Training Resources and Articles on
Icebreakers

This exercise is ideal for teams with new additions to them. Sometimes it takes a while for teams to get used to their new members and the same is true for the new addition. Joining an already existing team of people can be intimidating. This exercise helps bringing all team members, old and new together by providing them with a shared experience.

Ask the delegates a question related to the content of the course that generates a number of options. Write these suggested options on a flipchart and number them from 1 to N. Next, state that you want to demonstrate your telepathic skills.

Expect disbelief…

You want delegates to choose their preferred option and you are going to guess their choice using your telepathic skills! At this point you will have everyone’s attention as this sounds like a magic trick and people are often keen to participate in them.

Next, you ask for a volunteer to come forward to assist in the exercise. You turn your back to delegates and they are supposed to select their preferred option among themselves silently. They should then let the volunteer know about their option. Your back is to them, so you are unable to see their communication with each other or with the volunteer.

Next, you ask delegates to remain silent as you are going to use your telepathic powers. You ask them to mentally think about the choice and have the number in their mind so you can pick up their “brain signals” as you go through the next phase.

You start by putting your finger on number 1, then slowly move it to 2, then 3 and so on until you suddenly stop on a number and state that this is their choice.

Amazingly, you have made the correct choice and everyone is shocked!

This trick works every time, but how? See the setup instructions to find out how to carry out the magic trick.

This is a very effective yet simple icebreaker. Delegates get to choose a contemporary or historical figure and share their choice with the class. These choices will help everyone to get to know each other better. In addition, it also helps the trainer to know the delegates better and use this knowledge during the course to tailor the training.

This exercise can be used both as an icebreaker when you intend to get people to know each better or as a storytelling exercise. You can bias the exercise based on your chosen topics. This exercise is also ideal for team building.

This is a fun activity that requires concentration and focus. It is ideal as a team building exercise or as an icebreaker to make people feel more comfortable with each other.

In this icebreaker, your aim is to help the delegates get to know each other more by answering a set of preselected questions. You have total control over the questions which allows you to customise the icebreaker based on your needs and your course. For example, you can bias the questions for a course on goal setting or self-esteem to get to know the delegates better and understand how they think. This can be useful later when you go through the course.

In this exercise, delegates are forced to choose one word that described them best. The process they go through to find this one word helps them to better understand their own likes and dislikes as they want to be seen by outsiders. The exercise is ideal for courses on motivation, goal setting, self-esteem and personal impact where knowing who one wants to be is critical.

In this icebreaker, delegates get to know each other better by learning about their first jobs. The question is not too intrusive and most people are happy and sometimes excited to talk about their first job as it reminds them of how far they have come. It also allows the delegates to engage in a conversation with each other using the first job as an initial point in order to get to know each other better.

Use this icebreaker to encourage delegates to share information with each other about their likes and dislikes. The format of the activity give this exercise a structure so no time is lost wondering what to say or what not to include. You can carefully design the structure by choosing the right questions to bias the activity towards a direction of your choice.

This drawing exercise is ideal for art classes on life drawing, or making illustration. The drawing results are often inspiring, helping delegates learn more about drawing techniques. This exercise also allows you to explore the topic further.

This standard exercise is ideal to get a group of delegates practice drawing from life without using a specific model.