Ice Breakers For Small Groups

(25+ - people)
Volume 1

By D arcie Dav is
Published 2012

www.G a mesAn dTeamBuil ding .com

Our Legend
Ice breakers are not one-size-fits all. Each ice breaker activity must fit the group dynamics, meeting location, time of day, schedule, age of participants, culture differences, gender, etc..

Ice breakers must be selected based on the make up of your group and the goal you wish to accomplish. You will know what works best with your group but we have provided a Legend next to each Ice Breaker title to indicate what kind of group the ice breaker idea seems most appropriate. Use your own discretion, of course.

If the group description is highlighted in magenta (why not magenta?), we believe the ice breaker idea on the page is likely to be a good fit.
Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Chipmunks (just kidding)

Title

Page

Never, Not Ever How I See the World Wheres My Mate? Who the Heck Are You? Heroes and Role Models How Do You Line Up? Last Person Standing Purse Diving Wallet Diving Finish the Thought I Wear Many Hats What Exactly Did He Say?

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Never, Not Ever!

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Chipmunks (just kidding)

Each participant will in turn make a statement about an activity they have NEVER done, not ever. They must be asked to complete this sentence, Never, not ever, have I _________________________. When completing the sentence, its a good strategy to complete this statement with something that most people have done but that you havent. Youll see why in a second.

This is a great icebreaker activity to do during mealtimes; its quick and easy to implement and requires only a tiny bit of preparation. Its a good way to help Boards of Directors or committee members get better acquainted. Determine something you can use that can be considered as chips. You can use pennies, pebbles, paper clips, poker chips, pencils, candy, toothpicks, or rubber bands, for example. Chips will be distributed equally to each person and each person will receive chips equal to three times the number of people present. If a dozen people are participating in this icebreaker, each person should have 36 chips to play with, which will be 432 total chips needed. Dont spend a lot of money because the chips play a small role. Everyone sits in a circle or around a table(s), which is why this is great at a mealtime. The ultimate goal is be the person with the most chips!
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As an example, player #1 could say, Never, not ever, have I fired an employee. If any of the players have fired an employee, they must now give player #1 one of their chips. The art is in finding actions that may be common to others but something you have never done. You want to be unique. For groups of 10 or less, go around the table at least 3 times. State ahead of time that you will go around the circle 3 times or when someone runs out of chips, whichever happens first. Of course the person who gets the most chips wins! And they should get a prize. Your prize should fit your group. Some groups want material rewards such as gift certificates, iPods or a new Bentley. Other groups may be thrilled by winning a title such as The Never King or Queen Who Has No Life.

How I See the World

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Groundhogs (just kidding)

Tell the participants they will be asked to quickly look at an image and immediately write down what they see. They can draw their own image or use words. What did they see or interpret in the image? Get everyone ready, then hold up the first image and let everyone view it for 15 seconds. When the timer goes off at the end of the

Every individual sees the world from their own perspective. That perspective is evident in what people see when viewing art. Everyone sees and experiences something unique.

15 seconds, each participant must privately write down his interpretation or impression of what he saw. This should go quickly. When everyone has had a chance to view

Preparation: Bring about five images from books, magazines, tear sheets or the Internet to the meeting. All of the images should be complex, mostly abstract and have the quality that the content can be interpreted in many different ways. Illusions are fun. Here is an example to give you some ideas:

the art and write down their notes, you will begin with one person and ask them what they wrote. You will learn a lot about each of your participants! There can be discussions and a revisit of the art piece to see what each person interpreted. Do this again for 3 to 5 art pieces, depending on the time you have available to complete this icebreaker activity. The moral? (yes there is one) Each participant will see the same things differently yet they can all work artfully together to get things done.

Each participant should receive paper and a pencil/pen. Use a seconds timer and ask someone to be the timer to keep everyone to a 15second rule.
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Wheres My Mate?

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Squirrels (just kidding)

Participants circulate to each person until they get enough Yes answers to determine correct mates. When someone believes hes found the correct mate, he must go to the facilitator and tell her who his team mate is. Remember, Bacons mate will also be looking for Bacon but on Eggs card it will read: .and Eggs. No one is allowed to show their cards to anyone until the facilita

When two people are asked to work in partnership toward a common goal at a meeting or retreat, it often presents some awkwardness. This is a fun activity to assign partners of two.

tor matches them together! The facilitator keeps the master list to make sure the participants are matched to the right mate. First person to guess their mate gets a prize!

When participants first enter a room they are given a card that shows one half of a pairing on it. Their assignment is to figure out who their mate is. For example, the card might say Bacon and ... In this example, their mate would be Eggs (yet there are other possibilities). Both Bacon and Eggs will walk around to all other participants and ask questions which can only be answered with a Yes or No. In this example, Bacon may think his mate must be Eggs and would ask questions such as Can you be fried? Are you yel low Are you high in cholesterol Did you come from a chicken? Those are questions someone can answer with a Yes or No. If he has talked to everyone and the Yes or No answers do not fit with a pair for Bacon he must change his questions be cause he will learn he may be searching for the wrong mate!
Suggestions for Mate names include: Mickey and Minnie Sunrise and Sunset Rock and Roll Lewis and Clark Burger and Fries Rogers and Hammerstein Holmes and Watson Bill and Hillary Black and White Obama and Biden If you need to build bigger teams of more than two people, use the same process but the cards would list group or team names. If you want 5 members on each team, youll have 5 cards distributed that have the same name on it. Those five people must circulate through the group to ask questions to find who is on their team. Suggestions for Group Mates include: The Steelers The Wind The Coalminers The Rolling Stones The Bumblebees The Longshoremen The Buzzsaws The Longhorns

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Who the Heck Are You?

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Armchairs (just kidding)

Each question gets read and participants mentally select their answer and migrate to that place in the room that has been designated for his answer which will likely be a different place each time. Your participants will learn a lot about each other based on the

This easy and fun ice breaker is especially good with people who think they already know each other. I recommend using this activity after lunch or first thing in the morning because it gets people moving a bit. This is how it works: The facilitator tells everyone they will be answering questions and, based on the answers they provide, will be moving to one of four areas of the room. The A answers gather in this corner; the B answers meet over here; the C answers meet in that corner and the D answers meet in that other corner. With everyone standing up, the facilitator reads a question and the participants respond by deciding which one of the multiple choice answers fits him best. As each question is read, people will walk to a designated area of the room to assemble with others who also selected the same answer. Once in their groups (still standing), the facilitator can say, Look around and see your colleagues who picked the same response. You have at least that in common now.

answers each person selects. This activity is fun to use when people have been discussing serious or deep issues and simply need a break.

Sample questions:

If I had to see a movie, I would rather see: (A) Transformers (B) Gone With The Wind (C) Dumb and Dumber (D) Crash

If I could go out to eat and had to pay my own way, I would eat at: (A) Bens Chili Bowl (B) Olive Garden (C) (name of a fancy restaurant in the area) (D) IHop My favorite thing about myself is: (A) My eating habits (B) My looks (C) My car (D) My brain. If I had to give up one thing at home, it would be: (A) My pet (B) Television (C) Microwave (D) Computer. If I had to change my job, I would rather be: (A) Politician (B) Comedian (C) Radio Host (D) Professional Athlete.

If you are using this ice breaker to form groups or sub groups for any purpose, you would tell participants to assemble together according to the answers they gave.
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Heroes and Role Models

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Sponges (just kidding)

Heroes, role models and mentors have shaped the path of personal and business development for people all over the world. This is a more thoughtful activity that works well during a meal or at the end of a tough day. There are four parts to this ice breaker. 1. Ask each participant to name three people, past or present, they admire and to state what it is they admire about the individuals. 2. If the particpants could have oneonone time with each of the people they admire, what would they ask them? 3. What would the participants want their heroes to know about them? 4. If it hasnt already been done, have your participants select opposite gender heroes. Who would they be and why?
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How Do You Line Up?

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Pencils (just kidding)

4. Have each of them line up alphabetically by the spelling of the city where they were born. Again, notice who is on their right and left. 5. Have them line up based on the numbers of their street address (ex. 1006 Essex Street).

How Do You Line Up is a series of lightweight activities, each of which takes a few minutes to accomplish. This icebreaker for boards and committees is perfect to use when people need to be revived after lunch, for instance, or when people might not be open to any extensive or time consuming icebreakers. When you want a group to get to know each other and bond well, its often important to go easy at first. This activity is perfect for breaking the ice. 1. Have all board members get in a line based on their height. Ask them to remember who is on their right and left. 2. Next, have all board members line up by birthdays (month and day only in case anyone is sensitive). Again, have them remember who is on their right and who is on their left. 3. Then get them to line up by shoe size and again to remember who is on their right and their left.

6. Last, have them line up based on the total number of aunts and uncles they have (alive or not alive). Briefly, let them discuss if there were any crossovers when they were standing next to the same person. Did anyone match up with someone else with the same height, same birthday, same shoe size, same birth city or street number? This is all for fun and nothing more.

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Last Person Standing

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Potato Mashers (just kidding)

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Who has traveled outside of our state? Who has traveled outside of the United States? Who can speak another language fluently? Who has had a speeding ticket? Who has never had the flu? Who can play a musical instrument? Who has owned a motorcycle? Who has pulled taffy? Who has never had a cavity? Who has written a book? Who has been to the Emergency Room of a hospital? Who has a pet? Who has never eaten in our company/school cafeteria? Who has read the book War and Peace? Who has never learned to whistle? Who has used a pogo stick? Who can run a marathon? Who has never memorized a poem? Who has no idea who the Kardashian sisters are? Who has never ridden a bus of any kind? Who has touched a dolphin?

This is just a fun little ice breaker and is appropriate to use with people who know each other or not. Its good to use shortly after lunch when participants seem to have trouble staying awake (wink wink). Its light, easy and will not humiliate anyone. Make a list of behaviors, activities and life occurrences that could happen to people. Gather your group in a circle to the best that you can and have everyone stand up. You will begin reading out the items on your list one at a time. As each person qualifies, they must sit down. In other words, the last person standing has had the least eventful life (ha ha). The Last Person Standing gets a prize and a lot of ribbing throughout the day. Here are examples you can use for your list. Make it a very long list but be sure the items on your list will not create embarrassment or pain for anyone. 1. 2. Who was born in California? Who is an only child?

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

As you see, the list can include a variety of life experiences. This ice breaker is a good way to get lighthearted conversations going. What?! You cant even whistle!!??
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Purse Diving

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Purses (just kidding)

This activity is hysterical and if it is appropriate for your objectives, can be followed by a rousing discussion on a variety of issues such as: fashion, expressing yourself, importance of accessories, personalities and purses,

Sometimes this ice breaker is just what a meeting needs to rev up the attendees. Most women tote purses around and each purse is an expression of the woman. This ice breaker makes fun of that. The facilitator will ask everyone to take five minutes and find the following items in her purse: Something that .. 1. youve had a long time 2. youre proud of 3. concerns or worries you 4. reminds you of a fun time 5. reveals a lot about you Have each person hold up the item that responds to the request #1 to let everyone see what shes fished out of her purse to respond to the requirement. Go around again on the second item, and again until you have gone through each request. If you have a really talkative group and little time, dont feel like you have to use the whole list because it will take too long.

getting wallets stolen, being organized.

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Wallet Diving

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Wallets (just kidding)

This activity can be hysterical as long as there is sufficient teasing involved. Encourage teasing from all the participants if they dont provide it themselves. As with womens groups, it could be appropriate to follow up with discussions that touch on a variety of issues such as mens fashion, expressing yourself, criteria you use for selecting a

Men respond to ice breaker activities and also need activities to keep their interest and get them in a good mood. Most men carry a wallet and each wallet is an expression of the man. This ice breaker makes fun of that. The facilitator will ask all the men to take a few minutes to find the following items in their wallets: Something that .. Should really be removed from your wallet Has been in your possession longer than anything else in the wallet Best represents you

wallet, personalities and wallets, getting wallets stolen, being organized, and a whole host of other topics all related to the things that men carry around in their wallets.

Have each man share the item that responds to the first request. Go around again on the second item, and again until you have gone through each one. If you have a big group, dont feel like you have to use the whole list because it will take too long.

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Finish the Thought

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Axles (just kidding)

If you ask the person why they picked that certain sentence to answer, it may provide more insight into their thinking. It will also keep the dialogue going. What many groups have done is to have all participants answer all of the questions. If time allows, you will learn a lot about each other and will give that old brain some warming up that will be of

If your meeting requires inspiration and creative thinking from your team members, it will be helpful to get their brains warmed up first. Heres a way to help them prepare together for the task at hand. A facilitator will ask each person to complete one of these sentences (or develop ones more appropriate for your group): The best job I ever had was The worst project I ever worked on was The riskiest thing I ever did was One of the things that scares me is A movie that made me laugh out loud was I cry when I see One of my pet peeves is. I drive like a.. If I could travel anywhere tomorrow, I would go to My favorite animal is

positive benefit to your meeting objectives.

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I Wear Many Hats

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Pixies (just kidding)

hat to the pile when her turn is done in case others may wish to select the same hat. After everyone has chosen a hat, the group may do more rounds of this activity with different instructions. You may ask them to select a hat that represents:

Who thinks they run the country, do the most work, raise the kids, take care of everything, are most responsible and never have enough time to do what needs to be done? Women! In general, women are more apt to state that they wear a lot of hats when asked about their work or personal life. This icebreaker activity takes advantage of that and provides some light weight fun as well. There is a bit of preparation that is needed for this activity. The facilitator must gather together as many different and unique kinds of hats and place them in the center of the room or table. Ideally, there should be at least as many hats as there are women participants but more hats are even better.

How they feel when they are with this group, How they feel when they are with their family, How they feel when at school or work, How they will want to look ten years from now Compare the different hats people wear when with different groups. This activity is particularly effective if coupled with discussions

Ask the group members to sit in a circle around the hats. Select one member of the group to start. Ask this person to choose the one hat that best speaks to her. She will pick up the hat, put it on and tell everyone else why this hat seems to speak to her. Allow everyone to take a turn selecting a hat and explaining why they chose the hat that they did. Each person should return her

about work/life balance, accountability, responsibility, career development, fashion.

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What Exactly Did He Say?

Boards and Committees Women Only Men Only Women and Men Strangers People Who Know Each Other People Who Work Together Dust Bunnies (just kidding)

Give each participant an index card that has just one of the words of the quote on it. They are not allowed to trade their word with anyone else. Everyone has to work together to determine the order of the words that will reveal the quote or saying. They may use the floor or table to assemble their cards with words. Or, they can use a board or wall to put their words up to assemble the words to identify the final quote.

This icebreaker activity is particularly useful for employees of companies or associations. Ihave also used it for parties at my house where lots of people are coming together who dont know each other. Find a famous quote and put each word from the quote on separate index cards. The quote can be from any source. If you are a business group within one company, I recommend pulling a quote from the top executive. Perhaps pull a quote by the CEO from the companys annual report, brochure, newsletter or recent speech. The quote must not be one that everyone knows well or the activity will be too easy. The research to be done ahead of time is to know exactly the number of people who will be participating. Your quote will contain as many words as there are team players. It is okay if the quote is more than one sentence long. If your headcount is a bit uncertain, you can always give someone two cards, the second card containing a word that is a simple article or connecting word such as the or a or and.
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If about 20 people will be participating, you would find a quote that they must assemble using only the words they have on their cards. For example, here is a 22word quote by Muhammad Ali: has wasted thirty years of his life. A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty

Here is a 25word quote from by Rosa Parks: with fear.

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away

If it is a group of coworkers in your meeting, the quote may represent something said by the president of the company or head of the department. Its a splendid way to do learning and work as a team along the way.

For more ways to build teams and play games to solve problems, contact:

Darcie Davis Games@GamesAndTeamBuilding.com www.GamesAndTeamBuilding.com

Ice Breakers For Small Groups

Volume 1

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