For example, ask the employees to name their five favorite vegetables, five favorite flowers, or five favorite restaurants. Everyone has an opinion once you give them a few minutes to think and write down their answers. The sharing generates discussion and people get to know each other better. As much as staying connected to conduct business is critical during this unprecedented time, so are the relationships that you build with your team and other coworkers.
Each participant selects a small object from their workspace—like a pen, mug, or plant—and spends a minute observing it closely, noticing details they might normally overlook. When facilitating introductions or breaking the ice initially in a meeting, help participants get to know each other by sharing a brief fun fact or a funny story. You can also ask your virtual participants to share an embarrassing story. Researchers have discovered that an embarrassing story would help people drop their inhibitions and become more creative. Virtual icebreakers are activities or questions designed to build connections and facilitate interactions among team members in virtual meeting and remote work settings. In conclusion, ice breakers for virtual meetings are not just a nice-to-have, they are a must-have.
Icebreaker games vary; the best ones take little preparation and can be done on the fly. Working from home is now the norm for most knowledge workers, resulting in more virtual teams and meetings. Kids are naturally curious and imaginative, so the best icebreakers for them are playful, silly, and easy to answer. Adults often juggle work, relationships, and responsibilities but still appreciate a good question that gets them thinking or laughing.
Ice Breaker Questions to Energize Your Team Meetings
- And in the call you can put the song with no lyrics and the first person who guesses it wins.
- Remote and hybrid teams thrive when connection is intentional—and fun.
- We’ll also discover how to eliminate background noise to facilitate seamless online interactions.
- In traditional face-to-face meetings, participants benefit from non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice, which help convey emotions and intentions.
- A virtual version of this beloved game can be easily set up using a shared whiteboard feature.
If there are too many members participating in the game, you can reduce the recitation time to make sure everyone gets a go. This activity is a great way to initiate a meeting and learn more about your colleagues. There is no shortage of fun team games and activities to do even remotely. Here is a short list of team building ice breakers to make your virtual meeting more fun and effective. Online, just as in person, to break the ice and get to know each other, there is nothing better than a few great icebreaker questions, an icebreaker activity, or an icebreaker game. Without handshakes or other non-verbal, in-person communications, it can be difficult at a virtual meeting to connect teams on a human level, and through a computer screen.
Pictionary Icebreaker
- Each participant can share a personal item or pet and tell a short story about it.
- There are many online platforms offering this service, each with a variety of scenarios to choose from.
- Have participants choose an item on the desk and hold it to the camera for everyone to see.
In this short and very physical energizer, the group shakes out their bodies one limb at a time. Starting with eight shakes of the right arm, then eight shakes of the left, eight shakes of the right leg, then eight shakes of the left. It continues with a round of four shakes of each limb, then two, then one, ending in a big cheer. A good energizer when time is limited and the main aim is to get people moving.
Favorite teacher
Pair participants into three rounds of two-person breakouts. In the first two rounds, ask them to share what they like about the way they work and ice breakers for virtual meetings their personality. The purpose of this icebreaker isn’t to come up with actionable ideas, but rather, to get people thinking about the topic. Invite one participant at a time to tell a story based on the images on the five dice.
Two Truths and One Lie
In this virtual team icebreakers activity, the organizer will make two teams. One person in a group can draw images on a whiteboard to answer questions about themselves. Break down that hierarchical or cultural barrier at your workplace with the classic ‘Wheeldecide’ virtual icebreakers. All you have to do is invite the meeting members and ask them to spin the wheel one by one. For a fun twist, customize the themes to create different options on the wheel for different games, events, giveaways, raffles, and more.
You might get surprised to see the similarities (or differences) you have with your peers. Schedule a virtual coffee break where team members can chat and relax together. This informal setting allows for organic conversations and relationship building, which are essential for a cohesive team. Scavify offers a virtual scavenger hunt platform that can be customized to suit your team’s needs.
It’s simple, lighthearted, and guaranteed to spark laughter while helping everyone feel refreshed and ready to focus. This is a great alternative to the ‘turn to your neighbor’ kind of exercise – it’s interactive, and allows for more in-depth discussion between people. Introverts will appreciate this, as it feels more comfortable to share something in a pair, compared to the whole team. It’s the ultimate team bonding experience – if your teammates love a good game, they’re going to be fans.
You can run this using a virtual whiteboard or by asking participants to draw on paper and share their completed image with the whole team. Start by sharing a list of items, some obvious and some less so. Ask each participant to choose 1-3 items they would take with them in order to survive on a desert island.
If you are looking for more guesswork-based virtual team icebreakers, then Name the Tune is a good option. All you need to do is compile a list of instrumental tracks from popular tunes. These could be latest pop songs, retro-themed numbers, movie soundtracks, classics, and more. Following that, we selected the best destination and wrote a few lines about it.
Each participant shares three statements about themselves – two truths and one lie. This game not only sparks laughter but also allows team members to learn interesting facts about each other. You will enjoy nostalgia, stories, laughter, and surprise on every level. When people feel heard and understood, they’re way more likely to engage.
Each participant can share a personal item or pet and tell a short story about it. This activity adds a personal touch to the meeting and helps team members connect on a deeper level. In the virtual world, ice breakers serve as an excellent tool to combat the inherent challenges of remote communication. They help in breaking down barriers of digital communication by injecting a dose of fun and personal touch into the virtual space. They stimulate conversations, foster a sense of camaraderie, and create a more open and inclusive environment. By sharing personal anecdotes, interests, and experiences, participants can establish common ground and forge connections that transcend geographical boundaries.
But you can also acknowledge that not everyone will be coming into the session with the same energy levels. Tell participants they can use the chat, their camera, or their microphone. As with any other facilitation activity, allow for different forms of participation to account for different personality types. If you have a big group and little time, go for something simple.