The first rule of icebreakers: don’t call them icebreakers

The very mention of ‘icebreaker’ can strike fear and dread into the hearts of many people in your meeting. And with good reason! There are a lot of lame, cheesy icebreakers and team-bonding games around.

We don’t want to do any of those kinds of icebreakers. And we don’t want to put anyone off doing the good icebreakers, either. It’s still really important to get a group warmed up before they get to work, just like you’d warm up before any sporting activity. So instead of using the term icebreakers, just say something like:

• We’ll start by introducing ourselves to each other. Let’s make it a bit interesting, though: just say your name, your role, and something you’d really like to learn during this project.
• We’re going to have to get really creative for this workshop, so to limber up our creative brains, let’s do a round of Spam Can brainstorming.

Be clear on what sort of icebreaker to use and when

Just like you need to be clear on the overall intent of your meeting, you also need to be clear on what you want to achieve with the icebreaker. You can actually use them in different ways:

• Introductions - Great for getting to know one another better, at the beginning of a meeting. Also good when it’s a team that has some people who are newer than others.
• Energisers - Great for lifting the energy and mood in a group, especially if they’ve been hard at work for a long time, or it’s in the afternoon and people are drowsy from a big lunch, or just fatigued. It definitely pays to have a few energizers up your sleeve for whenever it feels like the vibe of your group is flagging.
• Warmups - Great for getting everyone’s brains ready for a new task ahead. Warmups are also a great way to shake up regular meetings that have become a bit stale and repetitive.