Asking “how is everyone?” at every meeting is not always the best way to encourage team bonding and give motivation to your team. Sometimes, having fun ice breakers or games can help in that connection. The best ice breakers have the power to build up momentum, strengthen employees’ bonds and create an atmosphere of inclusivity and better brainstorming sessions. To get the most out of your team bonding activities, below is the list of the best ice breakers for virtual meetings and games appropriate to the work environment. Some activities may need some props or craft kits for adults but they won’t be hard to find.
- Guess the Drawing – Players get to choose from random prompts to interpret and draw for a specific amount of time. Other players can score more points for knowing the word with the shortest amount of time taken and take turns going until the timer goes out.
- Bucket List – Outside the work environment, your colleagues are people with goals and aspirations you would not know about from average coffee and work chat. Have team members share some bucket list items for them that they want to accomplish or achieve in the future. Not only can these be fun and inspirational to them, but they can also open the floor for your workmates to encourage one another to pursue their goals and dreams too. It’s a particularly happy and uplifting team-bonding moment that will bring your team even closer together and can help you work more efficiently and also smoothly.
- Arts and Crafts – Making something with your colleagues can be a great way to learn something and keep those moments in your space that will remind you of them. Have everyone follow the same instructions to make arts and crafts like a simple drawing or origami or even a painting by a designated instructor in a Youtube tutorial or a Zoom call.
- Share the Love – While dispersed and virtual teams may not have the chance to share a hug or a handshake, you can still share the love amongst each other in this activity. Say something lovely with another team member, and it could be anything nice about them as long as it is respectful and in good judgment. For each one that receives a kind message, they will be the next one drafting a different but nice comment to another member of the team who has not received one – ensuring everyone gets an equal amount of message. Shout them out for their cooperation or for being helpful in a project, for the energy they give to the team or simply for their lovely smile that gives joy.
- Alphabet Brainstorm – Thinking off the top of your head is a lot harder said than done in this game. The host or the head of the game can choose from topics as broad as countries or foods or as weird as anything a Grandma would say. Each round the game can highlight a random letter of the alphabet and let players come up with a phrase or a noun that starts with the said letter. The best part of this game is players can dispute answers amongst each other to take the win. This is a perfect icebreaker for your competitive team.
- Name That Tune – Music brings out the best in each and every one and you’d be surprised to learn how many of your colleagues are raving about the trending songs on Spotify or Tiktok. Take turns tapping, whistling or even playing different musical instruments and have your teammates guess the song that you’re playing. Figure out who’s a fan of the classics or do whatever it takes to help your teammates know the song that you’re making them guess.
- Themed Zoom Calls – Hosting meetings with a team is the best icebreaker not only during the holiday season but also on regular days. Share a snap and laughter of you and your workmates dressed up as elves or Santa’s helpers at the North Pole or in your spookiest and scariest Halloween costumes. Make sure that the theme is chosen in good judgment as some holidays and occasions can have cultural ties with one another, keep this icebreaker fun and culturally appropriate.
- Pop Quiz – To successfully loosen and make everyone’s mind work and cooperate, you might consider putting a short Pop Quiz on the board. If your goal is to simply encourage teamwork, your quiz can be more fun with exciting topics. However, you might also use the Pop Quiz as a chance to know each and every one.
- Movie Pitch – This is perfect for a large group of people and movie fanatics, this activity is as crazy as you make it. Divide players into teams and give them 10 minutes to devise the plot of the next award-winning film. You can give them restrictions or constraints by designating genres like action, horror, comedy, thriller and more. If your company is meeting to get and brainstorm ideas for a specific project, go ahead and incorporate those topics into their movie pitch prompts to get the creative juices flowing.
- Stretch Break – Maybe the week has been busy for each and every one of you and your colleagues – if that’s the case, have everyone take a breather and scratch before the next big meeting begins. Someone can either lead the team on stretching and showcasing some back and arm stretches. You’re going to be surprised to see how little movements can wake up and help your colleagues get work done.
- Frivolous Debate – There is nothing like some lighthearted banter or debate to get everyone cozied and warmed up before or after the meeting. For this activity, everyone will debate a specific topic. It can be a silly topic and has chimed in with an equally silly answer and reasoning.
- Hobby Webinar – During video chats, you can designate one teammate to teach the team how to engage in a hobby they like or they’re good at. This could range from showing how to do a magic trick or a quick origami or even giving pointers or two on couponing from your coworker who always keeps an eye out for the latest save!
