Icebreakers are a wonderful way to bring people into meetings and help them focus on the prepared agenda. A staggering 92% of employees say they multitask during virtual meetings, and many multitask in person as well. If you have ever answered emails or checked your messages during a discussion, then you are guilty of this bad habit. An icebreaker can command the attention of the room and pull attendees away from their distractions.
Icebreakers also don’t have to be long. You only need to set aside five minutes to introduce an activity and let attendees participate. Everyone can have a voice in smaller groups and anyone who wants to share can speak up in larger ones.
Here are a few 5-minute icebreakers for meetings that can help you get the attention of everyone in attendance. Try them out and see if they cut back on multitasking and help people focus more on the tasks at hand.
Speed Networking
This is a great icebreaker if you are meeting with a group of people who don’t already know each other. Instead of standard introductions, ask people to pair up and spend a minute or two sharing their work and experience. At the end of each time period, ask team members to switch seats and repeat the process until they have met everyone in the room.
Not only does this process get people moving – standing up and finding other people to network with – but it is also more effective than basic introductions. Participants become active listeners in direct conversations instead of passive listeners hearing everyone share their titles in a round table. Speed networking can also provide a few minutes to socialize and form personal bonds that can be used for future professional collaboration.
Riddles
Bring riddles to the table if you want to incorporate 5-minute icebreakers for meetings that can be extended or shortened depending on the agenda. If you’re in a hurry, you can share three or four riddles with your team before diving into the main topics. If you have more time, share additional riddles and give attendees more time to think about them and submit guesses.
Riddles are particularly useful for morning meetings when attendees are still waking up their brains. They challenge people to think critically and creatively to come up with solutions. These riddles don’t need to relate to work in any way, the goal is to exercise the brains of everyone present.
Here are a few great riddle examples to show how effective they can be:
- What month of the year has 28 days? All of them.
- What is always in front of you but can never be seen? The future.
- The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it? Darkness.
- A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why? He was bald.
Each of these riddles sounds obvious when you have the answer but can be challenging if you aren’t sure what it’s asking. Some of the incorrect answers might be even more creative – and funnier – than the correct solution you eventually provide.
Paper Plane Challenge
Grab a few pieces of printer paper and challenge attendees to create paper planes. Each person can do this individually or they can work together in assigned groups. Set aside a few minutes for building and a few minutes for releasing the paper planes to see which ones fly the farthest.
This is a fun challenge that lets participants compete in a low-stress environment. Some attendees might have secret techniques for building airplanes while others follow standard methods. If you’re feeling generous, give the paper plane winners awards for their efforts – like a candy bar or approval to leave 20 minutes early that day.
Pictionary
This is another way to get creative with paper and markers. Divide attendees into teams and ask them to nominate a drawer. The drawer receives a secret word and has to draw an image for their teammates to guess. Let the teams compete against each other and set a time limit to guess the right answer. You should have enough time for two or three rounds each, with the drawer switching each time.
While this is a fun game for kids and adults alike, there’s value in bringing it to meetings. The drawer has to use nonverbal communication to convey a message and the guessers have to try to understand what is being said. You can also play charades for a similar icebreaker experience.
Trivia
Trivia is similar to riddles in that you don’t need any supplies or even a dedicated conference space to incorporate it into meetings. Speakers can ask trivia questions ahead of virtual or hybrid meetings and invite everyone to participate.
Trivia questions can also be asked casually or shared formally with audience engagement software like Poll Everywhere. For example, when you ask a trivia question, participants can either select from Multiple Choice responses or submit Open-Ended answers.
If you lead meetings frequently or present often, consider keeping evergreen trivia questions saved specifically to lead 5-minute icebreakers. You can also look for trivia questions related to specific events, like Valentine’s Day, summer vacation, or the Super Bowl.
Trivia questions tap into critical thinking skills and allow people to use logic to come up with educated guests. When asked how many flowers are sold on Mother’s Day (23 million), attendees might consider the population of the United States, the estimated number of moms, the estimated participating families, and the average number of flowers in a bouquet. While guessing is fun, answering trivia requires real problem-solving skills.
Two Truths and a Lie
Kick off your meeting with a quick 'Two Truths and a Lie' poll using Poll Everywhere. Ask each participant to create a Multiple Choice poll with three statements about themselves—two true and one false. Then, display the polls live and have the group vote on which statement they think is the lie. Once the votes are in, reveal the correct answers and invite a few participants to share the stories behind their truths. This simple five-minute activity is a great way to break the ice, spark conversations, and help team members learn something new about each other. Plus, it energizes the group and sets a positive, engaging tone for the rest of the meeting.
Test different 5-minute icebreakers for meetings
The best part of having different icebreaker options is that you don’t have to stick to a single one. One meeting might be perfect for a dance party while speed networking is more appropriate for another. Consider the audience, agenda, and environment when choosing different icebreakers. You might be surprised how small activities pay off.
Try Poll Everywhere if you want to make your icebreakers digital. This is a great audience engagement tool whether you are meeting with a few people directly or leading a keynote address. Let people feel heard and contribute to different icebreakers – the more participants the merrier! Get started with Poll Everywhere and elevate your meetings and events.
