Do you need to break the ice in a group? Try these tested activities!

Imagine a group of people, such as colleagues, or a new class at school, where no one knows each other. The atmosphere is awkward. However, you want to create a dynamic and cohesive team. How will you proceed?

Difficult, right? Don't worry, we bring you some ideas!

The following activities serve primarily to strengthen interaction among participants and to get to know each other better. At the same time, they promote group dynamics and the creation of a safe environment. They are often used at the beginning of longer educational activities to break the ice.

🕒 speed dating 🕒

Quick, effective, and fun. That’s how meeting people through the popular activity of speed dating is.

How does it work?

First, create a list of questions that will be discussed during the short meetings. If speed dating precedes educational activities and serves merely as an “icebreaker”, it’s advisable to choose topics related to the main goal of the education. However, they must also be interesting enough for strangers to have casual conversations about. It’s ideal to include questions related to the topic, subject of the meeting, such as: “What do you know about informal education?”, but also those that allow for getting to know each other better. Don’t hesitate to delve deeper with these! A great tried-and-true tip is: “What is your first childhood memory?”, or: “How would your best friend describe you?”.

Nonetheless, one word leads to another, and the daters may end up chatting about something completely different. That’s perfectly fine; it’s all about getting to know each other!

Each participant first draws clocks on paper and then arranges a “date” at specific times with others. Once speed dating kicks off, everything moves quickly. Participants rotate every 5 – 7 minutes and discuss the given topics. It’s great if they manage to jot down interesting insights and information they can use later.

Finally, there will be a group discussion about what each person learned during the meetings, what interested them, and how much they managed to share with others.

If you’re still hesitating, here are a few advantages of using speed dating!

Speed dating allows for quick and spontaneous interaction between participants, encourages active engagement, exchange of opinions, and sharing of knowledge. Participants are forced to present their views, as well as themselves, briefly and succinctly, and since everyone has a slightly different perspective, they enrich each other with new approaches. Moreover, the entire activity has an informal and fun character, which helps create a relaxed atmosphere, making participants more likely to step out of their comfort zones.

The use of speed dating in informal education can be an innovative and interesting way to promote interactive learning in various fields.

Save it for later!

👍 Bingo! 👍

Even though it may not seem like it, we have a lot in common with the people around us. Yes, even with those we see for the first time. Don’t believe it?

Try this icebreaker, and you might find out that the person sitting next to you is also an only child and their favourite food is the same as yours, segedín with three dumplings. And perhaps the person sitting on the other side went to the same place on their last holiday, or you have a mutual acquaintance!

This icebreaker is truly a fun and simple way to get to know one another. Participants learn interesting facts about each other and avoid formalities like names, ages, or places of residence.

Bingo!

What will you need?

As you might guess, Bingo is a very low-maintenance social activity. Basically, you just need paper and a pen. Participants will draw a grid with at least nine squares and write one characteristic, hobby, or trait that describes them in each. Their task is then to look for similarly described squares among others. They move around the group and seek a “match.” Whenever they find a match in one of their squares, they cross it off the list. The winner of Bingo is the one who finds a match in all their squares first and shouts: “bingo”!

Bingo is great at the start of a longer educational activity where participants are seeing each other for the first time. However, it can also be used at the beginning of camps or during team building at work.

A tip from us: At the end of Bingo, try to open a casual discussion about what participants learned about each other, what surprised or interested them. Did any hobbies repeat? What was the most common personality trait? Did anyone have more than two squares in common with you? And which one of them remained empty?

👀 Blanket 👀

You know it. The first thing that flies out of your head right after introductions – names.

Or does it? If you have a good memory for names and they are not a problem for you, you’ll shine in this activity!

So let’s shed some light on another icebreaker with a mysterious name that hints at what its main tool will be.

At the beginning, participants will split into two teams. Two of them (1 from each team) will hold a blanket together at opposite ends, each at one corner. Both teams will hide behind the blanket, each on one side and choose one player who will step closer to the blanket. When the chosen players on both sides are ready, the blanket is dropped.

The task for participants standing opposite each other is to quickly say the name of the other. Whoever fails to guess the name, or says it later, moves to the opposing team. The teams will again choose their representatives, and this continues until all participants are on one side of the blanket.

The aim is, of course, to learn the names of all participants and get to know each other as quickly as possible, but the “blanket” also brings a lot of fun. Since it’s a competition, it simultaneously promotes teamwork and acts as a great energiser. Participants must react as quickly as possible to get as many players into their team!

So, are you ready to test your memory for names?

We hope this article helps you break the ice at your next meeting opportunity! We wish you good luck and a lot of fun!