Fast Icebreakers: Team-building made easy and fun
I used to hate icebreakers when I attended meetings. As a facilitator, I’ve come to adore them. I’m especially fond of the results they yield when used over time: increased familiarity, ease and fun. Some of my clients incorporate them into all their meetings, using an offbeat question or two each time they meet. Nothing beats a personal question for breaking the ice and building a team, especially when you meet by phone. The best questions are the ones that let us see into the mundane in each other’s lives. Two of my favorite questions, “What CD is in your car right now?” and “What is the last book you read?” yield consistently hilarious results.
And, it’s simple and quick to do: Write 1-3 questions on a flipchart pad and give participants a 5-10 seconds of silence to come up with answers. Reiterate the rules for round robin (no discussion, time limit of 20 seconds for your answer), and let the fun begin. This is the best way for groups up to 16 or so. For larger groups, consider taking 24 questions and making a bingo game out of it. If you’d like my standard version of this, I’d be happy to email it - either email me or leave a comment.
The Master List of Questions
Here’s a list of questions to get you started:
1. What CD is in your car?
2. What’s the last book you read?
3. Do you prefer to dance alone or with someone else?
4. What’s your favorite color?
5. What’s your favorite food
6. What’s your favorite dessert?
7. What’s your favorite vacation spot?
8. When you were a kid, what did you want to grow up to be?
9. What is the title of the novel you want to write?
10. What is your favorite song?
11. Who is your favorite singer?
12. Who is your favorite band?
13. Who is your favorite actor?
14. What is your all-time favorite movie?
15. What was the last movie you saw in a theatre?
16. If you could do/be anything, what would you do/be?
17. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
18. What are the names of your pets?
19. Have you changed your name?
20. Where were you born?
21. Where did you go to school?
22. Do you have brothers or sisters? Their names?
23. Where are you in your family’s birth order? (oldest, middle, youngest, 4th, 5th, etc.)
24. Who is your favorite superhero?
There - that’s enough for a 5×5 bingo card, or for several meetings. I’ve got scads more. You can generate your own of course, or ask your team for ideas. Let me know how it goes.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Ah! Incentive to leave a comment.
I’m very curious to see how these questions work as a Bingo game.
In the flipchart pad version, once the time is up, how does the fun ensue? With all the extroverts talking and joking at once? One person at a time, with or without your facilitation? How do make room for the quiet ones?
November 26th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
You found me out, Judy.
I’ll email you the bingo game. The bingo version is as you imagine: a big free-for-all with everybody milling about talking at once, trying to be the first to get bingo, then the first to fill all the squares on their card. It maximizes interaction and gets strangers talking to each other.
The flipchart version is more sedate and better for teams getting to know each other. One person speaks at a time, so listening is maximized. Everybody gets the same time limit, usually 10-20 seconds, and the ground rule is no discussion. That equalizes participation.
In practice, it works very much as described with an occassional outburst when something is hilarious or compelling.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Thanks! I love this site and found it b/c of your blog - I was searching on quick icebreakers! This was a great inspiration to a facilitation I am doing in the AM — I have done this too - but the way you wrote about it gave me an idea about using questions — thanks!
May 17th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Hey, Christy - That’s wonderful to hear. Isn’t the internet amazing? I love the synchronicity, even when it’s enabled by Google. I’d love to hear how the icebreaker qs worked for you.
September 12th, 2008 at 2:03 am
I used to hate ice-breakers! In my old company you were always expected to tell everyone about the work you were doing and how your work was helping your clients. Which was generally really dull!
But I love the idea of sharing the mundane in your life. That’s a true ice-breaker and helps everyone relax very quickly!
Thanks for the list,
Gregor
September 12th, 2008 at 5:45 am
You’re so welcome, Gregor. And yes, icebreakers are about relaxing - not about the competitiveness that inevitably arises when we talk about our work and how it helps our clients. Have a great time with these, and the ones you may add over time.
October 17th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
This is a great list of questions. I also remember the times when an embarrasing moment is shared. Although it may be a little nerve-wracking for the person sharing, it still helps to eliminate tenseness and let people relax more.
October 18th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
I’m adding the embarassing moment to my master list, Richard. Talk about breaking the ice! Thanks for posting.