Archive for the ‘Quick Ice Breaker’ Category

Just had a big thumbs up from one of our clients for an ice breaker she received from me this week.

It's a really easy game tht I've mentioned before called SNOWBALLS. Very apt for this time of year.

Just to remind you:

• Get everyone to sit in a circle and give everyone a pen and a sheet of paper
• Ask people to write an interesting thing about themselves on the paper
• Ask them to screw up the paper and throw the “snowball” into the middle
• Mix all the snowballs up and ask each person to take a snowball
• Taking turns, each person introduces themselves and then reads out what is  contained in the snowball.
• They then have 3 guesses to try and work out who the owner is.
• Continue round the circle until all snowballs have been matched to owners.

It’s a really simple way of finding out a bit more about each other. For a more advanced and riskier version ask participants to write down the most interesting thing about themselves! For tons more ice breaker games for your next meeting or event visit the ice breaker ideas web-site

Ice Breakers are great for getting groups of people who barely know each to open up and share a bit about themselves. Here's a really easy one that's quick to set-up:

You will need 2 ropes or tape or something to make 2 parallel lines on the floor. The gap between the lines should be wide enough to have all the group stand inside the middle section of the 2 lines.

Make a list of pairs for example:

• beach or mountain
• active or relaxed
• wine or beer
• meat or vegetables
• rock or pop
• hot or cold
• travel or stay at home
• gold or silver
• smart or casual
• coffee or tea
• quiet or lively

An easy and really quick ice breaker for new groups of 8 upwards is called "Pairs". You will need a set of 8 or more objects (one for each person) that can be paired together or prepare a printed version with pictures. For example you could use:

• knife and fork
• cat and mouse
• paper and pen
• candle and match
• nut and nutcracker
• dustpan and brush
• stamp and letter
• salt and pepper
• shoe and sock
• padlock and key
• brush and comb

Distribute the items and ask people to find their partner. If you can place the objects in a bag or cover, it acts as a bit more of a surprise. Once people have found their partners allow a few minutes for each person to introduce themselves to the other. Bring everyone back to the circle and then ask each partner to introduce the other person to the group.

Sharon Naylor is passionate about ice breaker games for elevating meetings, training and events; turning "boring" into "extraordinary" and really getting people mixing and having fun. Check-out her web-site for more fabulous ice breaker games and ideas to instantly download.

Same As

Here's such a quick easy icebreaker that needs no preparation and is great for new groups and suitable for all sorts of numbers too. The only thing you need is space to mingle.

Ask participants to stand up. When you call the first instruction ask them to find a partner and introduce themselves, and share 2 things about themselves. Then you announce the next instruction and they find a new, preferably unknown partner to share a bit about each other.

Instructions might be:

• Find someone with in the group of the same age as you
• Find someone with the same colour hair
• Find someone with the same colour eyes
• Same type of car
• Same number of kids
• Same height
• Same birth month
• Same school
• Same job
• Same pet
• Same tastes in music, food
• Same hobby

A quick review might look at:

•  How many pairings were made?
•  How did you feel if not paired up?
•  Were you amazed at the same commonalities we have?

Sharon Naylor is passionate about ice breaker games for work, play, parties, meetings, groups and clubs. A quick ice breaker at the start of a meeting or event helps people relax,  injects a sense of fun into gatherings, speed up that getting to know you stage and gets people ready to face the rest of the event with high energy and expectation. 

Tons more fantastic ideas for warming-up groups and quick icebreakers can be found on the ice-breaker-ideas web-site.

Here's a great little ice breaker that is a variation on a game we used to play as kids. The game was called "Similarities".

The games master instructs the group to break into smaller groups according to birthdays. Once in the birthday groups the group members introduce themselves to each other, and the largest group of same birthday scored 1 point for each group member.

Next the gamesmaster might call date of birthday and ask people to reform groups according to dates. You might want to introduce a 2 day either-side of date for this for smaller groups. If a person has a choice of two groups they get to choose which group to be a part of. Again the largest group scores 1 point per person.

Continue in this line asking groups to form and re-form according to your criteria. Each time, the group members introduce themselves to each other, and  the largest group wins a point per person. Finally, when groups have had enough and enough introductions are made, the winners are the ones with the most points at the end.

Other criteria could be:

• Pets
• Number of siblings
• Make up of siblings eg. 2 sisters or 1 sister and 2 brothers
• Place of birth
• Type of car or transport
• Age within 2 either side
• Name begins with...

I hope you have fun with this brilliant little quick ice breaker. Tons more ideas can be downloaded from my ice breaker ideas web-site. Make your meetings rock!