10 Ways To Break The Ice Before A Training Session

Running a training session?

Maybe you want an energiser to get them going and ready for your training.

Getting your team/delegates into the right frame of mind is so important if you’re going to get the most out of the session.

Here are 10 easy to implement ice breakers that you can use:

Two Truths And A Lie

Have delegates say three things about themselves.

Two should be true and one should be a lie.

Have them guess which response was a lie and give their reasoning why!

Speed Meeting Ice Breaker

Have you ever attended a speed dating session?

This ice breaker was modelled on the concept of speed dating.

It lets you meet a large number of meeting participants in just a short amount of time.

It’s fun and gets your participants moving physically around the room for an added warm-up advantage.

If there are 10 people, 5 sit on one side of the table and 5 sit on the other.

Each have 1 minute to talk about themselves!

The other person then does the same and has to report back to the group about what the other person said.

Conversations

Each person is given a sheet of paper with a series of instructions to follow.

This is a good mixing game and conversation starter as each person must speak to everyone else.

For example;

• Count the number of people with blue eyes in the room.
• Find out who has made the longest journey here today
• Who has the most unusual hobby?
• Find the weirdest thing anyone has eaten.
• Who has had the most embarrassing experience?

Guess The Person

In small groups, team members have to ‘guess the person’ based on a description (round 1), then a single word (round 2) and finally based on acting (round 3).

Would You Rather

Gather your group together and the leader calls out a “Would your rather…” statement.

Delegates can answer by sitting or standing.

Examples of “Would you rather questions” could be:

Would you rather have x ray vision or be able to read minds?

Would you rather have £10 million for yourself or save a stranger from losing their arm?

Would you rather be the most attractive looking person or the smartest in the room?

Human Bingo

Prepare 5 x 5 bingo cards filled in with various statements that range from personal stuff (visited more than 15 countries / have a pet / etc.) to business (have you ever fallen asleep during a conference call / been with the company over 10 years, etc.).

Tell the players that they must interview each other.

Have each player go around the group and ask other people to check off one box that applies to them.

The person with a completed card is a winner!

Fun Facts

No matter how long your staff members have worked together, they probably do not know everything about each other.

This guessing game is a sure way to create laughter and break the ice at the beginning of a session.

 You will need pens and sticky notes or note cards.

Have staff members write down a statement about themselves that they believe the other staff members do not know.

It may be something like, “I’ve met George Clooney” or “I’ve starred in the West End.”

Then take up the statements, shuffle them up, read them, and have staff members guess to whom the statement belongs.

Mix It Up

People can meet each other through this icebreaker mingling activity.

Have each person write down on a piece of paper a question to ask others.

They can use any question they wish, such as what they did on their last holiday or their favourite film.

The goal is to walk around the room, introduce themselves to each person and ask their question.

Find 10 Things In Common

To encourage the group to get to know one another better break them off into separate groups.

Task the groups with finding 10 things that all of them share in common (besides the obvious, e.g, that they are human).

Take Two

This simple icebreaker’s for meetings where people come together from different teams or departments – but find common ground.

Pair everyone up, with the first person given 3 minutes to share something personal or work-related based on a topic.

Topics could include:

Share one thing you love about your job.

What would you do if you had a million pounds?

Share one achievement, personal or work-related.

Which actor/actress would play you, if they made a movie of your life, and why.

At the end of the game, players can share what they’ve learned about each other. Alternatively, continue the game, this time with new pairs.

Thanks again

Mark Williams

Head of Training and Development

MTD Training