Hypothetical questions put you in an imagined scenario, which can be unrealistic, funny, or even a bit absurd depending on what you ask. These questions encourage creativity and open-mindedness, making them a fun and engaging way to break the ice. Engaging in online team-building games adds a touch of fun and camaraderie to remote work, fostering interaction among coworkers just like in a physical office. In this activity, participants are encouraged to join a virtual meeting or chat room at designated times, similar to gathering around the office coffee machine.
You can also help everyone get to know each other by using family-based icebreakers to start conversations with your remote team members. Team leaders can collect responses before a meeting and display a few on a slide. Everyone submits their thoughts in chat before the answer gets revealed. It could be a picture from their last vacation, and everyone has to think of where they were. Maybe your coworkers select backgrounds of places they’d like to visit, the best food they’ve ever had, or a snapshot from their favorite movie.
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Anything that lets people share about themselves during video conferencing is a win for both you and your team. Virtual icebreakers are activities or questions designed to build connections and facilitate interactions among team members in virtual meeting and remote work settings. Interactive features like polls and chat are effective virtual ice breakers. They make it super easy for everyone to get involved, no matter their personality type. Even introverts will find it easier to participate when given clear opportunities. “Travel Bucket List” is a delightful short virtual icebreaker activity that ignites wanderlust and fosters engaging conversations among team members.
Some are great for helping established teams kick-off a video conference, others are best employed when helping remote team members get to know each other. Virtual ice breakers can be an effective method of kicking off a project, onboarding a new team member or enlivening your team meetings. Choose the right method and you can get your meeting off to an energizing start that encourages participation and builds connections. Get it wrong and risk being met with groaning team members or indifference. A list of virtual icebreakers wouldn’t be complete without a group photo! This one’s as much fun through a video chat as much as it is in real life.
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After everyone shares their answers, invite volunteers to explain their choices. This activity will ignite lively discussions and even spark debates over the best candy or movie. Use a ranking poll question, include as many options as you would like, and allow your participants to prioritize them. Here are some examples of ranking poll questions tailored for team bonding. Kick things off with a word cloud, asking, “Where are you joining from?
Use these remote work icebreakers to help everyone get to know each other. Ask your team for their office-appropriate takes before a conference call. They could post in chat about what’s the best cuisine, who’s the worst superhero, or what’s the worst ice cream flavor.
#25. Coffee time
Coworkers can then try to solve the puzzle while learning more about each other. Delivering content that’s both informative and entertaining usually takes some experience (unless you’re a natural, of course). This is a classic example of engaging attendees by asking them to put their hands up in response to a question. For more formal events, try to relate the topics to the meeting’s purpose.
Ask everyone to describe their childhood selves in three words. The words may come from specific memories they want to share with the team. As icebreakers for virtual meetings your group story continues, it will get more ridiculous and laughable. It’s an easy way to help everyone have fun because there are no stakes or rules. Get creative and have fun while keeping the conversation light. Your coworkers likely know a few jingles they either love or can’t stand.
You can play the music quietly in the background during the day or have employees share and listen to music while working. Remote teams miss the opportunity to get together for cocktails and drinks after work—traditionally, a prime time to bond with coworkers. Host a virtual cocktail hour after work one evening for your remote team to relax and hang out with their favorite drink from the comfort of their home.
- Each member contributes a sentence or paragraph, building upon the ideas introduced by others to develop the plot and characters.
- You can call it whatever you like – virtual watercooler talks, virtual happy hour – it’s your choice.
- Attendees can then type their answers in the chat box and spark a conversation while you touch on the meeting topics.
- This activity breaks the ice and lifts everyone’s spirits, which is much needed, especially when working remotely.
- Check out this selection of icebreaker games and team-building activities for your virtual team-building.
- This works best with larger meetings and events when a large number of emojis gets submitted.
There are many ways to play the compliment game with your team—you can toss a small ball around and have the person who catches it give a compliment to someone else. They’ll then pass the ball to them so they can compliment another person. You can also have employees approve the person sitting beside them and go around the conference room. For fun, have everybody write down their favorite actor, cartoon character, color, or other person or object on a nametag — it can be a different theme for every meeting. Then call on them by whatever’s written on their name tag when it’s their turn to speak.
Ask about a new topic at each meeting, like pitching a question about books, history, or pop culture. People will learn their strengths and weaknesses while laughing about the right or wrong answers. No worries if you don’t have much time before your next team meeting. After everyone enters the meeting room, ask them to grab one item from their desk or office space. Each person will explain the item’s background, why they have it, or why it matters to them. It’s another type of icebreaker that prompts conversations people wouldn’t typically have.
