12 ICEBREAKERS FOR TEAM MEETINGS

The best icebreakers promote an inclusive atmosphere, stimulate better brainstorming sessions and strengthen relationships between colleagues. When you are working on a new team, small group icebreakers can help you get to know your team member and set a strong standard of collaboration and respect. Try these small group icebreakers to better connect with your new team and improve productivity.

Best icebreakers for small groups

Icebreakers can be beneficial in a variety of settings. For example, icebreakers can help team members be more comfortable around one another so that they can easily collaborate in a conference, class, team, meeting or task force. You might also use icebreakers before a creative activity so people are better able to generate and share ideas. When deciding which icebreaker to use, consider how many participants you will have and which personalities will be involved. Everyone should feel comfortable and encouraged to participate in team-building activities to be successful.

• Two truths and a lie

In this activity, every person says three things about themselves, but two of the statements must be true and one must be a lie. The goal of the game is for the rest of the group to guess which statement is false. For example, you might say, “I play the guitar, I’ve never been on a plane and I can’t swim.” The group must then guess which of those statements is a lie. The great thing about Two Truths and a Lie is that everyone gets to learn something new about each other while still having fun and building problem-solving skills.

• Most unique

This icebreaker works the same way as Two Truths and a Lie, but it takes less time and can be used to get a meeting started. Go around the room, and ask each participant to share something about themselves that they believe makes them different from everyone else in the room. You can provide an example to help get everyone started, such as “I have 9 siblings” or “I have never been out of my home country.” This activity encourages openness and celebrates individuality among the group.

• Get-to-know-you questions

Not every icebreaker has to be complex. Simply asking some insightful questions can help everyone in the group get to know each other better. Examples of questions you might ask include:

What is your dream vacation?

What is your biggest pet peeve?

What is the most memorable activity you ever did with your family as a kid?

What is one characteristic you received from your family that you want to keep, and which one do you wish you could change?

What do you like to do for fun?

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring three items, what would they be and why?

If you could have any famous person over for dinner, who would it be and why?

What quality do you appreciate most in a friend/boss/co-worker?

• Going to a picnic 

When you need to introduce several new people who have yet to learn each other’s names, this fun game can help. Start by saying, “My name is [X], I am going on a picnic and I am taking… ” and then say an item that starts with the first letter of your name. For example, you might say, “My name is Jesse, I am going on a picnic and I am taking jam.”

The second person says their name and what they are bringing, then repeats what the previous person said: “My name is Michaela, I am going on a picnic, and I am bringing milk. Jesse is bringing jam.” Each person repeats everyone’s name and items that came before them, making the game increasingly more challenging.

• Personality quiz

When your team has been working together for a while but you want to promote deeper relationship building, try a personality quiz. Simply choose a short personality quiz online and send the link to everyone or pull up the written quiz on a projector.

Give everyone time to complete the assessment, and then go around the room and share the results. Have another participant mention something about a colleague’s results they agree or disagree with. This icebreaker provides the perfect opportunity for coworkers to gain new perspectives on their peers and start an interesting conversation about how they can best work together.

• Would you rather

This classic game is a quick workplace icebreaker. Ask your small group a “Would you rather… ” question, and have them take turns answering the question. Make sure each team member explains their answer so the group can better understand why they made that choice. This game provides insight into each teammate’s personality and encourages discussion on personal perspectives. Here are a few questions to help you get started:

Would you rather see a movie or go on a hike?

Would you rather have only summer or winter for the rest of your life?

Would you rather have your lunch made for you every single day but never get to choose what the dish was, or be able to choose your lunch every day but have to make it yourself?

Would you rather never watch another TV show or movie again or never use social media again?

Would you rather have to commute a long distance to your dream job or live close to a mediocre job?

Would you rather be a famous celebrity or be famous in your professional industry?

• One word

This icebreaker game can help groups get in the right mindset for an upcoming discussion topic. The goal is for people to come up with a single word that describes a prompt you have provided. Divide participants into small groups and give them a couple of minutes to brainstorm ideas.

For example, if your meeting is about company culture, have them come up with one word that describes what office culture means to them. Starting an important meeting with this activity gives everyone time to think about a certain topic, which can increase participation.

• Marshmallow challenge

The Marshmallow Challenge is more of a team-building activity, but it works just as well as an icebreaker when you can set aside enough time.

To play, divide participants into groups of three or four and give each group 20 sticks of dry spaghetti, a long piece of string, some tape and a marshmallow. The goal is to see which team can build the tallest structure with the marshmallow on top of the finished product. This game gets individuals to collaborate and quickly brainstorm potential solutions. The most successful teams work together, do not waste time competing for power and quickly come up with an alternative solution if their original idea fails.

• 10 things in common

This game is a great way for team members to discover shared traits and interests. To play, ask people to find a partner—preferably people will find a partner they have not had the chance to connect with yet. Have each pair identify 10 things they have in common with one another. Encourage team members to find deeper commonalities, such as if they each have two siblings or both studied English in college, rather than the obvious qualities, such as working at the same company.

• Whodunit

Ask everyone to write down something interesting they have experienced on a notecard. Examples can range from having gone skydiving to winning the state spelling bee championship in elementary school.

Put all the notecards in a container, shake them up and have each person draw a notecard and read it aloud. The individual reading the fact must then guess the person who had that experience and why they think it is that person. Anyone who draws their notecard should put it back and try again without giving it away.

To add an extra challenge to the game, break the group into two teams and see which team can win the most points from guessing correctly.

• Scavenger hunt

A scavenger hunt is one of the most exciting small team icebreakers you can do after a special event like a corporate lunch or picnic. It does take some time to put together, but a scavenger hunt encourages everyone to work together and use problem-solving skills. Consider adding a small prize for the first team who finds all the hidden items.

Icebreakers and other team-building activities can be an important part of company culture and help boost morale and productivity. Consider these fun icebreakers for small groups and how you can incorporate them into your weekly or monthly office routine!

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