What is an ice breaker?

Ice Breakers are ways used to “break the ice”.  They can be an effective way of starting a training session or a team-building event. Ice breaker sessions before the main session help people get to know each other and prepare for the purpose of the event because they can be fun and interactive.

Why use ice breakers?

People can get prepared and become more involved in the main event when they get a chance in advance to get to know the objectives of the event; they get to know each other and the facilitator.  This is turn may help produce successful results.

When to Use Icebreakers

An ice breaker can be used when:

The facilitator needs to get to know participants and have them know you better.

The team is newly formed

People need to bond quickly so as to work towards a common goal

The topics you are discussing are new or unfamiliar to many people involved

Participants come from different backgrounds

How to design the ice breaker

Think about the “ice” that needs to be broken.

If you are bringing together liked-minded people, the “ice” may reflect the fact that people have not yet met.

If you are bringing together people of different grades and levels in your organization for an open discussion, the “ice” may come from the difference in status between participants.

If you are bringing together people of different backgrounds, cultures and outlooks for work within your community, then the “ice” may come from people’s perceptions of each other.

You’ll need to handle these differences sensitively. Only focus on what’s important to your event. (Remember, you want to break some ice for your event, not uncover the whole iceberg, or bring about world peace!)

It is important to pay more attention to similarities rather than differences, such as a shared interest in the event’s outcome.

Objectives of the ice breaker session

For example, when meeting to solve problems at work, the ice breaker objectives may be:

“To establish a productive working environment for today’s event with good participation from everyone involved, irrespective of their level or job role in the organization.”

With clear objectives, you can start to design the session. Ask yourself questions about how you will meet your objectives. For example:

“How will people become comfortable with contributing?

“How will you establish a level playing field for people with different levels and jobs?

“How will you create a common sense of purpose?”

“Will this ice breaker session help people feel comfortable… establish a level playing field… etc”

Examples of Ice Breakers

There are many types of ice breakers, each suited to different types of objectives. Here we look at a few of the more popular types of ice breakers and how they can be used.

Introductory Ice Breakers
Introductory ice breakers are used to introduce participants to each other and to facilitate conversation amongst the participants.

The Little Known Fact: Participants share their name, department or role in the organization, length of service, and one little known fact about themselves.

This "little known fact" becomes a humanizing element that can help break down differences such as grade / status in future interaction.

True or False: Participants introduce themselves and make three or four statements about themselves, one of which is false. Now get the rest of the group to vote on which fact is false.

As well as getting to know each other as individuals, this ice breaker helps to start interaction within the group.

Interviews: Participants get into twos. Each person then interviews his or her partner for a set time while paired up. When the group reconvenes, each person introduces their interviewee to the rest of the group.

Problem Solvers: Participants can work in small groups. Create a simple problem scenario for them to work on in a short time. Once the group have analyzed the problem and prepared their feedback, ask each group in turn to present their analysis and solutions to the wider group.

Burning questions: This ice breaker gives each person the opportunity to ask key questions they hope to cover in the event or training. Again you can use this opportunity to discuss key terminology and scope. Be sure to keep the questions and refer back to them as the event progresses and concludes.

Topic exploration ice breakers
Topic exploration ice breakers can be used to explore the topic at the outset, or perhaps to change pace and re-energize people during the even.
 

Team-Building Ice Breakers
Team-building ice breakers are used to bring together individuals who are in the early stages of team building. This can help the people start working together more cohesively towards shared goals or plans.

The Human Web: This ice breaker focuses on how people in the group inter-relate and depend on each other.

The facilitator begins with a ball of yarn. Keeping one end, pass the ball to one of the participants, and the person to introduce him- or her-self and their role in the organization. Once this person has made their introduction, ask him or her to pass the ball of yarn on to another person in the group. The person handing over the ball must describe how he/she relates (or expects to relate) to the other person. The process continues until everyone is introduced.

To emphasis the interdependencies amongst the team, the facilitator then pulls on the starting thread and everyone's hand should move.

Word association: This ice breaker helps people 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,' 'corrosive,' 'flammable,' 'warning,' 'skull and crossbones,' etc. Write all suggestions on the board, perhaps clustering by theme. 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.

Brainstorm: Brainstorming can be used as an ice breaker or re-energizer during an event. If people are getting bogged down in the detail during problem solving, for example, you can change pace easily by running a quick-fire brainstorming session. If you are looking for answers to customer service problems, try brainstorming how to create problems rather than solve them. This can help people think creatively again and gives the group a boost when energy levels are flagging.