Ice breakers make a good start for any team building activity or event. These starter games are fun and entertaining, helping new team members socialize easily and comfortably with the rest of the team. It also tightens the relationship of existing team members. Although normally given at the start of an event or program, ice breakers can also be conducted after breaks of a team building session. This is to get rid of boredom and invite a cheerful atmosphere during the duration of the activity.
Ice breakers are typically facilitated by the team leader or team building facilitator. The key to successful and effective ice breakers is to keep the games simple. An ice breaker must be designed with a purpose and suitable to the concept of the program which is team building.
When to “Break the Ice”
In a team building session, facilitators can start the event through ice breaker games. This approach is often used for any of the following purposes:
• When the team is just newly formed so ice breakers serve as a tool for introducing the members to each other
• When there are newcomers in an already existing team
• When the focus of the team building is on problem solving or decision making which can get participants to become really serious
• When team members are coming from different backgrounds and cultural orientation
Planning the Ice Breaker
As mentioned in the earlier paragraph, a successful ice breaker is one that is presented in a simple but purposeful approach. For a team building, the ice breaker has to be aimed at meeting the objectives of the session and suitable to the team concept.After finding out what the “ice” is, the facilitator needs to establish the objectives of the ice breaker activities. Then again, Mobdro Download App these are geared towards building a sense of team work and team spirit.
In designing the ice breakers, the following factors have to be considered:
• The time duration for each ice breaker session
An ice breaker must not use up most of the time allotted for team building. As an introductory to the event, ideally, ice breakers are only done in about 10-15 minutes or a little longer but must not go beyond 30 minutes.
• Team characteristics and preferences
So that ice breakers will not serve useless to the team, it has to be designed based on the concept of the team. For example, a sports team might enjoy a physically challenging ice breaker.
• Ice breaker goals
Objectives for the ice breaker must be intended for the purpose of the team building whether it is for improving communication, getting to know each other, problem solving, and other considerations.
Team Building Ice Breakers
There are various types of ice breakers that may be useful for meetings, trainings, seminars, and team building. This article will present ice breaker activities and games intended for team building with a primary goal of bringing together members in the team for a collaborative and mutual work atmosphere.
Ball Challenge
The facilitator asks the participants to form a circle and instructs each person to throw the ball to another across the circle along with an introduction of the person’s name to the one who gets to receive the ball. This process goes on until everyone is done introducing each other to the whole team. The game is repeated, this time with the aim of passing the ball and introducing oneself in the fastest time possible.
2 Truths and a Lie
Ask each participant to prepare 1 false statement and 2 truths about themselves. These statements must be shared to the group and the rest will have to guess which among the 3 statements is not true.
Something in Common
Participants will be asked to group themselves into 3-5 members. Each member will need to identify 10 things that are in common with the rest of the group.
Human Spider Web
The facilitator will ask the participants to form groups of about 6-7 people and make a circle. Then, members will be instructed to raise the right hand and grab another person’s right hand (not necessarily the one beside them), and the same step is done for the left hands. With everyone in an intertwined look, the group is challenged to break the knot without breaking the grip.
