You’ve just arrived at a meeting, conference, or some other event, and suddenly you hear a word you might love, hate, or feel complete apathy toward: icebreaker.
Whether it’s “tell us a fun fact about yourself,” a question about your go-to karaoke song or what superpower you would have, or a number of other prompts that make a person dig deeply into his or her personal wheelhouse, icebreakers are intended to help provoke engagement, create a more comfortable environment, and potentially help people know a little more about one another.
Dallas-area resident Brice Pearce emphatically asserted that he is a fan of icebreakers with the caveat that they need to be three things: well-planned, contextual to the group dynamic and meeting purpose, and fun.
“As a former teacher and training professional, I love them because they offer a great way to quickly build excitement and a group dynamic and help the folks who have gathered to relax and enjoy the event we’re all about to experience,” he said.
Dallas-area resident Morgan Fritz said she had never really reflected upon her feelings regarding icebreakers, but when she did, what she discovered surprised her.
“I feel like I should say I don’t like them because the cool thing is to say that, but I actually like them,” she said. “I prefer the structured ones, though. I am not a fan of ‘and tell us a cool fact about yourself,’ which sends me into an instant panic.”
There are plenty of individuals, though, who are anti-icebreakers for various reasons. Some people think that they create forced and inauthentic conversations, while others simply don’t feel comfortable participating in activities that require sharing information about themselves or engaging in conversations with others more out of requirement than choice.
“As an introvert, I’m not a fan of icebreakers,” Dallas-area resident Kyle Burnett said. “They stress me out since I can’t anticipate the subject.”
Whether loved or hated, icebreakers present themselves in a variety of ways and can prove to be beneficial and successful or completely flop. Michigan Technological Institution offers a list of plenty of different questions that can be asked during the introduction portions of meetings and events. Though Burnett would prefer that icebreakers didn’t exist, he said the best option is “two truths and a lie,” which requires attendees to share two facts and one lie about themselves, and others must guess what the lie is. This is also a go-to icebreaker for Pearce.
“I’ve always been a fan of facilitating ‘two truths and a lie’ with a group on maybe the third or fourth day of a longer session,” he said, “or even as a way to introduce leadership members to frontline team members.”
Some icebreakers do, in fact, make a person truly think and try to come up with certain tidbits to share, but Fritz said she prefers prompts that are more structured and specific and don’t require extensive thought. She said a memorable icebreaker in which she participated pertained to unpopular opinions, and each individual was asked to share a television show or movie that most people enjoy but that he or she actually doesn’t like. However, there are other icebreakers Fritz remembers that she said weren’t so appealing.
“Probably the worst one was when a professor had a bunch of questions in a jar, and she would pull one out as we took turns,” she said. “Mine was, ‘tell us an interesting fact about yourself,’ and it was like all of the facts in my head disappeared in that moment. I couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t feel like I was oversharing and/or being uncool, so I said that I didn’t really have any interesting facts. After pausing, she had to pick a new question.”
Pearce said he also had a not-so-great memorable icebreaker at the beginning of a safety session for summer camp leadership trainees. He and other trainees were asked about the worst scenarios they had ever faced, and Pearce had to share that a death had been involved when he was at camp one summer. However, that was not even the most awful icebreaker he has experienced.
“There are a lot of bad ones, but the one that takes the cake was during the third day of training at a new company,” he said. “The HR manager was attempting to engage us in an icebreaker before the benefits presentation, and as people would reply to the prompt, she ‘judged’ whether or not their responses were good, fun, meaningful, or valid (e.g., one of her responses was ‘well, that’s pretty stupid, but thanks for sharing’). I’m not sure that anyone in the room, especially the poor trainer, left that session without feeling completely deflated.”
Many individuals are skeptical as to whether or not icebreakers serve the actual purposes they aim to fulfill and truly help people effectively get to learn more about one another, though others believe that icebreakers are useful in that regard.
“They do have a benefit in helping people get to know each other,” Burnett said. “They can help get conversations going on mutual interests.”
Fritz said she also thinks that, in a way, icebreakers allow participants to gain further insight into the personalities and lifestyles of those around them.
“Even if it’s just sharing your name and where you’re from, it does give you a starting point if you need it,” she said. “My fellow shy people will relate.”
Pearce, on the other hand, said icebreakers don’t necessarily help people know each other better, but he does believe that they can spark initiative and allow people to feel comfortable engaging in deeper conversations.
“Most of the icebreakers I’ve run during day-long or week-long trainings are pretty short and simple but focus on the personal interests of the group members,” he said. “While they’re great at helping the people in the room feel like a group (going through an experience together), they’re not meant to connect people closely in the moment.”
But Pearce said it’s always a positive if those icebreakers are able to foster ensuing conversations during breaks or after work.
“Icebreakers can help people meet new colleagues, deepen relationships with existing ones, or allow folks to feel less alone, but they can’t do it in a short timespan,” he said. “They simply open the space for us to feel safe human-ing with other humans.”
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NatNews staff members and dear readers enjoyed a lovely Saturday morning together at Mambo Miles in Dallas