Tired of stale training sessions that leave your participants checking their watches? We’ve got the perfect antidote for you. It’s time to shake things up by introducing icebreaker activities that are designed to engage, inspire, and unite your audience.
From the Alphabet Game to the Marshmallow Challenge, this article delivers 36 engaging activities that are guaranteed to energise your group. You can even connect many of these icebreakers to your training topic, making them even more impactful and relevant.
Whether you’re facing a quiet crowd, or a room full of strangers, these icebreakers will set the stage for a productive learning experience. So, let’s get started!
What’s an Icebreaker?
An icebreaker is a short activity or game designed to help a group of people relax and get to know each other. Just like a ship that breaks through ice to create a path for others, an icebreaker helps to break down social barriers within a group.
They are often used at the start of meetings, training sessions, or social events to create a more comfortable and engaging atmosphere. As a result, you’ll build rapport and foster a sense of camaraderie among those in your audience.
Why Use Icebreakers in Training?
Now, we know what you’re thinking. A lot of people hate icebreakers. Indeed, many break out in a cold sweat at the thought of having to reveal a fun fact about themselves. However, these exercises do serve an important purpose by helping to set the stage for a productive training session.
Indeed, research shows that implementing icebreakers effectively leads to a ‘significant increase’ in students’ self-reported engagement and participation levels. It also helped students to feel a greater sense of community.
When it comes to your training, your first impression matters. Whether your session takes place in a classroom or online, a great start sets the tone for success. So, let’s discover how icebreakers can help you to hit the ground running.
- Build Rapport: By encouraging your group to interact and share, icebreakers help participants to feel more comfortable with each other. In turn, this helps to foster a collaborative learning environment fuelled by trust.
- Warm Up The Group: Some social situations can provoke feelings of unease or anxiety in people. A good icebreaker can help participants to shake off any initial nervousness or distractions and prepare for focused learning.
- Positive Atmosphere: Icebreakers have a knack for breaking down barriers and promoting a more relaxed learning environment. In turn, this can increase engagement levels by making your training more enjoyable and effective.
- Facilitate Learning: Finally, let’s not forget that icebreakers can also be designed to introduce key training topics or assess participants’ prior knowledge. This means they actually play a role in your overall learning experience.
36 Awesome Icebreaker Activities
Now that you understand the importance of icebreakers, let’s explore some practical examples. The following activities are designed to cater to various learning preferences, group sizes, and training objectives. Many of them can also be adapted to your specific audience and goals.
1. Two Truths and a Lie
This is a classic! Here, participants share three statements about themselves, two true and one false. The rest of the group should try to identify the lie. This is a great way to bond and can lead to some surprising revelations. Who knew that Gerald had a black belt in karate?
Did you know: Employees at ‘high-trust’ companies report 74% less stress and 50% higher productivity.
2. Quick Fire Questions
Ask participants a series of rapid-fire questions that get them talking and laughing. The aim should be to increase their energy levels and create a positive atmosphere for learning. Here are some example questions to get you started:
- “What’s your favourite vacation spot?”
- “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”
- “What’s your spirit animal?”
3. Get Energised
If the setting’s right, consider getting participants moving with physical activities like jumping jacks, high knees, or arm circles. After all, there’s research that shows a clear link between exercise and the production of dopamine, which helps to energise and elevate our mood.
Did you know: Students who are physically active improve their academic performance by an average of 6%.
4. Shared Story
This collaborative icebreaker requires beginning a story with one sentence and then encouraging each participant to add a word or a sentence to continue the narrative. By the end, you’ll have woven a story for the ages, all from your collective imaginations. Move over, J.K. Rowling!
Did you know: Stories are 22 times more memorable than facts alone.
5. Desert Island
Ask your participants what five items they’d take with them to a desert island and get them to explain their choices. This icebreaker encourages creativity, problem-solving, and prioritisation and can also promote interesting discussion. Let’s see how many portable stove tops turn up!
Did you know: The record for surviving on a desert island belongs to Alexander Selkirk, who endured four years of isolation.
6. Group Sculpture
Divide your participants into small groups, and ask them to create a sculpture that represents a key training topic, based on the items available to them. Alternatively, you could task them with creating the tallest sculpture, or a sculpture that serves a particular function.
Did you know: The earliest works of sculpture date back to around 32,000 BC.
7. Expert Panel
Kickstart your training session by asking your participants to share their expertise on a particular topic. You can spice this activity up by following ‘Just a Minute’ rules, and asking your speakers to talk for a minute without hesitation, deviation, or repetition.
Did you know: Just a Minute is the longest-running panel game in the world.
8. Round Robin
Similar to the above exercise, start by going around the room and asking participants to share one thing they know about the topic at hand. This is a simple but effective way to gauge participants’ existing knowledge and surface some valuable insights. You can then call back to this conversation during your actual training session.
Did you know: Fortune 500 companies lose approximately $31.5 billion per year by failing to effectively share knowledge.
9. Pose a Question
Open up discussion by posing a thought provoking question related to your training. Remember, your primary role here is to facilitate discussion rather than dominate it. With that said, you should be prepared to step in and clarify any misunderstandings that may arise.
Did you know: Questions that ask for a person’s opinion have been shown to increase neural activity in the area of the brain associated with reward and pleasure.
10. Pictionary
For this activity, you’ll need a whiteboard or flipchart and some markers. Next up, divide participants into teams and challenge them to create visual clues related to your training topic. This is a fun way to test your audience’s understanding and encourage creative thinking.
Did you know: Pictionary was created by a bored waiter in the early 1980s as an attempt to liven up social gatherings.
11. Charades
A classic for a reason, charades is a fun way to get your participants engaged. Divide your group into teams and have them act out terms related to your training topic. It’s then up to the rest of the group to guess the words or phrases without any verbal clues.
Did you know: Whilst charades is still a dinner party staple, it emerged all the way back in 16th century France.
12. Improvisation
Ignite creativity and quick thinking with an impromptu role-play. Present a scenario relevant to your training topic, such as a challenging customer interaction or a complex project situation. Then encourage your participants to step into character and improvise a solution.
Did you know: Improv isn’t just fun, it’s effective. Studies show that 86% of participants agree it enhances their communication skills.
13. Mind Mapping
Work together to create a visual map of key concepts relating to your training topic. This exercise helps to foster teamwork and creativity. It also improves understanding by revealing the connections between different ideas. This, in turn, helps learners to structure their thoughts.
Did you know: Mind mapping has proven to be more effective than traditional learning methods, with studies indicating a 15% increase in knowledge retention.
14. Find Someone Who…
A classic icebreaker, this activity encourages mingling and conversation. Prepare a list of statements and ask participants to circulate, finding and collecting signatures from those who match each description. To get you started, here are some example statements:
- Speaks more than one language.
- Can do a handstand.
- Has a hidden talent.
- Has seen a live concert this year.
- Has been on TV.
15. Human Bingo
This activity is similar to our previous entry, but has a competitive edge. Create a bingo-style grid of statements and distribute cards to participants. They can then circulate the room and collect signatures from those who match the criteria. The first person to complete a row and shout ‘bingo!’ wins.
Did you know: If your name’s Margaret, you’re statistically more likely to win a round of bingo.
16. Speed Networking
This is a spin on the dating classic. Pair up your participants and give them a short time to introduce themselves and ask questions. After a set time, rotate partners. This is a creative way to forge connections whilst encouraging quick thinking and active listening.
Did you know: 80% of professionals consider networking to be important to career success.
17. Shared Experiences
Our experiences inform who we are. With this in mind, ask your participants to share a time when they experienced a challenge or success relating to your training topic. This helps to create a sense of community whilst simultaneously personalising the learning experience.
Did you know: Employees who spend 15 minutes reflecting at the end of their day improve their performance by 23%.
18. Alphabet Game
Ask your participants to take turns naming something related to your training topic that begins with each letter of the alphabet. This icebreaker encourages creativity, quick thinking, and active participation. It can also highlight your topic’s broad scope and far-reaching nature.
Did you know: Surprisingly, the letter ‘J’ was the final addition to our alphabet, making its debut as recently as the 16th century.
19. One Word Summary
Challenge your participants to use just one word to describe the training topic at hand. Share the responses and discuss any trends you notice. This can help you to assess how your audience feels about the subject matter. It may also serve as a springboard for further discussion.
Did you know: Emotions are contagious. Feelings have been shown to spread through a group like a virus, even if we’re not directly paying attention to them.
20. Would You Rather
‘Would you rather’ questions help to encourage fun and engaging discussions. Where possible, you should attempt to tie these questions to your training topic. As a result, you’ll spark some great conversation and encourage critical thinking. We’ve included some examples below.
- Would you rather focus on building long-term relationships with clients, or close as many deals as possible?
- Would you rather be a highly respected but less popular leader, or a popular but less respected leader?
- Would you rather deliver a project good and on time, or perfect and late?
21. Quick Quiz
We all love an opportunity to prove our knowledge. As such, why not prepare a short quiz related to the training topic at hand? This can be done as a team or individually. Likewise, there are great online tools that you can use to deliver your quiz. Why not give a reward for the best team name too?
Did you know: Research suggests that you recall 50% more information by testing yourself than by using that same time to study.
22. Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts aren’t just for kids. Hide a selection of items related to your training throughout your venue. Then divide your participants into teams and have them find these items based on your clues. The team that completes the activity first is the winner. Happy hunting!
Did you know: Scavenger hunts were popularised by American gossip columnist, Elsa Maxwell, in the early 1930s.
23. Leadership Q&A
Invite a manager, leader or expert to answer questions from participants. This can be done in a formal Q&A format or in a more casual setting. This is a golden opportunity for your audience to ask those burning questions they’ve been eager to have answered.
Did you know: Only 21% of employees agree that they trust the leadership of their organisation. Open communication is a great way to rebuild this trust.
24. Brainstorm Blitz
Problem-solving is an excellent way to encourage critical thinking and teamwork. With this in mind, why not present your group with a hypothetical problem or challenge related to your training topic and ask them to brainstorm solutions. We’ve included some examples below.
- How do you deliver difficult or constructive feedback to an employee?
- How do you improve team spirit when morale is low?
- How do you handle an irate customer who is demanding a refund?
25. Obstacle Icebreaker
Create an engaging challenge by setting up a simple obstacle course using any available furniture like chairs and tables. Then blindfold one participant and get the rest of the group to guide them safely through the course. This activity is a fun way to foster teamwork and effective communication.
Did you know: The concept of obstacle courses dates back to antiquity. Roman legionnaires, for instance, honed their combat skills by jumping over natural barriers like hedges and ditches.
26. Movie Pitch
Ignite creativity and collaboration with a movie pitch challenge centred around your training topic. Participants should brainstorm a captivating plot, list their star-studded cast, and estimate their budget. This fun exercise is sure to stimulate some innovative thinking.
Did you know: Avatar (2009) is the highest-grossing film of all time, amassing a staggering $2.9 billion worldwide. There’s some inspiration for you!
27. Trading Cards
Provide your participants with the materials they need to create their own ‘business card’ or ‘trading card’ that highlights key information about themselves. This could include their name, interests, hobbies, and career goals. Then encourage them to share these cards with the rest of the group.
Did you know: 27 million business cards are printed each day in the USA alone. That’s 10 billion every year!
28. Human Knot
The Human Knot is a classic icebreaker that involves a group of people forming a circle and holding hands with two different people who are not directly beside them. Following this, they then need to untangle themselves without letting go of anyone’s hands. Untying the knot requires patience, coordination, and great communication.
Did you know: Some historians think that knot-tying may have predated the discovery of fire.
29. Hold the Pole
This is a variation of the Human Knot icebreaker. Here, participants stand in a circle, facing inward. Everyone then reaches out with their right arm to grab someone else’s hand. They then do the same with their left hand. The goal is then to untangle this knot of arms without letting go of anyone’s hand.
Did you know: The phrase ‘tying the knot’, relating to marriage, is a romantic relic from a Celtic tradition. Couples would bind their hands together using ribbons, symbolising their union.
30. Name Game
The Name Game is a classic icebreaker. It involves going around the room, with each person stating their name and a unique fact that starts with the same letter. For example, ‘I’m Denise the dancer, as I take tap dance lessons on the weekend’, or ‘I’m Adventurous Alex, as I’ve just booked a safari trip to Kenya’.
Did you know: Over the last 100 years, ‘Michael’ has been the most popular male name and ‘Mary’ has been the most popular girls name.
31. Three Words
This is a simple yet effective way to start the conversation and foster a friendly atmosphere. Ask your participants to describe themselves in three words. In doing so, this encourages self-reflection and concise communication. At the same time, you’ll get interesting insights into each person’s personality.
Did you know: ‘Friendly’ is the word that people most commonly use to describe themselves.
32. The Magic Box
With this exercise, participants imagine they have a magical box that can contain anything. They can then describe what they would put in the box and why. For a creative twist, challenge participants to mime taking something out of the box. The rest of the group can then take turns guessing what the item was.
Did you know: The cup-and-balls illusion is over 2,000 years old. It can even be seen in Hieronymus Bosch’s 1502 painting, The Conjurer.
33. The Marshmallow Challenge
Looking to promote problem-solving skills and good teamwork? Divide your participants into groups and give them a specific amount of time to build the tallest freestanding structure using only marshmallows and spaghetti. You can find detailed instructions for this challenge here.
34. Who Am I?
Create an interactive guessing game by asking your participants to write the name of a famous person on a sticky note and place it on someone’s forehead without them seeing. The other individual then needs to ‘discover’ their identity by asking the group yes or no questions.
Did you know: 507 million Post-It notes would be needed to create a continuous chain encircling the entire globe.
35. Share a Joke
Encourage laughter and camaraderie by inviting participants to share a joke. Remember, not everyone will have a joke prepared, so aim to create a relaxed atmosphere where sharing is optional. You may also want to provide some guidance about what sorts of jokes are acceptable.
Did you know: Laughter has been shown to improve the memory of adults in their 60s and 70s.
36. Reverse Icebreaker
This exercise shines in fostering deeper connections within close-knit groups. Instead of introducing themselves, participants should share an interesting fact about someone else in the group. This can help to solidify existing social bonds, encourage interaction, and get conversation flowing.
Did you know: Research shows that individuals with strong social relationships have a 50% increased likelihood of survival.
Final Words
There we have it! 36 different icebreakers for you to choose from.
Remember, icebreakers are more than just fun and games. They’re powerful exercises for building relationships and fostering a positive learning atmosphere. They could be the difference between a flying start and a frustrating flop.
We recommend experimenting with these activities to discover the perfect icebreaker for your group and training objectives. Where possible, you should attempt to tie the activity to your chosen training topic. This will make the experience even more relevant and engaging.
And with a foundation like that, your training session is sure to be a success.
Thank you for reading. Are you looking for other ways to bolster your training sessions? ‘The L&D Professional’s Handbook’ offers in-depth strategies and best practice advice. Download it now!
