Here’s a great ice breaker for teams or groups meeting for the first time. You will need only a large ball of string or wool.
Introduce the exercise “We’re meeting here for the first time. Most of us don’t know each other at all. It’s easier to get to know each other and make connections with people when you find something in common. This is the main purpose of this ice breaker game. In some cases you might have a lot in common with an individual but often you have to discover what it is first. This game will give you a helping hand”
Ask everyone to sit or stand in a circle. Starting with yourself, say “My name is Sharon” and start to talk about yourself. “I have 3 sisters. I love to ride horses. I drive to work. I work at…etc. etc.” By this time hopefully you might find someone else in the group with 3 sisters or even a sister and they then shout “CONNECT!” when they have found something to connect with you. Holding onto the tail-end of the ball of string you throw the ball to them. They then introduce themselves and continue saying something about themselves until someone else connects with them. They then hold onto the string and throw the ball to that person. And on it goes.
Ensure everyone has a go at connecting with at least one other person in the group; you might want to add this as a rule until everyone has had a go. Continue connecting until you have had enough. You will now be in a tangle of string or spider’s web.
End the ice breaker game by explaining that we all have things in common with other people, but they are often hidden. Look at all the ways we are interconnected with each other… look at all the strands of the web. Building relationships and rapport can be speeded up by finding and sharing similarities.
Sharon Naylor is passionate about ice breaker games for work, play, parties, meetings, groups and clubs. In fact anywhere people are connecting to others whether it be for the first time or even when familiar with each other. Ice breaker games inject a sense of fun into proceedings, speed up that getting to know you stage and get people ready to face the rest of the event with eagerness and optimism. For more brilliant ice breaker ideas that you can use with your own groups and teams visit the ice breaker ideas web-site.
Amazing Icebreaker Ideas 