Icebreakers & Games for Design Workshops

An icebreaker is a quick, fun activity used to welcome and warm up the conversation among participants at the beginning of the workshop. Icebreakers range from simple one-question answers to elaborate team games. All icebreakers are designed to help participants get to know one another and build rapport, but that doesn't mean they can't also be result-focused.

The main goals of ice-breaker activities include:

• Connecting people and creating a safe space for brainstorming
• Fostering teamwork and collaboration
• Encouraging creative thinking and out-of-the-box solutions
• Lightening up the mood and injecting energy for working on complex topics or projects^[2]

Many people feel reluctant to play icebreaker games because they think they are boring and cheesy. A good icebreaker activity, however, will engage people and make them feel liberated to share the most extraordinary ideas.

What makes a good icebreaker?

• It engages the whole group
• It fits the group demographics, meaning that the activity isn't offensive to people's age, race, income, marital status, ethnicity, gender, or education
• It engages people in discussion and creative thinking
• It motivates people to talk to each other and collaborate
• It's not time-consuming
• It's easy to facilitate without special equipment, skills, or knowledge^[3]

An engaging icebreaker activity is key to a successful workshop. Icebreaker games help:

• Take people's minds off work-related topics and put them at ease
• Build a strong rapport between teammates so they can feel less tense when running a workshop
• Create a safe place for all participants and get a feel of the overall mood and level of engagement

There are a variety of icebreaker activities on the internet. Your choice depends on the amount of time you have, the number of participants, how well the participants know each other, and the type of workshop (in-person, remote, or hybrid).

Here's a list of possible icebreaker games that you can facilitate both on-site or remotely:

• My first job: Participants write down their first jobs and describe what they have learned from this experience. To spice things up a little, ask participants to stay anonymous and collect their notes in a hat. The goal of the group is to guess which job belongs to which person.
• Pointless questions: A facilitator prepares a list of random, non-work-related questions. Participants take turns answering these questions. It's a great game to know each other a bit better. Questions could be:

1. What food would you choose for your last meal?
2. What songs would be on the soundtrack of your life?
3. What is the first thing you notice when meeting new people?

• Guess who: Participants write down a random fact about themselves. A facilitator reads a fact aloud and takes a vote on whom it might belong to. The "owner" of the fact can then come forward and shares more details if they feel comfortable doing so.
• Just one lie: Participants take turns and say two true facts and one lie about themselves. Others have to guess the false statement.
• Share a photo: All participants share a photo from their gallery. It can be the funniest, silliest, or prettiest image they'd like to share. They can then say a few words about when the photo was taken, why they wanted to share it, who is in the picture, and any other relevant details.^[4]

Icebreaker activities are great tools for putting participants at ease and building rapport. Occasionally, you can skip them if you're very short on time or if participants already know each other pretty well.

If a facilitator doesn't have a lot of experience in conducting an icebreaker game, they can replace an icebreaker activity with a photo reflection session.

To conduct a photo reflection session:

• Prepare the right amount of photos for each participant
• Ask them to select the most appealing picture
• Encourage each person to explain to the group why the chosen image resonates with them
• Ask people to identify common themes between photos and join them into groups
• Ignite the discussion between participants by asking open-ended questions

Photography is a fantastic tool for connecting people and engaging them in a rich discussion. This is because the human brain recognizes and interprets visuals much faster and better than verbal or written information.^[5] Workshops become much more productive when participants have a deep connection and discussion on an unrelated subject prior to the workshop.

Remote activities have become the new normal today. Teams should be considerate of the tools they use to facilitate online workshops. When conducting icebreaker activities online, facilitators should try harder to prevent participants from getting bored or facing technical challenges and ensure they stay engaged.

Consider the following factors when conducting remote icebreakers:

• People get distracted easily. Even if all participants have their cameras on, it's easy to zone out during a video conference. Participants may start multitasking, checking their phones, or browsing on another tab. Think of an icebreaker activity that engages them and keeps them from doing so.
• Choose tools carefully. New tools can be intimidating and affect how actively people want to participate in a workshop. Make sure the tools you use for your icebreaker activity are familiar to participants or easy to learn in a short time.
• Keep it short. If your team is fully remote, people may balk at adding another online meeting or workshop to their calendars. Keep your icebreaker activity short and sweet so people join the workshop readily and in a good mood.^[6]