Some people dread the thought of having to participate in office icebreaker games. The thought of possibly having to hold hands or get up in front of everyone in the room and talk will have some people (“accidentally,” of course) running late at another meeting and (“oh my gosh, I can’t believe I did that”) forget the meeting that’s been on their calendar for the past week.
I once was part of a fun and creative icebreaker that won’t have people sweating in their seats or scrambling for the doors. All you need is paper and something to write with. This game reminds me of an elementary school vocabulary matching worksheet, here’s how it goes:
First, one of the meeting leaders must volunteer just a little bit of time before the meeting to prepare for the icebreaker. Don’t worry, it will be fun, promise.
A day or two before the meeting, the icebreaker game leader sends out an email asking all of the invitees to respond with an interesting fact about themselves that no one in the office would know. (A reminder from HR: Keep facts workplace appropriate)
Create a worksheet with a name bank full of each attendee’s name at the top of the page. Jumble up the interesting facts and list them below the name bank. Leave a blank space at the end of the fact to fill in the appropriate name. Each one should look something like this:
I once had dinner with the Dalai Lama at the Melting Pot restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina. Who am I? _______________
Hand out the worksheets at the beginning of the meeting and explain the game. Give everyone time to fill out the worksheet. It’s fun to watch everyone look around the room thinking about which person once won a world fencing title in middle school.
The best part - reading off the facts and letting everyone try to guess who it is. The person who matches the most facts with the correct people wins a prize.
Simple, right?
Not only can it be extremely entertaining, this icebreaker game offers a great way to bond with team members and begin a meeting on a lighthearted note.
Try it at your next meeting and let us know how it goes.
Do you have any great icebreaker games? Leave a comment and share it with the rest of us.
2 comments:
I have never participated in any office icebreaker game and never seen a workplace that actualy uses icebreaking games.
I assume that most employer's think of it as a waste of time...
or maybe I just haven't been employed at the right places :)
I used the ice breaker game when my turn to host our weekly meeting rolled around during the time space slotted for "team building". I bought a big bag of M&M's as the prize and it went over great! we only devoted 5 minutes and it was much better received than our usual 5 minute "pep talk".
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