ICE BREAKERS

WHAT SHOULD YOU ACCOMPLISH WITH AN ICEBREAKER? * Grab participants’ attention * Establish a participative climate in which everyone is involved * Put people at ease * Initiate personal interaction between the participants * Ensure that everyone speaks at least once

NAME GAME Place the name tag of a famous person or character on the back of each person – in a place where they cannot see who it is. Place your own nametag on the front of yourself. Greet someone new, introduce yourself, then ask one question that can be answered “yes” or “no” about the person whose name is on your back. Go to another person and ask another “yes” or “no” question. Continue asking questions, moving around the table and/or room, until you can guess the correct name of the famous person or character on your back.

(Name Game cont.) Examples of questions: Am I a woman? NOT – Am I a man or a woman? Am I alive today? NOT – When was I alive? Am I an actor? Or, did I appear in a western? NOT – What movies have I appeared in? Did I write a book? NOT –What books have I written?

TISSUE GAME Tell participants to take a length of tissue (however many squares they want.) Only after all have taken some, tell them for each square of tissue they have to say one positive thing about themselves. (You could vary what they have to do or say for each tissue square; tailored to your objective.) You can use M&M’s – for each color they have to say one thing i.e. yellow: something sunny about themselves. Red: an embarrassing moment, Green….

WEB GAME Take a ball of yarn and have the person who starts hold one end and wrap around their wrist. They throw the yarn around the room and either say something positive about the person you throw to or something they did to inspire you.

ANIMAL MATCH As each person enters the room, they are given a card with an animal on it. (Make sure there are two of every animal>) On the count of three everyone makes their animal noise and tries to find their partner.

ASK A QUESTION Break up in LD groups. Provide a list of questions and have each person ask a question of 2-3 people in the group. This is designed so that you might learn something new about the members of your LD group.

SOME SUGGESTED QUESTIONS: What do you like to do for fun? If you could be any animal, what would it be and why? What do you like best about where you live? What historical person could teach you something, and what would they teach you? How do you like to spend your Saturdays? What do you believe was the turning point in your life? What fictional character do you relate to most? Why? Whom do you most admire, and why? What’s the most unusual thing that has ever happened to you? What is one interesting fact about you that most of the group would not know? When was your last celebration? What did you celebrate? What do you have in your wallet, pocket or purse that none of us would expect to find there and why?

PERSONAL COAT OF ARMS Distribute a Coat of Arms diagram that is divided into four quadrants

(Personal coat of arms cont.) Have participants address a different item in each of the four quadrants. For example, participants may identify themselves on their coat of arms by answering who they are at work, at home, at play and in the future. The coat of arms could also display something about what they like to do at home, at work, at play, in their community. Or draw a coat of arms that tells us who you are. Have an example of one to show.

ICEBREAKERS FOR LARGE GROUPS

SHEET GAME Purpose: get to know one another and remember names Split the group in half Two people stand on chairs and divide the room by holding up a bedsheet One half of the group is on one side of the sheet/the other half is on the other side in a single file line The person standing on the chair holding the sheet says and then drops the sheet Once the sheet is dropped the person to say the other person’s name first wins, that person then joins that team…eventually one team will have more than the other.

HOUSE ON FIRE Purpose: find out info you would not normally know about each another Arrange chairs in a circle….enough chairs for all but one person. Everyone sits, except for that one, who will be in the middle of the circle. He/She says something about himself/herself (i.e. I have never traveled outside of the country, I have nine siblings etc.) The idea is to say something that might be a little unique. Everyone that fits this statement stands up and must find another chair (they cannot sit in the chair next to them) the person left standing must go to the middle and say something about themselves.

FAVORITE SHOE Before training, tell each person to bring their favorite shoe. Sit in a circle and tell why you chose that shoe, and how it represents you.