A complete guide on 50 icebreakers ideas

An organization needs to think about ways to make employees more energetic and synergized at the workplace. It is only possible when they feel a strong bond with the organization; otherwise, more than 80% of employees of an organization stay in isolation. They do not show personal concern for their organization; they just work for what they get paid and nothing else.

Andres Rodriguez

Chief Marketing Officer

When the employees do not own the organization, it is hard to bring innovations and creative ideas to increase productivity. By adopting 50 icebreakers ideas, you can manage the employees at your best by engaging them in wonderful activities that bring good relationships among colleagues and with the organization and let them think out of the box. 

What are icebreaker ideas, and why do we need them?

Icebreaker ideas are necessary for any organization to create bonding between the employees. Suppose the employees do not show concern for their organization, the company's productivity and success are lacking.

On the contrary, if the company manages to arrange some fun making creative activities to develop strong bonding of employees with the organization, it is successfully breaking the ice of employees not speaking up and thinking out of the box. 50 icebreakers ideas are the best ways to develop a sense of motivation and concern in the employees.

A complete guide on 50 icebreaker ideas

Here, we are explaining 50 icebreaker ideas with their importance in the workplace so that you can understand how to use them in your company.

1. The handshake

In the handshake activity, you need to create 4 or 5 groups of the participants and ask them to interact with one another by shaking hands. It will create harmony in the office environment. 

2. Say your name backward

It is a brainstorming activity to create active participation by asking for the backward spelling of their names.

3. Build a story by painting picture

In this amazing activity, the participants will be painting a picture to explain a story. No matter how much hilarious the painting is but it must be storytelling. It brings about creativity in the team members.

4. Pop Quiz

A pop quiz is about asking a question from two groups, and the timer will go on. The winner will be the group that buzzes first and gives the right answer.

5. One word

One word reveals its fun by its name. You need to make groups; one of these members will speak one word, and one member from the other group will make stunning sentences from this word. The themes must be decided in one word.

6. Two truths, one lie

It is a much more interesting game that everyone would like a lot. Two groups will play it by choosing one member from the opposite group and asking him to say two truths and one lie. That person will do so, and the other group members will identify that one lie and two truths. It will let them know about one another.

7. Movie Pitch

One of the 50 icebreakers ideas, a movie pitch, is an interesting one. Split the employees into groups. Take a member from one group and ask him to read and act it in front of the other group. The second group will guess the movie name by the acting of an opposite team member.

8. Hobby Webinar

In the hobby webinar, you will learn about the hobbies of your company's employees. By doing this, the colleagues may get inspiration.

9. Guess that drawing

You must choose a drawing and ask the participants to guess what it is about. You need to use a timer to decide who quickly participates and answers the right things.

10. Share the love

You cannot handshake or hug your colleagues when working from home or virtually. They can share kind messages and some memorable pictures to share their love.

11. Name the Tune

In this game, you can play any tune of the song or music and ask the participants to guess the song.

12. Diversity Bingo

This creative game is best to learn about each other by playing in groups. The groups need to make bingo cards and circulate them among the groups. One member from each group peers with one another and answers the statements or questions.

13. Unique and shared

This amazing game elevates the resemblance between the groups. Make groups of 4 to 5 people and let them interact with one another by sharing some unique characteristics or hobbies they acquire. By doing so, they will get to know who has common characteristics and how they can work by staying united.

14. Tic Tac Toe

In this kind of game, the participants enjoy two phases. In the first phase of the game, the participants get to know one another, and in the second phase, the participants find out the value of other by using 3×3 three grids.

15. Scavengers hunt

The most fun-making game, the scavenger hunt, brings about excitement among the participants, who are willing to share their adventure with their colleagues. They will click pictures of that location and share them with their colleagues to amuse them. The locations can be near the office or far in the city.

16. Marshmallow Challenge

This amazing game brings about creativity among the employees or students. Not only creativity, but they learn to synergize at that time. Split the employees into 4 groups, provide them spaghettis, tape, string, and marshmallows and ask them to build the largest freestanding building or structure This game is good enough for team-building.

17. Charades

This game is suitable for all kinds of teams, whether you have a small team or a big team. This game belongs to acting. The selected person must explain the movie, dram, or book name using his acting skill. He can say a word as well by using the lip-sync skill.  It helps to create an environment where employees understand each other's movements and acts.

18. The Hot seat

In this game, one person sits on the hot seat, and other members ask a question about his habits or something else.

19. Coin of year

The team head will ask everyone to bring his coin box to the office. Every person will sort the coins to find the oldest one. Then those older coins will be compared, and you pick the oldest and name it the coin of the year.

20. Paper airplane game

In a paper airplane, everyone will get colored paper, write his interests, make an airplane, and fly it in the air at once. Then everyone has to pick one of those airplanes and guess whose interests are.

21. One common thing

In this game or activity, the participants of the groups will share more than ten things about themselves, and they will track at least one common thing. It will help them to recognize their common strengths, and they will work united in the workplace.

22. Heads up

You need to arrange a tablet and have the names of different games. Now, select a person who will put the tablet on his head. The game's name is visible to his group fellows, who will act to let him guess the right name.

23. Eighteen and under

This is an amazing thing to explore the skills of your teammates. They will share their achievements when they were 18 or under 18 and the whole scenario behind the achievement.

24. The four quadrants

This is the most important activity during the meetings to break the ice. Ask the employees to make four quadrants and choose the tasks to put in relevant quadrants based on their importance and time.

25. Team Jigsaw

This is an amazing game of bringing creativity and brainstorming to your teammates. You need to split your teammate into two groups, give each group a jigsaw, and ask them to solve it. The team that solves it first will be the winner of the game.

26. Wink Banishment

The wink banishment game is much more interesting out of 50 icebreakers ideas than in this game, and one person has to wink one of the colleagues sitting in the circle without letting others know about it.

27. Trading cards

The best way to start a meeting with colleagues is to share your creative sides with them that they do not know before that. When all the participants share their strengths and creative skills other than their workplace, they feel more connected with you and create the best memory cards that can benefit later.

28. Leave your shoes at the door

In this game, everyone will leave their shoes at the door. Split the teammates into groups. Members of one group will find the shoes for one of the members of the other group by asking relevant questions, and then the game goes on by witching to the other group.

29. No smiling

In this game, the teammates will share jokes, and one of the selected people will not be allowed to smile even.

30. Around the world

Around the world is a creative and brainstorming game in which people sit in a circle and guess the names of country, city, village, or town. The first person will start the game by naming any country name, and the next person will name the country with the last alphabet.

31. One-Liners

In this game, you need to make pairs of participants who will come with some quotes either from a book or a movie. The other pair will write the name of the source from which they have taken the quote.

32. Blind square

It is fun creating a game with creativity as participants will be in a circle while holding the rope, and they need to turn this circle into a square without letting the rope off. It improves communication and coordination skills.

33. Secrete identity

The participants will write the secret name of the post-It person and then stick it to the back of their left person. The other participant will identify the person to whom he is posting.

34. Blow wind blow

In this game, you will arrange the chairs in a circle. In the center, put a chair and other chairs around it. The central person will say wind blow, and others will ask what to blow, then he will say any identity like red hats or yellow shoes. This person will leave the chair to find a new one giving a chance to the central person to grab this chair.

35. Human Billboards

You will provide each participant with a page, and colored pencils t draw a face using words, symbols, or pictures. They will put the paper on their heads, make a hole in the paper, and hang the paper like a billboard.

36. All Abroad the Balloon Train

In this activity, you will create groups having at least six members. The members of a group will enter a room filled with balloons. They will make a line just like a train and fill their train with balloons as passengers. Every member must pick at least two balloons, blow them, and make their faces.

37. Desert Island

You can make groups of relevant departments to check how much they know about each other. Send one person to choose like a book, a watch, a song, or a mobile phone. The teammates will guess what he will bring to them.

38. The circle of names

In this game, you will align the participants in a circle and ask them to speak their names, but the game changes at the end when you will ask the name of a first or second person. For guessing the name of the first or second person, the last person must be involved in the game.

39. Here is one of my favorites

The participants will share their favorite songs, movie names, singer names, or book names in this game. It will help them to choose their favorite thing if they are confused.

40. Straight face game

 In this game, you need to create two groups. Choose one member from a group who needs to stay straight face without any expression whatever other group does wither make laugh, say something is fearing or joke.

41. Explain that gram

Everyone has an Instagram or other social media account; ask the participants to choose one image or post and explain why they have chosen them.

42. Friendly debate

You can also initiate the conversation by raising a question. Allow everyone to ask questions or answer them from their point of view.

43. Speed Networking

Speed networking is the best of 50 icebreakers ideas as it helps you arrange a meeting with every teammate. You need to choose the timer and give them a question to start a conversation. Then switch the partners with other partners so that everyone in the room meets everyone on the team.

44. Would you rather?

In this activity, choose a person and ask him some question to know about him. You can put two scenarios and ask him to choose one and know about his personality.

45. The candy game

In the candy game, you must pass the bowl to every team member and ask him to pick one or more candies of different colors. Then you will ask the relevant questions according to the color.

46. Virtual Scavengers hunt

This scavenger is lovely when you are working at home and having virtual meetings. The participants will share the virtual pictures of the locations where they are making adventures, either near their homes or office.

47. Alphabet Brainstorm

Make two groups and give them a starter with an alphabet. The participants of the groups will make words or phrases using the alphabet. It is an amazing game for brainstorming.

48. Show and tell

It is great to dedicate one of your working days or an evening to arranging an event of the show and tell. It is best for the group of people who have known each other for a longer time, and you want to create stronger bonding among them. Every participant will showcase their interest either in some habits or a thing.

49. Themed meeting

In the themed meeting, choose a theme and ask the employees to share their pictures in that theme using the snap chat. It is a hilarious and fun-making activity other than always doing work.

50. Rose, Thorn, Bud

This is the best of 50 icebreakers ideas for the meeting. You need to explain to the team members that rose stands for the achievements you have made, thorns are the hurdles in the path of your success, and buds are the future goals you want to achieve. It would help the participants explore their achievements, hurdles, and future goals.

Conclusion

You can practice these 50 icebreakers ideas while planning them weekly or monthly to promote teamwork, brainstorming, thinking out of the box, and creativity.

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