The Best Ice Breaker Games For Meetings: Top Activities For Work And Virtual Teams

So, avoid using it for one-time meetings with people you’ve never met. Virtual meetings are essential to our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. So, it’s no surprise that the global market share of videoconferencing software witnessed nearly 68% growth in 2023. Because they become cumbersome and dreaded if you do it every time you have a virtual meeting.

Send an email reminder before your next meeting to give everyone time to find a new image. Prompt your coworkers to get to know each other better by describing their hometowns or nearest city. Instead, everyone should pick a name, city product, or another notable fact. Your coworkers can pitch ideas while a timer counts down to develop their confidence, communication, and relationships. We set up a virtual whiteboard, and each of us was supposed to write our ideas on little stickers that we then posted on the board.

When the awkward tension is disarmed, people feel more comfortable showing their personalities, which is beneficial in forming work teams. They also feel more comfortable contributing ideas to the agenda or troubleshooting ideas. After this discussion, one of them reached out to keep the conversation going. Not only did this help them bond over a shared interest, but it also made it easier for them to break the ice outside of formal meetings. Those are the three words we’d use to describe the perfect icebreaker question. Tools like Kahoot, Quizizz, or Wooclap allow you to create interactive quizzes accessible via a link from the virtual room.

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Two truths & one lie is a timeless classic that gets everyone’s brains whirring. All you have to do is ask employees to provide two truths and one lie about themselves. You can have them take turns submitting their answers, then have everyone guessing the lie. Because no one could leave their houses during the pandemic, a lot of virtual bars started popping up. Instead of chatting with your friends online, you could set up a virtual bar, where everyone can have a drink and chat with their friends across the screen.

• When chosen carefully, they can serve as powerful tools to promote team building, foster a sense of unity, and create a more collaborative and productive work environment.
• You never know who else is from your same part of the country, state, or even your same hometown.
• You can do the same for your virtual teams if you want them to bond without the restrictions of official meetings.
• It’s especially interesting if your workplace has people of various ages who can bring different perspectives.

Simply agree on a specific brand or type of drink, or each person can choose a different one to share their unique tasting experience. Even working remotely, you can still enjoy classic wine sessions. While it may seem challenging in a virtual setup, it is entirely doable. Teams race against the clock to correctly identify the drawings as the timer counts down, fostering creativity, teamwork, and quick thinking.

‍25 Questions With Remote Workers In Mind

It’s amazing how something as simple as a custom mug can hold so much meaning and create a sense of camaraderie among colleagues. We all know the kind of fun we had playing board games or classic games as a kid. We can have the same fun with remote team members spread across the world by inviting them to play multiplayer and collaborative games like Hearts and Cribbage online. They load up quickly, are free-to-play, and don’t require registration either.

Your busy workplace might be a little strapped for time, so these activities require next to no preparation, carried out in a matter of minutes. Put your employees’ strategy, communication and negotiation skills to the test with a trading activity. Create a “survival kit” for each team, based on a scenario like setting up a new department or sorting out a community event.

You might remember show and tell from your school days, and it can be just as fun and engaging in a work setting. This activity is especially useful for teams that don’t know each other well. This game helps build connections fast and gets people talking to as many different people as possible in a short amount of time. If you want to make it more playful, turn this activity into a competition by giving people a set amount of time to find more obscure/unique items. Out of everyone who was able to find something in the given amount of time, participants can then vote on which object is the “best fit” for the category. Butter is one of the most interesting virtual meeting platforms.

In conclusion, ice breakers are a powerful tool for fostering connection and engagement in large virtual teams. By incorporating these activities into your meetings, you can create a more inclusive and collaborative virtual environment. Ice breakers for virtual meetings are interactive activities designed to ease participants into a meeting by encouraging social interaction and team bonding. As you can see, virtual ice breakers don’t have to be awkward.

They choose four random cards and place each one under each situation card. We send the template to each employee and encourage them to be as honest as possible with their answers. It’s like a cheat sheet for employees to tell us about their personalities, work preferences, values, and unique traits. At Dropbox, one of our key principles is making sure everyone stays on a level playing field.

While traditionally held in physical settings, these escape rooms have been successfully adapted for virtual environments, making them a perfect ice breaker https://easternhoneys.org/ for remote teams. Professional trainers and facilitators agree that using ice breakers for virtual meetings increases the rate of attendee engagement, focus, and valuable contributions. A company can save meeting time because it moves quickly and is more productive.

Ask everyone what their parents almost named them or what they wanted their name to be as a kid. If someone doesn’t have an answer to either question, they can also talk about their childhood nickname. As a manager, I often find myself caught in a whirlwind of meetings and juggling far too many projects. Next, allow all groups a couple of minutes to discuss the topic before coming back to the main room to share what each pair talked about. If you need inspiration for Never Have I Ever questions, find 250 of them here.

The simplest way is to ask icebreaker questions at the start of your meeting. As a manager or team leader, you want to start the session with something fun before diving into the work. If you are looking for ideas to get to know your coworkers a little better, Hooray Teams Virtual Icebreakers are the way to go. Ask team members to share a picture that holds a significant memory or story for them. It could be a family photo, a picture from a vacation, or even a snapshot of their favorite book.

There are likely a few people who have forgotten about that will come back to mind as a pleasant surprise. Everyone can submit their answers with a web form or in the chat while you’re discussing the potential within each team member. Your team members might attend trivia night in their hometowns or play it with their families. Get everyone to mention a topic they could excel at in a trivia contest.

So, imagine being able to select the perfect virtual ice-breaker activities while ensuring a noise-free environment to encourage interaction and strengthen team bonds. Fun activities, such as virtual icebreaker games or simple interactive exercises, are fantastic ways to energize your audience and create a more relaxed atmosphere. By introducing a fun virtual icebreaker, you will encourage other team members to contribute ideas, ask questions, and engage in meaningful discussions. Tap into your team’s creative side and build connections through shared imagination. These icebreakers are all about co-creating stories, thinking outside the box, and revealing personality through imaginative play. This is one of the best virtual icebreakers for large meetings or virtual events – the more locations, the better the word cloud will look.

It’s a great way for people to find things in common and quietly encourages people to reinforce their personal travel goals. How many times do you think great work goes unrecognized in the office? “Unsung heroes” dedicate time to recognition and appreciation, doubling up as a great icebreaker for any newbies in the office. Here’s a lively way to get the ball rolling for fun conversations. “Find Your Pairing” naturally leads people to get to know one another, great for newcomers who might feel some first-day jitters.

The rest of the team then votes on which statement they believe is the lie. It’s a fun and interactive way to learn more about each other while also testing how well you know your colleagues. Virtual ice breakers like “Item on Your Desk” are sentimental and humorous. Have participants choose an item on the desk and hold it to the camera for everyone to see. Virtual event platforms like HeySummit can seamlessly integrate these ice breakers into your meetings.

This exercise is especially good for newly-formed teams, as it encourages people to share their interests and preferences. It’s fun to find out that a colleague is watching the same show as you, just be careful with spoilers! You might be surprised by what you learn about some people’s interests, and also discover tons of shows that were not on your radar yet. This icebreaker involves spending 5-10 minutes before the meeting taking the Myers Briggs test, but it’s a great use of time — you won’t regret it. The Myers Briggs test helps identify individual’s psychological types as initiated by C. Jung, and defines personalities based on four key indicators.

This activity encourages active participation and stimulates the collective intellect of the group. Making extra effort to find things in common can raise the spirits of people very quickly. Three Things We Share is an icebreaking activity with thoughtfulness kept in mind. You might find some funny examples, like Mission Impossible when deadlines are looming, or Home Alone for your remote workers.