Hopefully, by now I have already sold you on the idea of video conferencing ice breakers. Like I said in the last blog post, they aren’t just for schoolchildren; every remote team in the world could use an icebreaker from time to time.
How did you like the last 3 icebreakers? The What Did They Say game is an easy one to start, but Guess The Colour is my definite favourite! Have a look at last week's blog if you missed it.
This week, let’s look at 3 more icebreakers that you can try on your next video conference.
This ice breaker only works if the whereabouts of teammates are unknown to most. Each team member takes turns describing the scenery and weather at their location, and the others have to guess where they are. This can become a hard game to play, so hints are always encouraged. I normally allow each person one guess before a new hint is given away.
If the game takes too long, don’t be afraid to move into the free-for-all rounds, and let all of your meeting participants shout out their answers.
There are many ways to have fun on a video call!
This ice breaker works well in a video conference setting, and even better if team members are unfamiliar with one another (which is the whole point of ice breakers right?). First, choose one person to guess, and one person to talk. The talker simply has to talk to the rest of the meeting participants, and the rest of the team (minus the guesser) has to move their lips along with the talker, pretending that they are also speaking. It is the guesser’s job to try to guess who is really speaking.
This ice breaker is less competitive than the other ones, but can be difficult depending on any audio/video lag that might be present. To up the difficulty level, put a time limit on the guesser.
An oldie and a goodie! This game is not exclusive to video conferencing, but it still works really well as an icebreaker. Each team member has to take turns making 3 statements about themselves to the rest of the participants. Two of those statements must be true, and one must be a lie. The rest of the team then has to guess which of the three statements is a lie.
This game is tried and tested as far as dependable icebreakers are concerned. It is a safe bet for your first icebreaker, but it does take some time.
Like I said before, timing is everything, while ice breakers can be fun, keep it short or the team loses focus, if you start to sense some of the team losing interest in the activities, proceed to business, work and fun should keep its balance. Thanks for reading!
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