Twenty Really Good Ice Breakers
Strictly for
Meetings and Special Functions
Ice breakers are
particularly well suited for beginning a speech or starting a meeting. As the name implies, they “break the ice,” help participants
relax, and generally set the tone for the presentation. They help to relax participants, and that
makes them more receptive to listening and contributing. An ice breaker can
also serve to create a “team atmosphere” and motivate participants to work with
others in a cooperative manner. Ice
breakers can take various forms but those that seem the most popular and
effective are those that promote interaction, sharing, and team building.
In order for an ice breaker to be effective, it must employ
content appropriate to the group as well as be appropriately timed. It should not be too long otherwise it might
sabotage the more serious work of the meeting. It should occur at the beginning
of the meeting or speech, and then at appropriate times during the
program. Knowing when to insert an ice
breaker requires sensitivity and creativity. It is not easy to teach one when
to insert an ice breaker. Some people
seem to know instinctively when to use an ice breaker. Other people may require practice and
experience to develop their timing.
Let’s get rid of any tension in the
room. It’s easy, we will just wash the
tension out…ride it out on a
tsunami. On the count of three I want
the people in the front to raise their
arms straight up and with a
throwing action, pass all of their tension to the second row. The second
row does the same thing and passes it to the third row. We continue the wave to the last row who hurls the collective
tension, stress, or anxiety right out the door.
Let’s just hope
nobody’s walking by when the wave washes out into the hallway!
Following
are twenty proven ice breakers:
As
note above, it is not just the content of the ice breaker that is
important. Timing is critical. All of the following are very good ice
breakers, but any ice breaker can be a dud if inserted at the wrong time in a
program. Carefully consider how you
intend to use the ice breakers you choose.
1.
Deduction: Have everyone write on a piece of paper
their answers to such questions as: What is your favorite month, animal, food,
TV show, hobby, and color? Each person is to sign his name, and to make certain
no one else sees the answers. The leader then reads the answers to the whole
group, and members try to guess to whom
each set of answers belongs. Award one point for each right guess. The person
with the most points wins a goofy prize.
2.
True or False:
Have participants say three things about themselves - two true and one
false. Other participants guess what the
lie is. The correct guesser goes next.
3.
Opinion: Write the words "agree,"
"disagree," "strongly agree" and "strongly
disagree" on large pieces of paper. Place each poster in an obvious spot
somewhere in the room, preferably on a wall. Then make a statement such as “we
all like spinach” and have everybody move to the part of the room that matches
their opinion. You can create “opinions” that relate to the theme of the
meeting. For example, our membership is
the most dedicated membership in the world.
4.
Exercise:
State that you want everyone to get warmed up by doing some simple
physical exercises. Stretch one arm
forward. Relax. Stretch the other arm
forward. Relax. Now, bring both arms forward and parallel; now
bring hands together quickly. Again,
again, faster. Naturally the sound of
applause is created, and you say, “Thank
you, but the applause isn’t necessary, I haven’t given my speech yet.” Then resume the stretching. “Let’s try
reaching upward with one arm.
Relax. Now the other. Relax.
Now both. Reach to the sky. Now, bring your arms down, bend at the waste,
arms out. Again, again, again….. When they start to laugh say, “Thank you, but
the applause was enough.”
5.
Critical Questions:
In a small group ask everyone to identify two questions they hope to
have answered during the presentation or session, in a large group select
“volunteers” to ask the questions or identify objectives.
6.
Notable Name Enhancement -
have participants introduce themselves positively with two adjectives beginning
with the same letter as the initial of their first name. For example, Rational, Realtor Rindy.
7.
Comic Strip Chaos: Select a number of multiple-frame strip
cartoons from the Sunday funnies. Cut them into individual frames. Place the frames in a container. Each
participant picks one comic frame from the container. After everyone has a
frame, the participants begin to search for others with the same comic strip
sequence. After the participants have found everyone in their group, they must
arrange themselves so that the sequence of frames is in correct order. Upon
completion of sequence, the newly formed group sits down together. Great game
to break large group into smaller groups.
8.
Show and Tell: Have everyone bring an object that best describes
them or is important to them to the meeting and talk about it. Personal
items carried on participants can be used.
9.
Mime Introduction: In a small group everyone can introduce something about themselves to the
group without using words. In a large
group select volunteers or have everyone pantomime their introduction to a
partner.
10. I’ve Never Done: Each person starts off with some candy. Going
around the circle, each person finishes the sentence "I have
never..." A person who has done the thing that the speaker has never done
must give the speaker a candy. A fun way to learn things you might otherwise
not find out about people. Similar to “Ten Fingers.”
11. Stereotype Chat: Place a paper on each person's back with a
characteristic on it (Valley Girl, Smart, Happy, Rich). Don't let them see what
you are putting on them. Let the participants wander around and talk to each
other, treating each other as they might treat someone with that
characteristic. Afterward have everyone guess what characteristic they had and
tell how they felt (good way to start a discussion on stereotypes or a cultural
program).
12. Categories - Have members of the group arrange themselves into
groups by their favorite dessert, sport, color, movie, car, etc. This is a good
activity to get people up and moving and to find out common likes. You can shift from one category to
another. “Now group by favorite vacation
spot.”
13. Sculptures- Participants are seated on the floor. The leader
asks for two volunteers. One is a sculptor, and the other is the sculpture. The
leader whispers a word to the sculptor, who then begins to sculpt the other
person into that word. The rest of the group tries to guess the word. The
activity can gradually increase to where different teams are working together
to sculpt other teams, and to where the person being sculpted has to guess what
they are becoming.
14. Take What You Need: A roll of toilet tissue is passed around the
room. People are asked to take what they
need. Once everyone has “their supply,”
the group is told that they are to tell as many things about themselves as they
have tissue squares.
15. Lucky Penny: Each person takes a penny or other coin out of his/her
pocket and looks at the date. When it's his/her turn, s/he states the year
that's on their coin and recalls something spectacular that happened that year.
16. Web Toss: Everyone
stands or sits in a circle, with the facilitator holding a ball of yarn.
Hanging on tightly to the tail of the yarn, s/he tosses the ball to someone
else while completing the sentence, "I appreciate you for…." Everyone
who receives the ball states the same sentence and passes it to the person of
whom they are speaking. After the ball
of yarn has been passed to everyone in the circle, the group slowly raises and
lowers their part of the yarn to reveal the intricate web of relationships in
the group.
17. Standing Ovation: The
facilitator asks if anyone needs a standing ovation. Participants who feel they could benefit from
a standing ovation can stand and say, “I’d like a standing ovation.” Everyone then stands and gives them a round
of applause. Throughout the program, the
facilitator can make this opportunity available when appropriate.
18. Balloon Breeze: The facilitator tells everyone that a balloon
will be sent into the audience and they are to try to keep it up as long as
possible. The trick is that they cannot
use their hands. They are to use their
lungs! One after another balloon is
released until there are several wafting around. When a balloon drops to the ground it is to
be picked up and held by whoever is nearest.
When it is time to end the ice breaker, ask everyone to stop blowing and
to hold the ball nearest to him/her.
Those with balloons can be “volunteers” for a subsequent activity. Alternative:
Have enough balloons for everyone.
Make certain you have the same number of balloons for each color you choose. After batting and blowing balloons about,
individuals are told to hold one balloon.
They then can be grouped by the color of balloons being held.
19. Outlandish Introductions: Have participants introduce the person to
his/her right. Encourage them to fill
the introduction with hyperbole and exaggeration. The only thing that needs to be factual is
the person’s name. “To my right is the
inventor of the paper clip, in addition, he cornered the high tech market in
1996 and is the fourth wealthiest man in the world. He is the man who taught Tiger how to golf
and is Shag’s personal trainer. Ladies
and gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce you to….”
20. Magic Wand: You can use almost any stick as a magic
wand…even a toilet plunger! You can
imbue the wand with any sort of power in which you might have an interest. For example, the wand can change any aspect
of your work. The wand is passed around the room, and the participants explain
what three things they would use the wand to change about their work, or
whatever the facilitator wishes to stress.
The wand can also be used to influence the behavior of other
people. A participant can point the wand
at a person and the person has to follow the movement suggested by the
wand.
Notes:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Seven Very Good Ice
Breakers That Teach a Lesson
1. Selective
Perception: Instruct your audience to count the number of
“F’s” in a sentence. Place this sentence on the board or screen: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF
SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS. Allow only 15 seconds.
On average, most people will only spot 3 or 4 of the F’s
in the sentence. There are actually six.
The brain tends to skip the word
“of,” or perceive it as “versus.”
Point: One’s perception may not always be
correct.
2. Sales: Participants
are asked to select an object that they have on their persons. In a small group, everyone is then asked to
introduce him or herself and then sell the object to the group. In a large group, individuals are paired and
try to sell the object to one another, or “volunteers” are brought to the front
to sell the object to the audience. Some
of the people will be enthusiastic and creative, others might be reluctant and
shy.
Point: How a person approaches a topic often
determines how the topic is perceived.
3.
Communication: Give each member of the group a sheet of
paper. Make certain everyone has the
same size sheet. Explain that they are
to follow instructions precisely, and that they are not allowed to ask
questions. AND, they are to follow the instructions with their eyes
closed. State the instructions:
1. Fold the paper in half.
2. Rip off a corner.
3. Fold in half again.
4. Rip off a corner.
5. Fold again.
6. Rip off a corner.
Have them open their eyes and
compare their “design” with others. You
can adapt this to a mixing activity by having everyone mingle looking for
designs that are very close to their own.
Point: One-way communication is never as effective
as two-way; it gives different results.
4.
Communication/Feedback: Here you draw a picture of a stick man. Keep it hidden from your audience until
later. Make certain everyone has
something to write on. Explain you are
going to have them draw something by following your verbal directions. They cannot ask questions. Instruct them as follows:
1. Draw a
small circle near the top of the page.
2. Now draw
a vertical line from the circle to the middle of the page.
3. Now draw
to lines from the circle angled down toward the middle of the page.
4. Now draw
two lines separating from the single vertical line each of which angles down toward the bottom of the
page.
5. At the
end of the angled lines stemming from the circle, draw five small lines.
6. At the
end of the angled lines stemming from the vertical line, draw an oval at the base of each line.
Now show the picture you constructed
and ask them to compare. Naturally,
participants will make the point that had they had the opportunity to ask
questions, or had they been provided more information, such as a diagram, they
would have done better.
ALTERNATIVE: Have someone from
the group describe your drawing. The
drawing can be just a series of shapes.
Point: Using more than one means of communicating is
better than a simple one-way method.
5. Motivator: Select a wise
saying that relates to the theme of your program. For example, if you are talking about the
importance of goals and objectives, you might use: “He who aims at nothing is bound to
hit.” Now write each word on a separate
piece of paper. Wad each piece of paper
into a ball. At the session, throw the
balls into the crowd and have them tossed about for a few seconds. At an appropriate moment, ask the persons
with a ball to hold it and come forward.
When everyone with a wadded ball comes to the front of the room, have
them open the paper and then organize themselves into a sentence. When they are done, they face the group and
hold the papers up so all can read.
Point: Sometimes it takes a
bit of work to find a simple truth.
6. Take Care: Read the
following quiz to your group. Tell them
they don’t have to answer, just ponder.
1. Who are
the five wealthiest people in the world?
2. Name five
winners of the Academy Award.
3. Who are
the five most powerful individuals in the world?
4. Name last
five winners of the Super Bowl.
5. Name the
five richest musicians.
Now, read the next set of
questions to them:
1. Name five
teachers who have influenced you in a positive way.
2. Name five
friends who have helped you in some way.
3. Name five
people you care about.
4. Name five
people who have brought you joy or make you feel cared for.
5. Name five
heroes that have inspired you.
Point: The lesson is obvious: on a personal level,
fame, wealth, and achievement pale in comparison to care and compassion.
7. Visual
Reference: Explain that you want everyone to listen
closely and follow directions. They
cannot ask questions. Instructions will
only be given once. Tell everyone to “place his or her right hand on his or her
chin.” However, provide them with a
visual cue that is different. Instead of
placing your hand on your chin, place the palm of your hand on your cheek. Some people will follow the visual cue.
Point: This illustrates visual dominance. Many people will feel confused, and of
course, this illustrates the importance of clear communication. Questions would have resolved the confusion.
8. Professional
or Not? Ask your audience to take a little scientific
test designed to determine if a person is a professional. Have them write their
answers down.
1. How do
you put a giraffe in a refrigerator?
Correct answer: Open the door and put him in.
2. How you
put an elephant in a refrigerator?
Correct answer: Take out the giraffe and put in the elephant.
3. The Lion
King is hosting a conference. All of the
local animals are in attendance but
one. Who is not present?
Correct answer: The elephant, he is still in the
refrigerator.
4. You are
slated to be the final speaker at the conference. Unfortunately, to get there
you have to swim a river inhabited by
crocodiles. What do you do?
Correct answer: You swim; all of the crocodiles are all ready
at the conference.
Point: A professional looks
for the simplest solution (#1). Keeps
things simple (#2).
Recalls facts (the elephant
is still in the refrigerator and thus can’t go to the conference-#3).
And, uses his/her deductive
skills in problem solving (the crocodiles are at the conference- #4). Side note:
most four year olds score 100% on this.
Creating Your Own Ice Breakers for Speeches and
Meetings
Here are
five suggestions for creating your own ice breakers:
1. Have a clear purpose for the ice
breaker in mind. What do you want it to
do?
2. Simplicity
is important. You need to be able to
explain it with ease. It needs to be understood with equal ease.
3. Learn from other ice breakers…adapt
them to your own needs.
4. Learn to “time” your ice breaker so
that it has a positive impact on your meeting or speech.
5. Make it humorous…nothing sets the tone
better than laughter.
6. Practice it. Work with it until you are confident in your
ability to employ it.
7. Design it to make a point that relates
to some aspect of your presentation.
8. Think like an entertainer when
designing your ice breaker.
9. Make certain it isn’t likely to be
embarrassing or offensive.
10. Use props. Sometimes you can get a good idea for an ice
breaker from an object: a rubber chicken, school bell, juggling balls,
oversized pencil, magic wand, etc.
Well folks, lets start with everyone saying
the word, “Ha.” Now say it a little
louder. Say it again, again, again. Now, that’s what I call a cheap laugh!
The preceding material comes from a book recently authored
by Kathy Martinez and Ernie Olson entitled Playful Games and
Activities: A Practical Guide to
Planning and Implementing Memorable Social Events. (Kendall-Hunt Publishing, 2005). The book may be purchased for $29.95 online at
http://www.kendallhunt.com/ The authors can be reached at Sacramento State University
(olsoneg@csus.edu or martinezk@csus.edu or 916-278-6752).
The book follows a model originally developed and
taught by Alma Heaton. In this model, a program is viewed as having
five phases: (1) the preopener phase,
(2) the starter phase, (3) the socializer phase, (4) the rester phase, and (5)
the finale.
The preopener phase is the earliest part of a social
recreation event. It begins with the
first person to arrive and continues until there are sufficient numbers to move
onto the next phase.
The preopener is generally an activity that can be done with
as few as one or two people, promotes interaction and getting acquainted, and
requires very little in terms of direction. It gets people involved right at the onset and
sets the stage for the entire event.
- Preopeners typically involve activities that one person, a small group of people, or a large group of people can do.
- They typically are of a paper and pencil variety.
- They don’t necessarily lead to a winner, although they can.
- They require very little instruction and can easily be followed by most people.
- They generally bring people together in such a manner as to stimulate conversation.
- They can be used to lead into subsequent activities. They begin with the first guest/participant to enter the room and end when a majority has arrived.
The
starter is the first activity that involves the program leader speaking to the
entire group. Starters are characterized by two
things, formation and focus. The
formation is usually such that the focus is on the leader. This is a leader centered activity. Consequently, leader stunts, or group
activities that involve the entire group responding to the leader, are typical
of the starter activity. This is a
critical phase of any program, because it answers the questions, “Is this
activity well planned, and am I willing to give my time and attention to the
planned activities?” It is important
that the leader demonstrate leadership, enthusiasm, confidence, and does so in
an entertaining manner.
Whereas the starter is often
short and tends to focus attention on the leader, socializers tend to be dynamic and group oriented. The activities tend to last longer and
achieve greater arousal than
starters. This is the heart of
the event. This is the most exciting and
energetic part of the event. Activities
can occur in any formation, and the nature of the activities can be quite
varied. However, all of the activities
will have the following characteristics in common:
- They will be oriented toward activity and involvement.
- They will typically be of higher energy than either the starter that precedes or the rester that follows.
- They may be competitive.
- They are likely to involve teams or groups.
- They may be strictly for fun or they may have training or growth and development objectives.
- Often starters or resters can be adapted to serve as socializers.
Generally speaking, the games included here don’t call
for the elimination of players.
Elimination games are risky because they take people out of the action,
and create an element of disharmony where the emphasis should be on group fun.
If a game usually leads to elimination, we have modified it to use forfeitures
instead of elimination. A forfeiture
requires an individual to do a stunt that is neither embarrassing nor
offensive, but has some entertainment value.
As the name implies, resters lower the arousal level
of an event. They help calm participants
following the high-energy socializers.
In many cases, resters and socializers will be very similar. However, there is one important difference,
resters don’t necessarily have to focus attention on the leader. Their primary
value comes in their ability to calm and group and prepare them for the
finale. Note, just as in the case of
starters, resters don’t have to be of long duration. Typically, this phase of a program is
relatively short. Furthermore, resters
can take just about any form, but regardless of their form, they must serve to
calm the guests/participants and prepare them for the finale.
A finale is the culminating activity in a social
recreation party or similar social event.
In theatre it would be the climax of the action. In parties it is the ending note, the final
activity. And, like the climax of a good
movie, it should leave the participants feeling satisfied. Unlike the climax of a movie, it should be
somewhat calming and allow the participants to leave without undue excess
energy. Positive, satisfied, and calm is
the goal.
It is just as important to have well planned closing
as opening. The pre-openers serve the
opening function. A finale activity
clearly defines the conclusion of an event.
The principle criteria for a finale are as follows:
- It follows the theme of the event.
- It is easily done.
- It is calming, not arousing.
- It ends the activity on positive note.
- It is entertaining.
- Typically the formation for a culminating activity is any formation where the leader can be seen by everyone in attendance.
- It sends participants away with critical information or reminders of upcoming activities.
- It allows the leader to express appreciation to participants and others.
If the finale is well done, people will leave feeling
satisfied, smiling and happy. If the
finale is not well done, people will
begin to feel anxious or bored.
Of course, if the earlier parts of the program haven’t gone well, even
the best planned and executed finale may not send participants off on a good
note. On the other hand, a marginal
program might just be saved by a well executed finale.
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