes maximum

7. 2 truths, 1 lie

An activity that is easy to set up and that also works remotely.

Each person takes turns saying 3 things about themselves. Two of these things are true and one is a lie. The group has to guess which of the 3 is a lie. Fast and fun!

8. Guess me if you can

You can only use images to get people to guess which movie or book you want.

The rules are simple: we don't talk, images can't come directly from the movie or book, and you can't share more than 5 images. For even more fun, you can replace images with emojis.

There are dozens of ice breakers to help you get a meeting off to a good start. You can also create your own. It's up to you to play!

9. The quiz

Objective : The members of the group already know each other. The aim here is to learn more about others in order to strengthen the cohesion of the group.

Average length : 5 minutes per participant.

Number of participants : 5 to 10 employees.

Necessary equipment : No hardware required.

Unfolding : This icebreaker is recommended if the various members of your team know each other at least partially. The idea is to discover fun stories about the participants and create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

10. The channel game

Objective : Teaming up and working collaboratively.

Average length : 10 minutes

Number of participants : Up to 12 employees.

Necessary equipment : No hardware required.

Unfolding : All participants in this fun activity must form a circle. Each member takes the hand of another person. But be careful, you do not necessarily have to hold hands with your neighbor. Once everyone is in place, all participants must manage to get out of this situation by reforming a circle. At no time should you let go of the hands of the other participants!

11. For each problem, its solution

Objective : Develop corporate culture within the team.

Average length : Up to 30 minutes.

Number of participants : 10 to 20 employees.

Necessary equipment : Paper and pens.

Unfolding : Each employee participating in this icebreaker notes the various problems they have observed in the company. He then thinks about an effective solution to the problem identified. Of course, the activity should be done without pressure from the hierarchy and each member should have the opportunity to express themselves without censorship in order to maximize the effectiveness of the session.

Once everyone has found their problem and their solution, all employees discuss the subject. This makes it possible to strengthen cohesion, develop involvement and corporate culture, but also to find viable solutions for the organization of the company.

12. Film directors

Objective : Strengthen the creativity of teams.

Average length : Up to 30 minutes

Number of participants : Up to 25 employees.

Necessary equipment : Paper and pens.

Unfolding : Form groups of collaborators. Each group must then put themselves in the shoes of a film director and invent a scenario summary. Details specific to the organization of the feature film can be added.

When all the scenarios are ready, the meeting of participants votes to elect the film that deserves to be financed by the movie studios.

Best practices to follow for a successful icebreaker

You now have the tools in hand to organize meetings that are as productive as they are enjoyable. In order to maximize your chances of achieving your effect, prepare well in advance of the meeting any necessary equipment or questions that you will use as part of your fun activity.

On the big day, get involved in the activity in order to train the group and put all the participants at ease. Remember to avoid overly sensitive or personal questions that could create a deleterious atmosphere to maintain a “good-natured” atmosphere at all times.

The ideal way to succeed with your icebreakers is to adopt an all-in-one collaborative platform. Wimi integrates all the tools necessary to organize fun and effective meetings including videoconferencing, surveys or chat, but also task tracking and file exchange to strengthen team cohesion during and outside meetings.

Why organize an icebreaker by video?

Les videoconference meetings from Wimi, whether they are occasional or regular in the context of teleworking, can reduce the involvement of participants. This is even more the case if the members of the team do not know each other.

The icebreaker is then a good way to create a friendly climate in order to fight against the coldness of a remote meeting. By encouraging participants to be more dynamic and interactive, you will improve group spirit and become more effective.