I RECENTLY started teaching at the University of Guyana, and I began to think about activities that I have used for so long but never took the time to realise their impacts. I’ve successfully used icebreakers not just in schools but in corporate seminars, casual work environments, training with law enforcement agents, and so many more groups. My most recent one got me thinking that anyone can benefit from these, making their school or work environment more pleasant and creating a healthier organisational culture.
As the name suggests, an icebreaker activity is designed to “break the ice” within a group of people. They are group facilitation techniques that allow and encourage participants to open up, communicate, build or enhance relationships, understand cultural differences, learn new skills and techniques and bond all towards a common goal.
Ice breakers are typically used with people who do not work together often or may not know each other at all, but they are just as beneficial if that is not the case. Just because you may see someone every day does not mean you ‘know’ them or even like them; icebreaker activities can help with that. They can be used during any part of a training session, but I believe it’s most beneficial at the beginning so everyone in the room can get comfortable with each other, be relaxed and have a little fun.
Researchers say while they may seem trivial, there are three major benefits to icebreakers; community, interaction, and empathy. A community is a group of individuals who share ideals, values or a common goal, but this can’t occur simply by putting them in the same classroom or office. Building a healthy community is a process that can take some time but can happen faster with meaningful icebreakers that allow the participants to listen, get to know, collaborate, support and become aligned with each other.
Interaction is also necessary for community building. There are companies that I go into where the staff never interact but expect to work harmoniously when sometimes put into teams. Icebreakers allow participants to step out of their comfort zone and allow for healthy interaction, which allows for better job and company success.
Empathy is the ability to see situations through someone else’s perspective; it’s essential for strong team building and a healthy environment. Many ice breakers allow for members to take a step back, explore and understand other ways of thinking and problem solving, which naturally tend to mature and foster healthy relationships. Simply, ice breakers also tend to energise and motivate participants, allow for practical learning and an opportunity to share knowledge and cultivate creativity.
These activities are now considered a mainstream communications tool and while there are many different types, researchers claim there are really just three overarching types.
1. Interaction ice breakers which, as the term sounds, allow for people to engage with and get to know each other.
2. Sharing Ice Breakers are for participants who know each other but have not spent enough healthy time to understand or accept each other. They can share trivial things such as what books they are currently reading or who their idol is in order to build that empathic and respectful relationship
3. Team building ice breakers intend to create a collaborative environment to allow for teams to work together better. We’ve all butted heads with others while working with teams, but icebreaker activities have shown drastic results in reducing the possibility.
So, for your ice breaker to be effective, it’s best to decide which category best suits your group with a clear objective.
Below are some effective and commonly used ice breaker activities.
Question Game.
The facilitator asks each person a random question to get to know each other better. Examples are “Who was your childhood hero?” or “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” The facilitator can make these up or take requests from the group.
Two Truths and a Lie
Participants tell the group three facts about themselves but one of them is a lie. The group gets the guess which one is the lie.
Familiar Game
This allows for participants to break off into small groups (ideally by counting off). They are each asked to share something really unique about themselves individually. Each small group must come up with five things that the group members have in common. For example, “we all have children” or “we all went to a Christmas tree lighting”. The group then shares their familiar and unique features with the rest of the groups.
Finish the sentence
Here, each participant is asked to finish a sentence which the facilitator or other group members ask. Examples are “The riskiest thing I have ever done is…” or “I can’t go anywhere without my………”.
Word Association
This ice breaker helps participants to explore the breadth of the area under discussion. Generate a list of words related to the topic of your event or training. For example, in a health and safety workshop, ask participants what words or phrases come to mind relating to “hazardous materials”. Participants may suggest ‘danger,’ or ’ ‘warning,’ etc. You can use this opportunity to introduce essential terms and discuss the scope (what’s in, and what’s out) of your training or event.
When choosing your ice breaker, ask yourself what you are trying to achieve, what is best for the group of people you are facilitating and what will encourage more openness, willingness and a common sense of purpose. Although it is recommended that icebreakers should be short and simple, there should be reasonably time committed to ensure you have achieved your objective for doing it in the first place.
Thank you for reading and please continue to send suggested topics to caitlinvieira@gmail.com
