Best of Ice Breakers

2013
Best of Ice Breakers

2013
Table of Contents
Welcome .................................................................................. 2
Keys to Success ........................................................................ 4
Ice Breakers
Social Media ................................................................ 5
Meet Your Match ......................................................... 5
If You Could .................................................................. 6
Share the Screensaver .................................................. 7
Composite Person ........................................................ 7
Where Did I Put That? .................................................. 8
What’s in Your Bag? ...................................................... 9
Apply for Your Job ......................................................... 9
Survey Says ................................................................... 10
A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way to ........... 11
Team Photo Hunt .......................................................... 11
The Virtual Scavenger Hunt .......................................... 12
About TRC Interactive ................................................................ 13
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Welcome to the Best of
TRC Interactive’s Ice Breakers!
Every successful show from Letterman to Oprah to Ellen has a warm-up
act. The performer (or in this case, the group facilitator or educator)
goes out to people who want to be there and yet they have a daunting
task in front of them… prepare a group of people to share an
experience together.
Borrowing from wisdom that entertainers have known for ages, ice
breakers assist a similar collection of people in becoming a better
group than they were prepared to be before they walked into the
room. The warm-up act accomplishes this by achieving three key
elements.
Create Responsiveness
Get a group used to clapping, laughing or even sharing and they
will continue to do so well after that initial warm-up has ended.
Adjust the Crowd to the Environment

Even if a group of people has worked with one another for
years, they likely do not know each other in the context that you
are introducing. When this is added to the fact that they are not
accustomed to the group facilitator, it can make the group
buying into the purpose of the event that much more difficult.
2
Set the Tone for the Rest of the Presentation
It is imperative that the ice breaker activity be paired to the
meeting. Warming up a crowd by having them share personal
details before a three hour lecture is inappropriate. Ultimately,
the presenter will be more successful in meeting the goals that
they have set for the meeting if their ice breaker is well-matched
to the agenda.
If an ice breaker session is well-designed and well-facilitated, it can

really help get things off to a great start. By getting to know each other,
getting to know the facilitators and learning about the objectives of
the event, people can become more engaged in the proceedings and
contribute more effectively towards a successful outcome.
Happy Training!
3
Keys to Success
In order to make the most of your ice breakers, here are some key points to
remember:
• Make the instructions as simple as possible.

• Be enthusiastic. Whatever happens, be entusiastic!
• Timing is important. Use only two or three ice breakers as a 20-30
minute introduction to your program. Finish each ice breaker while
they are still enjoying it.
• Have a back-up plan. If the ice breaker isn’t working, you will need
it.
• Build in intensity. Start with activities with limited movement, and
simple rules, and progressively increase each of those factors.
• Be careful not to introduce an ice breaker game that will make
others uncomfortable physically or mentally.
• Don’t worry about acting stupid. Just because you have a certain
amount of status doesn’t mean that you can’t do funny and stupid
things!
• Make sure you have the right amount of people for the ice breaker
that you choose.
• Ensure you have all the materials you will need.
• Don’t limit ice breakers to the beginning of a meeting/class.
• Use them to revitalize the group at any time.
• Keep your eye on the participants. Make sure that they are having
fun!
• Don’t force people to participate.
• Prepare to improvise if necessary.
4
Meet Your Match
Create four or five signs related to
the course and hang them around
the room. Have the participants stand
near the sign with which they best
identify. For example, a leadership
class may use signs that say the
following:
• Authoritative Style
Social Media • Coaching Style
• Laissez-Faire Style
Icebreakers can still serve a purpose
in online classes and blended
• Relationship-Oriented Style
solutions, especially if the online class
is synchronized, such as webinars. Then, have the participants at each
They encourage participation and sign introduce themselves to each
allow you and the students to learn other and choose one person in the
about each other. group to introduce them to the class.
You will learn a lot about each
Create a blog or use a social media participant and set the tone of the
site that allows participants to post. course by introducing the topic.
Then use any number of traditional
icebreakers to introduce the
participants to each other and create
the feeling of a cohesive group.
For example, have each participant

post three things about themselves,
similar to how you would use other
icebreakers. You could also use the
classic “Two Truths, One Lie.” Another
option is to post questions, similar to
icebreakers such as “Where Would I
be if Not Here?”, and have the
participants answer online.
Encourage participants to respond
to each other’s posts.
5
If You Could…
This is a good way to begin a session, • If you could create the worst
and it helps participants get into a vacation for yourself, what
“thinking outside the box” mentality. would it be and why?
• What is the worst word in the
Go around the room “round robin” English language?
style and ask each participant a • Name a sound that means the
different question. Tell the group that most to you and why.
you will repeat some of the questions, • What is your favorite month of
but you won’t do so in any particular the year and why?
order. This makes it so the participant • How is a person in the room
cannot anticipate his or her question. most like you and why?
Make sure the questions are • What part of a car best
entertaining and thought provoking. describes you and why?
Some examples include:
You may choose to add questions that
• Name your favorite song and are tailored to your industry.
indicate what that says about
you. This exercise does two things: first,
• If you were to join a rodeo, it introduces the participants to the
what would you be and why? group and “breaks the ice.” Second,
• Describe your most useless each participant will consider the
skill. question being asked of another
• If your car had a name, what member. This helps expand their
would it be and why? thinking and encourages creativity.
6
Composite Person
Draw a stick figure or outline of a
person and display it on a flipchart
or projected screen. This person will
represent to the class as a whole.
Go around the room “round robin”

style and have the participants share a
characteristic about them. Write each
of the characteristics on the flipchart
or projected screen.
Share the Wallpaper
This exercise should be humorous and
This icebreaker can be used in a class
entertaining. For instance, you may
where everyone has a Smartphone, end up with a person who is 6 foot tall
tablet, or laptop. It is a great way and loves wrestling and sundresses.
to learn about the participants and While this icebreaker allows everyone
to get to know each other better, it
make everyone feel more comfortable
also creates a cohesive group.
together.
Have the participants pair off and

show their wallpapers to their
partners. Ask them to share why
they chose that particular wallpaper.
Then, ask for volunteers to share their
wallpapers with the group. This works
best if you are able to project the
wallpapers for the entire class to see.
7
Where Did I Put That?
This is an excellent icebreaker for Next, introduce yourself to the group.
instructors who would like the Make sure you mention the part of
participants to know more about your life that relates to the hiding
them. Rather than having the spot. When you are finished, ask the
participants introduce themselves, students to guess where the item is
this icebreaker gives instructors the hidden. They don’t have to get up
chance to introduce themselves to the and physically search for the item.
group while still encouraging They can simply guess based on your
participation and team work among description.
the group members.
This is also a great activity to do in
Take a personal item, such as a key small groups. The class can divide up
or ID, and hide it somewhere in the into groups and help each other figure
room. Make sure the hiding spot out where your hidden item is.
connects to you. For instance, if you
enjoy reading, you may hide the item
in a book.
8
• How do these items relate to
your management style?
• How do these items represent
your approach to the sales
process?
Apply for Your Job

Ask everyone in the group to write
about themselves as if they were
applying for their job. Then have the
What’s in Your Bag? participants pair off into teams and
share what they wrote.
This is a simple icebreaker that can
reveal a lot about a person. You can Next, have the pairs introduce each
keep it general or personalize it to other to the group by summarizing
make it more relevant to your course. the information their partners shared.
This is a great way for the participants
Have the participants choose a to learn a lot about each other,
department store. It can be a store
particularly their strengths.
specific to your area or a national
chain such as Macy’s. The participants
must pick three items from the store
and explain how those items
represent them. For instance,
someone may choose a watch and
say “Because I’m very precise about
time.”
There are many variations to this

icebreaker that can make it more
relative to your program. For instance,
you could ask questions such as:
• How do these items best

describe your approach to
work?
9
Survey Says
This activity works well when the group
members already know each other. It is
great for groups that work together or
have taken a class together.
As the participants enter the room, give

them a survey to fill out. Before
beginning the course, collect the surveys
and pick out some unique answers. Then,
have the participants guess who wrote
that answer. For example, ask “Who do
you think would write ‘X’ as a hobby?”
The questions should be unique and

interesting. Some examples include:
• I have an unusual hobby…

• The name of my first pet was …
• The teacher I disliked the most in
grade school was…
• If I could travel anywhere in the
world, I would go …
• If I had one wish, it would be…
As the participants guess who wrote the

answer, ask them why they said that
person. You can also ask the participants
who answered to further explain their
response. For instance, if someone said
his hobby was skydiving, you may ask him
to tell the class when he started skydiving
or how often he jumps.
This is a great way for participants to get

to know each other and to “break the
ice.”
10
Team Photo Hunt
Divide the group up into teams of
five. You can use smaller teams, but it
makes the game easier. Have
everyone pull out a photo from their
wallet. The trick is to pull out a photo
that would be hard to connect with
the participant.
Now, have the participants privately

A Funny Thing discuss the photos with their teams.
Then, have each team pair up with
Happened to Me another team and hand over their
on the Way to… photos. In front of the class, both
teams must try to identify which
Choose a topic such as at work, in photo belongs to each team member.
school, or at home, and ask the
participants to share the funniest It is the facilitator’s job to keep the
thing that ever happened to them. game fun and amusing. As people
This humorous icebreaker is a great guess who a photo belongs to, ask
way to get to know each other and them to share why they made that
to relax everyone before the course guess. Also, ask the participants to
begins. explain their photos, especially if
someone has a photo that is difficult
Other variations include the following:
to connect with him or her.
• The most important thing

that happened to me…
• The thing that meant the
most to my career…
• The scariest thing that
happened to me…
Make sure you choose a topic that is

appropriate for the environment.
11
The Virtual Scavenger Hunt
When conducting a webinar class or • It is an inanimate object.
other virtual training, learners can • Our financial institution has a
still get a sense of participating in a lot to do with it.
classroom through the use of virtual • It’s the color blue (or whatever
exercises. your color theme is)
• It’s smaller than a baseball.
Divide the participants into teams of • Marketing is the “key” to it.
five or six people. Email each member
of the team(s) with a list of the other As the webinar is ready to begin, send
team members’ email addresses. You each team member an email with only
can also use your web conferencing one hint. During the webinar, tell the
software to post them if that group to nominate a team member
capability is available. Select an object as leader and suggest a team name.
that has relevance to the class such The leader of each group is to email
as a workbook, a particular photo, you with their team name. When you
unique class schedule, or even receive an email from each leader
something learners can identify such noting their team name, tell the group
as logo keychain or marketing give- you have emailed each of them a hint.
away from your financial institution. They are to email each other back
and forth with suggestions, solve the
Pick an item and write five “hints”. For clue, and guess the object. The leader
example, these are “hints” if the is then to email you the answer the
object is a keychain from your team believes is correct. The first
financial institution: team leader that emails you with the
correct answer is the winner!
12
About TRC Interactive
From online training to multimedia, from internet to intranet, from blended
facilitation to self-instruction, from measurement to metrics, TRC Interactive
has the strongest credentials in financial institution training today. As one of
the most respected training organizations, TRC Interactive is state-of-the-art
in not only training, but bank systems, equipment, management problems,
needs, and personnel.
For over 40 years, TRC Interactive has been helping banks and credit unions
successfully train their employees by offering a variety of off-the-shelf and
customizable online, classroom, blended, or virtual solutions to meet all
bank and credit union training needs, including Teller, Compliance, New
Accounts, Lending, Management, and Customer Service.
Located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, since 1973, TRC Interactive provides

training services to financial service industries around the world. TRC’s
designs are based on a consistent training philosophy. This philosophy is
sensitive to the needs of the financial institution and participants. All TRC
designs combine solid content with an experiential, participative approach,
which provides everything needed to run effective skill-building programs.
Participants receive practical hands-on training that they can apply directly
to their jobs.
TRC’s training solutions are currently helping thousands of Trainers in

financial institutions across the country. If you’re not already a customer
and are interested in seeing how we can help reduce time, save money,
and increase employee performance, please e-mail us at
info@trcinteractive.com or call (800) 222-9909.
13

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2013

Best of Ice Breakers

Keys to Success ........................................................................ 4

About TRC Interactive ................................................................ 13

Adjust the Crowd to the Environment

If an ice breaker session is well-designed and well-facilitated, it can

• Make the instructions as simple as possible.

For example, have each participant

Go around the room “round robin”

Have the participants pair off and

Apply for Your Job

There are many variations to this

• How do these items best

As the participants enter the room, give

The questions should be unique and

• I have an unusual hobby…

As the participants guess who wrote the

This is a great way for participants to get

Now, have the participants privately

• The most important thing

Make sure you choose a topic that is

Located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, since 1973, TRC Interactive provides

TRC’s training solutions are currently helping thousands of Trainers in

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