Virtual Ice Breakers: Games & Ideas for Meetings

Create an abbreviation using your company’s mission statement or your team’s name before writing it on a whiteboard so everyone can take turns guessing. Some become secondary parents, so mention them in an icebreaker activity. The conversations focus on some of the most remarkable people who helped your coworkers become the successful, thriving individuals they are today. If people in your workplace don’t prefer laughing at memes, you could always ask them to submit an icebreaker joke. Whether they get on the mic to say it or type it in the chat, the humor will still loosen everyone up and showcase their personalities.

This hosted virtual experience will captivate teams through thoughtful games that spark conversations. As virtual team building professionals, Bar None Games helps remote teams connect with ice breakers that perfectly suit the needs and interests of their team members. When you’re leading a large group, it’s important to get everyone comfortable with each other quickly. That way, you can maximize productivity and avoid any awkwardness. Large group icebreakers are a great way to do this and are especially well-suited for meetings, conferences, company workshops, and team building activities. A round of ice breaker questions can be effective in easing tensions and overcoming awkwardness in virtual meetings.

#12: In One Word, How Would You Describe ______?

This is an excellent bonding game, especially if new staff is added to the team. This fun meeting icebreaker game is an efficient and fun way to get colleagues to interact quickly. Use icebreaker questions to break barriers and understand the personalities and characteristics of each member. In the long run, it helps build compassion and relationships between team members, which results in improved communication and teamwork.

• They can get to know one another’s tastes and share a few of their favorites.
• Did your team members love “Jurassic Park” or Disney princesses?
• Then, the person can explain the meaning behind it or why it’s on their desk.
• The goal of the scavenger hunt is to engage team members to  locate or photograph particular objects within a specified time limit.
• We have selected the best icebreaker games for office meetings to get you started.
• They say a picture is worth more than a thousand words, but so do emojis!

These are some of our favorites, but we love new ideas and ways of working together. We’re constantly adding to (and improving) our template library. Also, if you’re looking for warm-ups and energizers, icebreaker questions, or icebreakers for icebreakers for virtual meetings small groups, we have you covered. Videos of people trying not to laugh while watching hilarious videos go viral all the time. Recreate the viewing experience by asking everyone to watch 10-second videos with you during an icebreaker game.

Hybrid Activities for Large Groups

You never know if someone might need a kind word or advice, and with this question, you get to learn great advice from everyone on the team. We are all so busy that we forget about simple things such as asking our colleagues how they are doing. You can start your meeting with this question and go one by one to know more about their day or current situation.

You and your coworkers can bond in new ways and develop deeper relationships even if everyone works remotely. Combining movement and questions can be an effective way to warm-up both the body and the mind. In this virtual icebreaker activity, start by making a statement to the group such as, Have you ever climbed a mountain? Nominate the next person to make a statement and continue until everyone has had a chance to make a statement. If you have time, ask for a few people to share a story behind their shoes or even get people in breakouts to discuss in small groups.

Icebreakers Perfect for Virtual and Hybrid Meetings

You’ve probably seen companies using Caption This to encourage their audience to interact with their content. This virtual ice-breaker is especially great for teams who have met before, but might not know every detail about the other meeting attendees. I guarantee people will finish this activity with a new connection or sense of understanding. You never know who else is from your same part of the country, state, or even your same hometown. For this ice breaker, everyone goes around and rates their overall mood on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best and 1 being the worst. For this icebreaker, everyone will go around in alphabetical order and tell the meeting participants what their most-used emoji is.

Overall, virtual ice breakers are a fantastic way to foster deeper emotional, personal connections to teammates. If you’re not doing them regularly, it is definitely something to consider adding to each Zoom meeting you host. That’s why this ice-breaker is a fun way to get people engaged and excited to share a personal tidbit (and bonus points, it has nothing to do with work). To do this ice-breaker, everyone should choose an image that represents their hometown, and set it as their virtual background or take turns sharing the image in the chat.

Pick three words

Virtual work can be slightly isolating, especially without human interaction in the smallest forms like meeting at the coffee machine or having small talk in the elevator. Sometimes people speak without realizing they’re muted, or no one is sure who should speak first. Without a good way to break the ice and get everyone talking, the sound of crickets can become very evident. As the most popular meeting icebreaker activity, you may use more creativity and have fun with this game. Two Truths and a Lie is a classic game that tests one’s ability to detect deception in another’s stories. It’s a great game for large or small groups alike, easily adapted to fit the size of any gathering.

• For a successful game, you should plan, so everyone knows what is expected of them, what topic will be presented, and by whom.
• Ice breakers can help create a more relaxed atmosphere and foster better communication between participants, making virtual meetings run more smoothly.
• Then, the host will send a code to the team so they can join in.
• We know the basic things about them, but not the interesting ones.
• It’ll start conversations about bucket list destinations, vacation activities, and creative rentals like this treehouse in Florida or this modified French cave.