Yes, my family called me Sasa because my little sisters couldn’t say “Vanessa.” And I lived in China during college. This icebreaker is a great way to get to know each other, and to have some laughs along the way. For example, hunting for bugs is a great icebreakers for virtual meetings way to create an outdoor scavenger hunt for kids or adults. They can take a picture of the first bug they come across, which might not take long. Being outside will refresh everyone so they’re more energetic for whatever’s next on their daily calendar.
This activity is short but delightfully telling — you’ll find out where your team members were born without needing to ask and having everyone take a turn. When it’s complete, the leader will then share their screen and have the group guess which team member is in each photo. As some holidays have cultural ties, keep this icebreaker for more commercial holidays. Take turns whistling, tapping, or even playing an instrument (if you have one) to the tune of a popular song, and have your teammates guess the name. Music brings people together, and you’d be surprised to learn how many of your coworkers are raving about the top trending song on TikTok or Spotify. Not only can these be inspirational, but they also open the floor for team members to encourage one another to pursue their dreams, too.
It can also be helpful as a way of lightening the mood on teams that regularly deal with stressful projects or situations. Consider contacting managers from other departments and creating groups of employees who don’t often get to work together. She continued, «For example, some folks on our team don’t watch a lot of T.V. and felt a little excluded when we’d fall down a rabbit hole of shows we were binging.
In small groups, you can use great questions to get people to open up. Have everyone introduce themselves and then pick out one aspect of their workspace that is important to them. These questions can help people open up, get to know one another, and spark further discussion (and even friendships) down the road. But to get the best out of your team, you need more than five-minute energisers. You need to escape the office and head somewhere new—somewhere inspiring.
Or someone else might hold up an empty bowl and say, “I haven’t had time to do dishes yet.” It doesn’t have to be something profound. What we have on our desks can tell others a little bit about ourselves—or at least give people a laugh. Have each person choose an item on their desk and hold it up to the camera for everyone to see. Then, the person can explain the meaning behind it or why it’s on their desk. But before you throw just any icebreaker out there, here are some ground rules for doing it right. By using groups of just a few people, you can ensure each person gets space to share and the relationships that are built on this foundation can be meaningful indeed.
