7 Tried and Tested Icebreaker Activities for Your Virtual Sessions
Icebreakers can make or break a session. They are a key part of building psychological safety, and they give people an opportunity to connect with others in the group beyond the surface.
Here is a list of tried and tested icebreakers that I use in my online sessions. These icebreakers are well-known in facilitation circles, and it is often difficult to trace the source of many activities. I first learned variations of these icebreakers from Partners for Youth Empowerment and Scaling Intimacy.
I always start with a warm-up before doing an icebreaker. The aim of a warm-up is to get the energy moving and to help people enter the session. A warm-up could be asking people to share something in the chat when they arrive in the session or a movement exercise like a group stretch. The ultimate aim of an icebreaker is to build connection among participants.Â
Icebreakers work best when they are connected to the aim of the session, and tailored for the group. You can do this by adapting the talking points, and questions for each activity. And remember to put the instructions and questions in the chat so that people can refer back to them once they are in the breakout groups, and keep track of time.
đź‘€ Who’s In the Room? Whole group – 5 mins – gallery view
A fun low-risk warm-up activity for a first session. Ask all participants to turn their cameras off. The facilitator makes a statement “It’s early in the morning for me”. If the statement is true for you, you turn on your camera. People take a look at who has their camera on. Then all cameras are turned off again and the facilitator makes another statement “I have a pet at home”. The participants with pets turn the camera on. You can create fun questions that fit your session topic and things you know about your group.Â
🤝Personal Intros – Breakout groups of 4 – 10 minsÂ
A great connection activity for the first session. The aim of this activity is to invite people to share some information about who they are, why they are there, and something more personal in a low-risk way. After the welcome, invite participants to share in breakout groups of 4 answers to some questions that will give people an opportunity to share why they are here and hear from others. You can ask participants to put their answers to one thing they hope to get out of the course in the chat. After the breakout groups, the facilitator can invite a few people to share their experience back in the big group.
Common questions for personal intros
âś…Your name
âś…Where you are from (what that means to you) or where you are based
âś…What you are hoping to get out of the course/session
âś…One thing people would be surprised to know about you or one thing you love to do or one thing you are passionate about
🔎 Commonalities & differences – Breakout groups of 5 for 3 minutes x 2 rounds
A great connection and awareness-building activity toward the beginning of a group process. The aim of this activity is to celebrate both our similarities and our differences. After the welcome, in breakout groups of 5 for3 minutes, ask participants to come up with as many things as they can that they have in common. It’s intentionally not a lot of time so that participants don’t overthink the answers to the question – you can cue them up by saying ready, set, go – then put them in groups). Challenge participants to come up with as many non-obvious things as possible. Then go back to the big group. The facilitator can run a poll asking people how many similarities the group found 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 15+. The facilitator can invite a few people to share their experiences. An extension is to put people back in the same groups and ask them to come up with differences, for 3 minutes. Then the facilitator can invite a few people to share their experience back in the big group. The aim of this activity is to celebrate both our similarities and our differences.Â
🧸Share an object – 2 mins to find an object, Breakout groups of 4 for 8 minsÂ
A great icebreaker that gives people an opportunity to share something about themselves. Invite people to find an object in their room (or close by) that has some meaning for them. This should be quick – say 2 minutes. In breakout groups of 4, each participant shows the object and shares what it is and why it is meaningful for about 2 minutes each, for a total of 8 minutes. Then the facilitator can invite a few people to share their experience back in the big group.Â
âť“What’s in a Name – Breakout groups of 3 for 8 mins
A powerful icebreaker that gives people an opportunity to share something about themselves. In breakout groups of 3, invite participants to share what their name means, and/or what it means to them (some people may not know the meaning of their name so this gives another way into the game). Each person has 2 minutes, so 6 minutes total (with 2 mins buffer time). Then the facilitator can invite a few people to share their experience back in the big group.
âť“Rose, Thorn, Bud – Breakout groups of 4 for 10 minutes or pairs for 5 mins
Another powerful icebreaker that invites people to share highlights as well as challenges. Using the metaphor of a rose, in breakout groups of 4, invite participants to share a “rose”, something in their life or work that is in full bloom. A “thorn”, a challenge, or something that is not resolved, maybe keeping them up at night. And a “bud”, something that may be emerging, or a dream they have for the future. The order is important – and the thorn is in the middle for a reason. Each participant has 2 minutes to share, with 2 minutes buffer time. If you have less time you can do this exercise in pairs, for a total of 5 minutes.Â
⏳Milling – In breakout groups of 2 for 2 mins/question x 5 questions 10 mins
A great way of connecting meaningfully with several people in the group in a short period of time. The facilitator poses a question. Participants are placed in a breakout group of 2 and each person has 1 minute to respond. Participants come back to the main group, the facilitator poses a different question, and puts participants in different pairs for 2 minutes. Again each participant has 1 min to answer the question. Having a time limit helps people not to overthink the answer to the question and to be more spontaneous. The facilitator should make the timer visible in breakout groups and broadcast a message when it is time to switch after the 1 min mark. Give participants a 30-second countdown for going back to the big group to give them a buffer. The facilitator can ask for a few reactions after the second question in the chat and/or hear quickly from a couple of participants. When choosing the questions it’s best to start with something “low risk”, then you can ask some questions that invite increasing levels of personal disclosure. Always end with a question that is aspirational.Â
Common milling questions:
âś…Something you love to do
âś…Something people might be surprised to know about you
âś…Something you love about where you live, and something you would love to change
âś…A person who has influenced you and whyÂ
✅The best advice you’ve been given and why
âś…A big dream you have for your life
🧰 Additional Icebreaker Resources
There are thousands of icebreaker activities out there. Here are some additional resources with more ideas. Always remember: icebreakers work best when you connect them with your intention and tailor them to your group.
20 Online Energizers for Virtual Teams and Remote Meetings – Session Lab
The Best Icebreakers to Energize Your Virtual Meetings – Rhythm SystemsÂ
Gwyn Wansbrough is a Facilitator and Experience Designer based in Barcelona, Spain. She works with people and organizations around the world to create dynamic and empowering learning experiences online and in person. She writes about facilitation, creativity, and learning in a weekly newsletter called The Quest. Subscribe here or visit www.gwynwansbrough.com to learn more.
