44 icebreaker questions and games for virtual meetings
If you are leading a virtual meeting, training workshop or seminar for people who don’t know each other very well, you might be looking for a way for them to be introduced to each other, or to get warmed up.
Icebreaker questions are commonly used in virtual meetings as a fun and informal way to start a conversation.
Icebreakers can also help improve the efficiency of virtual meetings by breaking down personal barriers and opening up communication.
Whenever we facilitate a social team game, we like to find something about the game itself, the group we are leading, or a current event, to use as an icebreaker.
A favourite throughout the pandemic was “what is one good and one bad habit you picked up while working from home?”. We asked participants to reveal these, and then combine them to form a team name.
If we’re playing The Trip, which has a travel them, then we’ll ask people to tell each other one place in the world they would love to visit, whereas if it’s The Decision, which is a game about life choices and preferences, then we might use “tell each other one good and one bad decision you have made recently.”
An icebreaker for a virtual meeting is just a conversation starter, and it doesn’t have to be that complicated.
Icebreaker games for meetings
If you are doing some team building activities or looking to kick off an internal online meeting with something a bit different, you might want to play a quick game instead of using a traditional ice breaker question.
Icebreaker games and activities are a great way for people to get to know each other without it being so obvious that “getting to know each other” is the aim.
It also helps avoids those awkward moments that can sometimes arise when you get forced to do a 1-on-1 with a colleague.
The game provides the medium through which team members will more naturally chat, and providing people with a fun shared experience which they can then refer back to is often sufficient to begin or strengthen a relationship.
Something like a short, team-based quiz, or a team activity that combines problem solving and trivia like unpuzzled, can be a perfect way to engage virtual and remote teams in virtual meetings.
It’s a perfect substitute for a virtual icebreaker question and can be used by a remote team during an online meeting or event before getting into work.
Icebreaker questions for small groups
For small groups, you can easily go around the group and get each person to answer the same icebreaker question, or participate in the same activity.
When remote teams have virtual meetings there is also the option to put people into breakout rooms so they form small groups, and then you can get them to answer the icebreaker question.
This is often easier than co-ordinating everyone in the main session (sorry, you’re on mute), although you do miss out on hearing everyones individual answers.
But fun icebreakers can be very simple, and can focus in on one particular topic or interest.
The key is finding something casual and fun, revealing but not awkward.
The possibilities are endless, but here are 44 icebreaker questions for virtual meetings:
What’s your favourite way to spend a Saturday?
What genre of music gets you dancing?
What was the best holiday you ever took and why?
Where’s the next place on your travel bucket list and why?
Tell us about one of your hobbies and how did you get into it?
What is your earliest positive childhood memory?
What is the best book you read recently?
Are you more of an extrovert or an introvert?
What's your favourite ice cream?
What TV show are you binge-watching right now?
What’s one podcast you’re listening to right now?
Do you have a favourite day of the week? Why or why not?
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
When you go to the movies where do you prefer to sit - back or front?
What’s one thing you refuse to throw away?
What’s your favourite cocktail?
In the summer, would you rather lie on the beach or go hiking?
What’s your favourite quote?
How old were you when you had your first celebrity crush, and who was it?
What's one thing that can instantly make your day better?
What habit really annoys you?
Which meal is your favourite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
What song always makes you smile?
What activity instantly calms you down?
Ideally, how would you spend your birthday?
Which 3 people would you invite to a celebrity dinner?
What is your karaoke song?
What's your favourite season?
What's the best knock-knock joke you've ever heard?
What's the mobile app you use most?
Would you rather cook or order take-out?
Have your ever disliked a food and then changed your mind?
What's your favourite board game?
Tea, coffee, or kombucha?
What's your most prized possession and why?
Is there any product that you couldn't live without?
Do you sleep in pyjamas? Why or why not?
If you could have any animal as a pet, which would it be?
What would be the first thing you'd do if you won 1 million dollars?
What gets your hear racing?
How do you enjoy spending your alone time?
What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
Do you have a favourite way to exercise?
Do you believe in Aliens? Why or why not?
Games for training workshops
Games for training workshops should be fun and interactive.
Ideally they will also include an element of learning and reinforce the content that you have been teaching during the workshop.
Research shows that the hippocampus, an area in the lower section of the brain which is largely responsible for knowledge recall, is more stimulated in gameplay.
Therefore during learning, strong hippocampus activation makes the content easier to remember and recall (Foerde & Shohamy, 2011).
Many trainers and coaches use trivia through an online platform like Kahoot.
This is an ok tool for individuals but does not stimulate deeper thinking and teamwork as do some other types of games.
A custom problem solving game is a great way to finish off a training workshop with participants asked to complete some puzzles themed around your workshop topic.
This format is really well suited for virtual training and online workshops and one game can be used repeatedly across workshops once built.
Conclusion
Whether it’s a simple icebreaker question, an icebreaker game, or a game for a workshop or event, it’s important to think about who is your audience, and what you want the activity or game to achieve.
There is no one question fits all when it comes to icebreakers!