What are the best icebreakers for engaging meeting participants?

1 Why use icebreakers?

Icebreakers can be incredibly beneficial for your meetings, as they can help you establish rapport and trust with the participants, even if they are new, diverse, or remote. Additionally, icebreakers can warm up the participants and get them in the right mood and mindset for the meeting. Moreover, icebreakers can stimulate creativity and innovation by encouraging participants to think outside the box or share their perspectives. They can also help you collect valuable information from the participants, such as their expectations, needs, and opinions. Furthermore, icebreakers can create a sense of community and collaboration among the participants by fostering communication, interaction, and engagement.

2 How to choose icebreakers?

When selecting icebreakers for your meeting, it's important to consider the purpose and goal of the meeting, the audience and context of the meeting, and the time and resources available. The icebreaker should be relevant, appropriate, and enjoyable for everyone involved. Think about what you want to achieve with the meeting and how the icebreaker can support that. Additionally, consider who the participants are, how well they know each other, and what their backgrounds, interests, and preferences are. Additionally, think about how formal or informal the meeting is and what materials or tools you need to access for the icebreaker. With all of these factors in mind, you can choose an icebreaker that will be successful for your meeting.

3 How to facilitate icebreakers?

To ensure your icebreakers are effective and enjoyable, you should begin by introducing the icebreaker clearly and briefly. Explain what it is, why you are using it, and what the participants need to do. Model the icebreaker yourself or use a volunteer to demonstrate it. Monitor and support the participants while they do the icebreaker, offering encouragement and assistance if needed. After it is done, debrief and connect the icebreaker to the meeting by asking the participants to share their experiences and highlighting key points, learnings, and insights. This will help link them to the topic, objectives, and agenda of the meeting.

4 What are some examples of icebreakers?

When planning a meeting, there are many types of icebreakers that you can use, depending on your goals and audience. Icebreaker questions can invite participants to share something about themselves, such as a fun fact or their favorite hobby. Icebreaker games can challenge the participants to use their skills, knowledge, or creativity through trivia, word games, or puzzles. Icebreaker activities can involve the participants in a task, a project, or a problem. For example, they may be asked to create a slogan or logo for the topic or brainstorm ideas and solutions for a challenge.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?