Then, display people’s submissions on the screen and ask your colleagues to share what they put in and why. These are great if you want to surprise your participants with a fun little activity and enjoy some bonding time. You can use a Slido word cloud for that, but instead of words, your participants will submit an emoji. This works best with larger meetings and events when a large number of emojis gets submitted. If you need a guaranteed conversation starter, try a question that brings back childhood or teenage years memories – they provide an inexhaustible source of amusement.
Have a Backup Plan for Virtual Ice Breakers
You could also tie this to an existing superhero, or even a feature film (since most of them seem to be about superheroes these days). Have everyone introduce themselves and give a 30-second pitch for their favorite film, show, or book. Did you know that your new Product Manager was super into Film Noir because of the underlying structure that mysteries provide both the narrative and the viewer? Well, now you do — and you’ve learned a little bit about how she thinks as well. Create your next session in minutes (not hours) with SessionLab. The activity serves as a brief energiser during a workshop, and helps to get creativity flowing.
Whether you’re running a meeting, hosting a training, webinar, or speaking at an event, icebreakers for virtual meetings polls are your best friend. Our People team has recently done a wine-tasting call and it was a great team bonding experience. In one of the meetings, he asked everyone to anonymously submit into Slido three brands they know they ‘love a bit more than is logical’. Sharing is caring – and that should apply to both the good and the bad. It’s a sweet little activity to make people talk and get to know one another better. And we all need that now and then, especially when working in isolation.
- Emoji introductions are a fun way to acknowledge attendees in large virtual meetings.
- Using songs as icebreakers for remote teams is one of the simplest ways to liven up a virtual meeting.
- Teams race against the clock to correctly identify the drawings as the timer counts down, fostering creativity, teamwork, and quick thinking.
- When was the last time you randomly bumped into someone in a hallway in your office and shared a good chat with them?
Pick your best trivia topic
Also, if you’re looking for warm-ups and energizers, icebreaker questions, or icebreakers for small groups, we have you covered. Virtual team ice breakers can also be effective ways to catch up and save time later in the meeting. A quick check-in round can help surface issues, wins and potential discussion points. They can also help set expectations and ensure alignment before the group moves forward. This is a great virtual icebreaker that allows for more intimate conversations among your teammates.
Telephone is a childhood classic, and now, you can play it digitally! Then, the host will send a code to the team so they can join in. To make this activity orderly, members will mute their device and only unmute to produce the animal sound when the leader prompts. The rest of the members may jot down the animal they think members represent. The idea of the Me Too game is to identify common ground like hobbies and character and further facilitate friendship.
Pick three words
Let’s explore 12 engaging ice breakers designed to enhance team closeness. We’ll also discover how to eliminate background noise to facilitate seamless online interactions. Lastly, we’ll uncover how you can transcribe, record, and summarize your virtual meetings to preserve valuable memories and insights. Combining movement and questions can be an effective way to warm-up both the body and the mind.
Write several questions on a beach ball and have the team stand in a circle. Whenever a team member tosses the ball to someone, the catcher must answer the question in front of them before throwing it to another person. Ask your team to contribute some of their favorite songs to create a workplace playlist.
Best Virtual Team Building Activities for Small Groups
Additionally, you can give people a set time limit to answer a question, such as 30 seconds. The key element to better teamwork, whether in person or remote, is connection. The more connected your teammates, coworkers, or employees feel, the more effective and productive the group becomes. When kicking off a virtual meeting, we have additional work to do in order to position the session for success. When working remotely, our attention is often split between windows, laundry and what meeting is coming after this.
They establish easy ways to find things in common with people you may have never met in person. You can use them during meetings, one-on-one discussions, or even instant messages. This activity is a tried and tested way to help create connections and can be a great icebreaker for virtual meetings too! Where possible, invite participants to share their truths and lies in an online whiteboard or shared document to make it easy to play and to debrief with later. Virtual icebreakers are activities or games that are designed to help break down barriers and kick-off virtual meetings or events in a productive, welcoming manner.
Follow the Follower is a game that can be played virtually just as well as it can by people in the same location. You might then ask people to share why they put themselves where they did, or simply use this as an opportunity to gauge overall energy in the room. I find it particularly effective to return to the rollercoaster at the end of a session and to ask people how their position might have changed. Give your colleagues a thought-provoking question to ponder, then pair them randomly using breakout rooms (check whether your video conferencing tool allows for it). Take advantage of one of the visual collaboration tools such as Mural.
You could mention something casual, like a unique item in someone’s Zoom background or a creative virtual background they’ve chosen. As you navigate the world of virtual and hybrid meetings, remember the power of connection and camaraderie. Simply agree on a specific brand or type of drink, or each person can choose a different one to share their unique tasting experience. Each member contributes a sentence or paragraph, building upon the ideas introduced by others to develop the plot and characters. “Pair and Share” promotes meaningful talks and gives a comfortable space for introverts to share their thoughts in pairs rather than in front of the entire team.
