Icebreakers for Meetings & Training Seminars

Why are Icebreakers Important?

Within any workplace, meetings are commonplace, whether they are a large scale gathering of the department or quick team catch-ups. All employees can benefit from having a strong sense of team within the workplace but when everyone is working on their own objectives and projects, it’s easy to lose sight of the way the company works as a whole. Having an insight into what others are doing promotes a better group mentality and can help everyone work together more harmoniously.

Quick Monday Morning Icebreaker

This could be as simple as saying ‘what’s going on for each of you today’ or starting a meeting by asking heads of department to provide a rundown of what’s going on for their team this coming week. These things are a great way to start a Monday morning or weekly meeting, just find what works best for the size of your teams.

Icebreaker Activities

During a training seminar, chances are there will be people in the room who haven’t been introduced, particularly if delegates are travelling to attend. Investing time into getting the group acquainted can improve the way learners react and adapt to training. If each delegate knows each other, they should find it easier to ask questions and be more involved in the session.

If the training seminar spans over a few days, it gives delegates the confidence to discuss learning and objectives between seminars, which can be particularly beneficial.

Employees are also more inclined to engage in an environment they are comfortable in. This is why investing time in icebreakers for meetings & training seminars is vital for team bonding. It can boost the success of any seminar and help delegates with their training.

For longer training courses, we would suggest spending at least half an hour working with delegates on these Icebreakers. In a meeting, chances are delegates are more acquainted with each other, but if it’s a meeting between departments, not everyone may have been introduced. Use icebreakers to get people motivated and talking. Even if it’s 5 minutes at the start, it can make a difference. You don’t have to spend money creating icebreakers, most are free and you can use materials that are around you.

Meeting Icebreaker questions

Questions are a quick and easy way of introducing people. Start off by asking delegates to introduce themselves to the rest of the group with their name and job role. Then ask a series of questions, and ask each person to respond.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had and why?
If you ruled the world, what’s one thing you would do?
What’s your favourite thing about meetings?
What’s your least favourite thing about meetings?
Who was your childhood best friend and why? Do you still speak?
What has been a job-related task you’ve really enjoyed doing lately?
If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
What’s the most memorable trip or vacation you’ve ever taken?
What’s one thing on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?
If you could instantly become an expert in any skill, what would it be?

By combining a range of job-related and personal questions, it gets delegates minds warmed up and allows everyone to feel more acquainted and have a better understanding of each other. It can also help to start conversations with existing colleagues who might not know they have something in common with other people on their team!

Group Icebreakers

These icebreakers for meetings & training seminars are designed to get delegates up and moving. If you are hosting training courses with a larger group, consider choosing several groups to “take the stage” and complete the games. This allows for everyone to get a chance both watching and observing how these icebreakers are carried out.

If you have plenty of space in the room, try the obstacle game. Leave a trail of obstacles with a “prize” to pick up at the end. Blindfold the participant and ask the rest of the team to shout out and guide the individual through the obstacles to pick up the prize at the end. With a big audience, this task can become particularly challenging and involves teamwork and delegation to get right.

Pictionary is a great way to get everyone warmed up. You can make this game even better if you’re using a training room with an interactive whiteboard or sit in a circle and use the communal breakout rooms. Depending on the size of your group, split delegates up and allow individuals to take turns drawing their selected item. This could work on a quick-fire basis with a time limit with wins for the individual, or choose teams and fight for a winner. Everyone is familiar with this game so it’s a fast way to get people chatting and moving.

One of the most common fun icebreaker games involves building a tower, and who are we to argue with tradition? There are many varieties of this game and they can all be really fun to take part in. Whether you use plastic cups and plates or spaghetti and marshmallows, split groups into teams of four and ask them to create the highest and sturdiest tower they can. You could ask your audience to help you judge the winners.
Storytelling Chains are a great way to start the creative juices flowing and encourage people to chat and laugh with each other. Each person adds a sentence to a shared story, creating a fun and unpredictable narrative.
A classic icebreaker game, Two Truths and a Lie. Participants share two true facts and one falsehood about themselves. Others guess which statement is the lie.
Why not try an exciting game of Human Bingo? Create bingo cards with different traits or experiences. Participants mingle to find others who match the descriptions. You could always ask for some points in advance secretly from each person to add to the bingo card.

Conflict resolution Icebreakers

Conflict resolution is a vital part of any workplace and an important skill to have. Most employees deal with some form of conflict resolution in different levels every day.

From minor communication issues within the office to larger external problems. Conflict is bound to happen, and it’s important to equip all employees with the skills needed to deal with it. Conflict resolution is a great icebreaker because no matter the content of the seminar or meeting, it tends to fit in with everyone’s roles. If delegates can deal with conflict more effectively, it will make their job easier.

Activities

Begin the meeting or seminar by asking everyone to think about a time when they had a conflict issue within the workplace and how they successfully solved it. Ask each person to speak out and explain what happened, what tools they needed to resolve it, the skillset used and any difficulties they had to overcome. Consider equipping each delegate with a note pad and pen so they can jot down rough ideas before it’s their turn to speak.
Now ask delegates to think about some conflict which they weren’t able to resolve. Ask people to discuss the process and frustrations involved with this. Was there something they weren’t offered within the workplace which could have helped them deal with the issue more effectively? Not everyone may have a definitive answer for this one but it’s always an interesting question to reflect on.
Once everyone has spoken, introduce an interactive icebreaker. The money pot is an interesting game which tests trust within the group. Divide your group in two and explain one team are the “employee” and one team is the “manager.” Distribute an equal amount of “money” to each player. Each team will have a money pot, and each member will secretly put however much they want to donate into their pot. The pots of money are combined, and the team must discuss how they want to distribute this money between the employee and the manager and why. The game cannot finish until everyone has agreed. Money pot promotes critical thinking, negotiating and team vs individual thinking. If your group don’t know each other, it can be a fun way to promote discussion.

If you are new to performing seminars or meetings, you may feel a little daunted by the icebreaker ideas. Keep in mind that practice makes perfect, and it can take experimenting to get things right. Different icebreaker materials work for different people, so feel free to give things a go and see what you can achieve or even branch out and search for virtual icebreakers if your virtual team are working from home, from having video calls, virtual meetings and regular training sessions for your remote team to break the ice, there are plenty of ideas.

Different ages and places of work respond more effectively to different scenarios. It’s common for seminars to end with a review from the learners, so as well as the training, ask them to rate your training icebreakers and see what they may do differently. Why not try the same with meetings? It’s a great chance to see what works according to your team. Which of these corporate event icebreakers would work best for your team?

To find out more about Meetings and Events at Sedgebrook Hall, explore our website or speak to one of our event experts.

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