The key to successful introductions in larger groups is not to plan for everyone to meet everyone else. It’s usually not practical, and sometimes it’s not even possible.

5 Awesome Meeting Icebreakers to Keep Your Teammates. Games, after all, are cool! Icebreakers for meetings are also the easiest way to drop teammates into meeting. One of the first steps to holding a productive meeting is introducing participants to one another in a way that gets everyone talking. Here are three icebreaker exercises you can use to kick off your next meeting.

Besides, the human brain can learn only so many new names at once! So set your sights on helping everyone meet a few new people, people with whom they can network for the day., the realm of people they know will grow each time and at a pace that they can handle. Here are some quick exercises you can do to break the ice. CHAMPIONS This is.An icebreaker activity in which participants introduce each other so that others see what strengths they have. Use it to.Introduce participants to each other in a positive, upbeat way that emphasizes each participant’s value to the group. Best group size.Up to about 20.

Have participants pair up. Allow 5 minutes for participants to interview each other and learn more about each other. Each participant then introduces his or her partner to the group. The introduction should “sell” the person on how great he or she is and on how he or she will significantly contribute to the meeting or the task at hand.

“This is Heidee. She’s been with the company for only a short time.

She brings a different perspective, yes. But more importantly, she’s very good at helping people work together. She helps find bridges and commonalities among differing opinions, and she can do this without making anyone feel as if he or she ‘won’ or ‘lost.’ ” Tips for success.Make sure participants understand that the goal is not just to introduce their partner. The goal is to champion him, to show the rest of the group what a great asset their partner is to the meeting, team, or work group.

Try these variations. • Have participants work in teams of three.

Two people introduce and champion the third one. • If time is limited, or if you want to reinforce self-confidence, don’t have participants pair up.

Rather, each participant introduces himself or herself. During their introduction, participants champion themselves, explaining what value they bring to the group. • This activity can work for much larger groups by first dividing them into smaller teams.

DO YOU KNOW ME? This is.An icebreaker activity in which participants ask questions of each other about one other person in the group. Use it to.Help large groups mingle a bit and better get to know at least one other person in the group. Best group size.Up to about 40. Materials you'll need.Index cards with a different participant’s name on each one. Distribute the cards to the participants, making sure no one gets his or her own name. Have the group mingle while holding their cards out and asking, “Do you know me?” 3.

When someone answers “yes,” the participant will ask a few questions about the name he or she has and can jot down notes on the card. Then the two move on and gather more information. After several minutes, have participants find the person whose name they have and introduce themselves briefly. 'Do you know me?” 'Yes.” 'Great, so which region do I work in?” “Region 4.” “Okay, and how long have I worked for this company?” “Oh, I’d say about 5 years, I think.” Tips for success.This activity works best with large groups in which everyone knows only a few participants well. Try these variations.

• For smaller groups: after step 4, have each participant introduce the person whose name he or she researched. • This activity also works well when two groups that know themselves but not each other are coming together.

In this case, make sure they all get each other’s names. LOGOS This is.An icebreaker activity in which participants put a logo on their name tag that they most identify with. Use it to.Help large groups start to learn each other’s names and get to know each other better. Best group size.Unlimited. Materials you'll need.A name tag for each participant. A pen for each participant.

Have participants write their name on their name tag. Next to their name, participants are to put a corporate logo that they identify with strongly. Have the participants mingle, sharing with each other why they chose the logo they did. “My name is Rosie, and this logo is the Nike swoosh.

I chose it because I tend to be impulsive and ‘just do it’ when faced with a situation. I also like sports.” 'My name is Kiki, and this logo is from a bed and breakfast I stayed at in Portland, Maine. I identify with it because it just feels calm and even keeled, which is what everyone says I am: calm and even keeled.” Tips for success.Allow the group to use logos that are famous or create their own. Beware that creating their own will take most participants much more time, though. Try these variations. • Rather than logos, have participants use a famous tag line or slogan. • Break the group into small teams of four to six members.

Have the team choose a logo that best represents them. Funny Cowboy Costumes For Adults. Alternatively, choose a logo that best represents the project or the whole work group they belong to. Speaking with presence is also important during group meetings and icebreakers.

Check out our free webcast to learn how to. Adapted with permission of the publisher from by Brian Cole Miller. Copyright 2008, Brian Cole Miller. Published by AMACOM, a division of American Management Association. For information about other AMACOM books, visit. Below is the standard message that will be sent.

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When you run online meetings with people who are located in different parts of the world, it's crucial that you help your team make a human connection. 'Icebreakers' are just the ticket: short team-building exercises conducted at the beginning of a meeting.

Because you don't have a physical way to get people moving around the same room, you have to adapt traditional icebreakers to work over distance. Here are some practical tips for introducing an icebreaker activity into your next meeting. And a little advice on pitfalls to avoid!

When to Use or Not Use an Icebreaker Icebreakers fit into a larger strategy of team-building and. Knowing your team, and knowing your plan to build team culture, is crucial to succeeding with any such exercise. Here are some scenarios in which icebreaker activities may be a GOOD idea: • Team members are geographically distant - If your team members have never met (and might never meet, because they're so far apart), this is a key indicator that an icebreaker is a good idea. The icebreaker helps establish the kinds of connections that would normally happen in a day-to-day office setting.

• Team members come from different cultural backgrounds - If you are bringing together a diverse team (especially one in which multiple languages are spoken), an icebreaker is crucial. • You are combining two or more established teams - Two teams typically have two cultures; to bring them together, establish personal connections among team members. • Your meeting is a workshop - If you're expecting new people to work together for a period of time, some form of introduction is needed. You might as well make it fun! • Team members don't know each other already - This speaks for itself. And here are situations in which icebreakers may be counterproductive: • You are engaging with a client for the first time - While it's up to you how to run your business, bringing clients into an icebreaker activity as the first interaction can be perceived as unprofessional.

You won't necessarily know the client's style at first, so this is hit-or-miss. • Your team is casual and friendly already - If your team members are already going out for lunch together, or are 'Twitter friends,' there isn't much need to provide a structured activity for them to get to know each other. One exception would be if only part of the team is located elsewhere; then you might incorporate this kind of activity just to bring the remote group in. And finally, be sensitive when choosing your icebreaker questions -- be aware that cultural issues come into play when you ask people questions about themselves.

Never ask icebreaker questions that deal with nationality, religion, sex, invasions of privacy, or taboo subjects. In other words, one of the classic icebreaker questions -- 'What's something about you that no one here knows?' -- is fun in the context of dating, but may be inappropriate for a professional meeting. Related: And now, some of our favorite icebreakers: 1. 'Take a Picture of Your Shoes' Ask team members to take a picture (through whatever means they like) of their shoes, then share those pictures in the meeting.

You'll be surprised at how much some people will want to discuss their shoes; these are tools they use every day! A positive side-effect of asking about footwear is that you may discover hobbies enjoyed by your team members. Runners may bring up their choice of running shoe; beach-goers may show off their sandals; barefoot walkers may show off their bare feet. In general, this icebreaker emphasizes the power of pictures -- humans are visual animals, and having something to look at other than words on a screen helps spark conversation and connection. Variation: 'Take a picture of an object on your desk, or in your work area.' You will get some pictures of mice and keyboards, and that's fine, but you'll also get cool desk toys, plants, and more. 'What's Your Favorite Meal?'

( Variation: 'Tell us about a meal you enjoyed recently.' ) This icebreaker gives the participant plenty of room to express his or her culinary interests, which may be surprise you. A common outcome of this activity is a request for photos of the meal, recipe sharing, or discussion of cooking.

Let's face it, everybody has to eat -- you might as well talk about it! 'Where are We?'

If you have a geographically distributed team, find out the (approximate) locations of the team members beforehand, and make a map. Show the map during the meeting, and ask team members something simple, like how long they've lived in their current city. A key benefit of visualizing the team's location this way is talking about time. Because your distributed team may span timezones, this is one very concrete way to understand how those timezones are laid out.

You may also ask participants to do something simple and visual, like taking a picture of what they see out the window. While this amounts to a discussion of, 'Gee, what's the weather like where you are,' you may find that a picture communicates a person's location just as well as a dot on a map.

Product/Company Trivia Game If your team works on a product or a long-running project, you can create a simple trivia game (multiple-choice is a good idea; it's easier for everybody). This requires some homework on the part of the organizer, as he or she needs to know the right answer!

While the questions should be tailored to your situation, here are some broad categories to try: • Time - ask about which team member has been working on the project the longest, or the number of days since the project launched, or the date on which the first code check-in took place. • Quantity - especially in technical projects, there are lots of statistics you can gather from systems like version tracking and ticketing systems. Asking, 'What's the oldest open ticket in the bug-tracker?' Can induce groans, but it also can lead to a productive discussion and funny stories. • Personal Engagement - if you know who has been with the company the longest, or who has closed (.or opened) the most tickets, or similar kinds of metrics, you may construct questions in order to basically congratulate these people.

Note: if you do this, try to find a way to represent as many team members as possible as 'right answers,' unless they're brand new. Gifts & Hooks, a Certified Master Facilitator, wrote up a strategy called (PDF link).

It's a brilliant way to bring together team members who may be suspicious of team-building activities -- those folks who see such things as a waste of time. In Gifts and Hooks, the facilitator explains that team members bring gifts to the table (their skills, knowledge, etc.), but they also need hooks -- things the person needs in order to remain fully engaged. Team members write down both their gifts and their hooks, then the facilitator sets up a round-robin to discuss these. At the end, the big questions come: 'What does this tell us about our team?' And 'What do we need to keep in mind as we move forward?' For details on Gifts and Hooks, by Michael Wilkinson (we're big fans!).

The International Institute for Facilitation also like Gifts and Hooks. Related: Tips • Keep it short - Don't burn up half your meeting with an icebreaker. Keep it as short as you reasonably can. • Keep it relevant - Everything that happens in any collaborative meeting should serve the purpose of the meeting. The icebreaker functions to get the team connected enough that they can begin working together in a collaborative way.

It is useful to explain this to the team, so they understand why you're talking about shoes, food, and so on. • Make it fun - A picture of your lunch, or your shoes, is actually pretty fun!

If you don't believe me, please consult all social networks for images of all food. More Icebreaker Resources • from Teampedia • from Time Doctor • from Mind Tools • from Collaboration Superpowers • from Remote.co • from Smart Meetings • from Life Meets Work You may also be interested in: The Remote Team Meeting Essentials Pack Remote work is a reality in companies everywhere - whether employees are on a different floor, co-located in offices across multiple cities, or in a remote home office. This downloadable pack includes the five meeting essentials: • The Remote Team Agreement Meeting Agenda & Facilitator's Guide • The ' 5 Icebreakers for Distributed Teams' Guide • The Remote Team Check-In Meeting Agenda & Facilitator's Guide • The Cross-Functional Weekly Meeting Agenda & Facilitator's Guide • The Missing Guide to Troubleshooting Audio & Video Conferencing.