9 Meeting Icebreakers that really get people talking in 2024
That big meeting is coming up…
You’ve sent out the invites, prepared the slick presentation, but there’s something missing. Of course, it’s the dreaded meeting icebreaker. Even just the word is enough to put people off engaging and keep themselves on mute.
We’ve all felt that way, so we all know there’s nothing better than when the icebreaker actually turns out great, gets people talking and kicks off a meeting that finishes with smiling faces, more transparency in the team, and an excited crew ready to get to work.
What is an icebreaker?
An icebreaker is what makes or breaks your meeting. The difference between a meeting full of engaged and motivated attendees and one where people are waiting for it to be over is in how you start the meeting.
Start you meeting with an icebreaker if you want:
- Focused and engaged attendees
- To learn more about your team, and encourage them to continue talking about it after the meeting.
- Want a way to introduce people whohave never met before
- Have an interactive presentation where you’d like to warm people up in advance.
We are strong believers in the icebreaker. So here’s our tried and tested list of icebreakers that really get people talking.
The 3 Best Icebreakers for Virtual Team Meetings
Effective team communication and collaboration are more critical than ever. Virtual team meetings often lack the in-person dynamics that help build rapport among the team.
To bridge this gap, starting your virtual team meeting with an icebreaker can be enough to get people leaning into their screens. Here are three of the best meeting icebreakers tailored for virtual team meetings in 2024:
Icebreaker #1: Two Truths and a Lie
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Why it works: Everyone has to speak.
Listen, we know everyone knows this one. But this is a classic icebreaker game for a reason.
Two Truths and a Lie is an engaging meeting icebreaker that helps team members get to know each other on a personal level. It encourages storytelling and sparks conversations as each person discusses their life experiences.
You can also use this for team members you’ve worked with for years. You’re guaranteed to find out something new about them.
How to play: Each team member takes turns sharing two true statements and one false statement about themselves. Others in the group must guess which statement is the lie.
You can even award points for anyone who fools the group, or add forfeits to create an extra element of fun (or danger, depending how you want to play).
Goal: The objective of this icebreaker is to get team members to know each other better by sharing interesting facts and deciphering the lie.
Icebreaker #2: Online Scavenger Hunt
Why it works: Gets people moving
Organizing an online scavenger hunt is a fantastic way to infuse creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork into virtual team meetings. This meeting icebreaker gets participants engaged and working together towards a common goal.
Yes, some people will end up flying round their houses looking for a banana, and yes some people may bring too much intensity. But this is all part of getting to know your team.
How to play: Organize a virtual scavenger hunt where participants search their homes for specific items or objects related to a theme or topic.
Use video conferencing tools like Around, Zoom or Google Meet to share clues and time limits. This game encourages creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork.
Goal: The goal is to encourage creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork among team members. Prepare for lots of virtual high fives.
Icebreaker #3: Emoji Introduction
Why it works: Makes everyone ask questions.
The Emoji Introduction meeting icebreaker adds a fun and unique twist to virtual team meetings. It sparks curiosity and conversation as colleagues try to decipher the meanings behind the emoji choices, making it a memorable and engaging activity.
A few people might find this awkward at first. But once you dig into that catalog of emojis you’ll find even quieter team members want to get involved.
How to play: Each participant can share their screen or use a virtual whiteboard to create their emoji-based introduction. This activity sparks curiosity and conversation as colleagues try to decipher the meanings behind the emoji choices.
Goal: The objective is to have team members introduce themselves using only emojis, symbols, or pictures.
The 3 Best Icebreakers for Sales Meetings
Sales meetings are essential for keeping your sales team motivated, informed, and connected. But talking to prospects all day can make people a bit stiff.
Incorporating meeting icebreakers and icebreaker games into your sales meetings can inject energy and encourage bonding among team members. Here are three effective icebreakers for sales meetings in 2024:
Icebreaker #4: Sales Superpower Game
Why it works: Laugh out loud funny.
The "Sales Superpower" meeting icebreaker adds an element of creativity and humor to sales meetings.
It allows team members to share their unique perspectives on their sales approaches, fostering a sense of individuality and teamwork. Watching your sales team go off script is amazing for their creativity and highlights everyone's best attributes.
How to play: Ask each team member to imagine they have a superpower that makes them exceptional at sales. They should share their superpower and explain how it would benefit them in their sales role.
This activity encourages creative thinking, humor, and provides insight into each person's sales approach.
Goal: The objective is to encourage creative thinking, humor, and provide insight into each person's sales approach.
Icebreaker #5: Sales Success Stories Swap
Why it works: Puts everyone in a good mood.
Sharing success stories celebrates achievements and promotes knowledge sharing and learning. Sales is not easy, and having a small stage to celebrate each person's wins means a lot to people.
This meeting icebreaker is a great opportunity to learn from each other. It helps team members pick up new strategies and approaches from their peers.
How to play: Have each team member share a memorable sales success story. After sharing, allow the team to discuss what made each story successful and exchange tips and insights.
This activity not only celebrates achievements but also promotes knowledge sharing and learning. People should try and talk about the positive effects they had on a company and what lessons they learned themselves.
Goal: The goal is to celebrate achievements and promote knowledge sharing and learning.
Icebreaker #6: Sales Buzzword Bingo
Why it works: Promotes active listening.
Sales Buzzword Bingo creates a fun and educational atmosphere by discussing industry-related terms and trends. It reinforces industry knowledge while fostering conversation.
How to play: Create bingo cards with common sales and industry buzzwords. They can even be specific to the way YOUR sales team talks.
Distribute these cards to team members. During meetings or training sessions, team members mark off buzzwords as they hear them. This activity not only sparks conversation but also reinforces industry knowledge.
Goal: The objective is to foster a fun and educational atmosphere while discussing industry-related terms and trends.
The 3 Best Icebreakers for Team Building Meetings
Team building meetings aren’t just an excuse to get out of work. They’re the perfect opportunity to strengthen the bonds among team members, improve communication, and enhance collaboration.
Icebreakers can make these meetings enjoyable and productive. Here are three excellent icebreakers for team building meetings:
Icebreaker #7: Human Bingo
Why it works: Turns colleagues into friends.
This meeting icebreaker encourages team members to discover commonalities and fun facts about each other. It promotes interaction as each person seeks out others to learn about their interests and experiences. Time to get to know departments you’d only read about on Slack.
How to play: Create Bingo cards with unique traits or experiences in each square. Team members mingle and try to find someone in the group who fits each description, striking off the corresponding square. This game encourages interaction as participants seek out others to learn about their interests and experiences.
Goal: The objective is to discover commonalities and fun facts among team members.
Icebreaker #8: Marshmallow Tower Challenge
Why it works: Brings more energy to the team.
Sometimes, our regular tasks can be hard. The Marshmallow Tower Challenge fosters teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills with a challenge everyone can understand quickly.
It requires brainstorming, planning, and effective communication among team members. And helps everyone discover their own strengths.
How to play: Provide teams with limited supplies, such as marshmallows and spaghetti, and challenge them to build the tallest freestanding tower within a time limit. Honestly, you can just use any materials you want.
This activity requires brainstorming, planning, and effective communication among team members to complete the task successfully. If you have any engineers or architects in your team, keep them separated if you want a fair right.
Goal: The goal is to foster teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills as you try and build a tower bigger than anyone else's.
Icebreaker #9: Product Trivia Challenge
Why it works: Makes learning fun.
The Product Trivia Challenge enhances product knowledge and team collaboration by encouraging team members to work together to answer product-related questions. This meeting icebreaker can easily turn into a test if you don’t prepare enough. Feel free to add more fun and team member related questions in there.
How to play: Prepare a list of trivia questions about your company's products or services. Divide the team into small groups and have them compete to answer the questions correctly. This encourages discussions about product features, benefits, and how to effectively sell them. You can easily get a list of questions by putting your product description into ChatGPT and asking for icebreaker game questions.
Goal: The objective is to foster product knowledge and team collaboration.
Record your meetings and build your video wiki on Claap
With Claap, you can record async videos leading up to your meeting. Or share instructions for the icebreaker game in advance. That way, everyone knows how to play or what to prepare.
Claap is an all-in-one video workspace that gives you meeting recordings, screen recordings and a video wiki all in one place.
We built our solution to help you reduce the number of meetings you have. But the irreplaceable meetings need to be accessible. Increase engagement while minimizing meetings with Claap and you might not even need any ice breaker.
If you’re looking for a tool to help make your next meeting a success, Sign up to Claap here and try it out for FREE.
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