Originally, an icebreaker was used at the start of a training course to “break the ice” between people who were out of their normal workplace environment and perhaps feeling nervous and apprehensive. Later, icebreakers were further used at any points in a course to inject a change of pace, lighten the atmosphere, bring people together, or as a way of bringing home a learning point. Here are 65 icebreaker ideas!

Icebreakers are one of the most important sets of resources for trainers. Originally, an icebreaker was used at the start of a training course to “break the ice” between people who were out of their normal workplace environment and perhaps feeling nervous and apprehensive. They were also a useful way of getting people to speak up, join in, and have a bit of fun. From their “ice-breaking” role, icebreakers were further used at any points in a course to inject a change of pace, lighten the atmosphere, bring people together, or as a way of bringing home a learning point. Hence, today, it is quite normal to have icebreakers at the start of a course, the middle of a course (eg after a break), and at the end of a course to round things off.

The 65 icebreakers in this book are some of the best that we, at ManageTrainLearn, have used over many years of management and personal effectiveness training. They are based on 3 criteria. First, they are short and easy to use. Second, they cover all learning styles, from the linguistic to visual, from interpersonal to intrapersonal, from physical to mathematical. Thirdly, they work. They do what they say they do. That’s why we have included detailed steps so that you can also get them to work and alternative suggestions so that you can develop them to fit your situation. Icebreakers should be fun for both you as trainer and for your trainees. They are a key ingredient in helping you deliver successful and memorable learning programmes.

Preface

1 The Value of Teamwork

2 Name Tent Instructions

3 What I Know...

4 Normally...

5 The KSA Fit

6 On First Name Terms

7 Our Badge

8 The Washroom Notice

9 WIIFM

10 Dumb Questions

11 The Girder

12 Lucky Dip

13 Putting Us On The Map

14 Two Truths and A Lie

15 Human Bingo

16 Excuses, Excuses

17 Our Group

18 Hotball Build

19 What We Have In Common

20 Personal Sheets

21 The Draughtsboard

22 Hidden Phrases

23 That’s Torn It

24 Magazine Jigsaw

25 Alphabetter

26 Benefits and Features

27 Number Match

28 The Successometer

29 My Buddies

30 All Hell Breaks Loose

31 Solemn Face

32 Who Is The Mostest?

33 Party Pieces

34 Conceal the Celebrity

35 Three Shining Moments

36 The Bent Arm

37 Body Tensing

38 Human Spider Web

39 Tactile Copier

40 Before And After

41 Word Ladders

42 Rope Circles

43 Preferences

44 Human Chairs

45 Where We’ve Been...

46 Conscious Competence

47 Course Certificate

48 Change of Habit

49 Personal Feedback

50 How Will I Know When I’ve Learnt?

51 My Learning Style

52 STOP Notes

53 The 7 Most Important Words

54 Gold, Silver and Bronze

55 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

56 Team Quiz

57 These Are The Answers, Now What Are The Questions?

58 Hotball A to Z

59 Step By Step

60 Group Hangman

61 Neither Extreme

62 Matching Cards

63 A Course Scrapbook

64 Boat Race

65 Bubbles

Web Icebreaker Resources