35 Icebreakers Perfect for Virtual and Hybrid Meetings

Among virtual icebreakers, this is one of the simplest and can be done with groups of any size. Plus, it doesn’t require any real skill or prior knowledge — it’s pretty much just chance, so everyone at your meeting can participate without feeling bad if they lose. Virtual team ice breakers can break down communication barriers, encourage creativity and collaboration while also decreasing feelings of isolation. Incorporate more laughter and philosophical thought into your virtual meetings to boost productivity, creativity and collaboration.

Over the past 10 years, I have led remote teams for small and large companies across three continents. Getting team members better acquainted and building a strong company culture has icebreakers for virtual meetings been key to our success. Consider starting your virtual meeting by sharing a snack or coffee. To help encourage participation, consider sending gift cards to help defray the cost.

Icebreaker #24: Paper Airplane Game

Personalities, hobbies, and more will come to light and forge new friendships. Nonsense questions help everyone release workplace stress by shifting their focus to silly challenges. Their answers also reveal new aspects of everyone’s personality. Branch out from the traditional idea of an icebreaker by using these fun ideas with your coworkers during an upcoming conference call. This is another excellent option for large groups because the words can come from anonymous coworkers.

While this game is incredibly simple, I often find it very effective at getting a group energized and engaged, whatever the format of your meeting. Warming up at the start of your online meetings can have a profound impact on how effective the session is. Whether its encouraging a group to arrive mentally in the space or wake up their bodies, energizers are great way to warm everyone up.

Icebreaker games for virtual meetings

Just about everyone has played video games at some point in their lives (guilty), so it’s a pretty safe bet. Bonus points if you are familiar with the classics (and by that of course I mean NBA Jam and Crash Bandicoot). Go around the meeting participants and hear what animal they think represents them the best. What animal each participant relates to the most may say a lot about them! Give a little bit of time before starting to let participants think about animals and what their favorite says about them.

Songs can warm up vocal cords and make participants feel more comfortable chatting with each other. This is a quick, simple ice breaker question that can be used to kick off your virtual meetings. It allows team members to share their location, spark conversation, and can help create a sense of connection and camaraderie by highlighting the diversity of the team. Ice breakers can also help people relax, open up, and feel more comfortable in the virtual environment.

Good Icebreaker Questions for Any Meeting

This is not to say you shouldn’t help or correct people during the exercise – just that you should make this an efficient, effective process wherever you can. If your virtual meeting is designed expressly for building team spirit, bring one of these activities to your next video call. In-person meeting icebreakers can be a great way to warm up the room and get everyone talking. We have selected the best icebreaker games for office meetings to get you started. Before engaging in an online brainstorming session, use this game to inspire creativity among your team.

Selecting the right energizer is a great start, but great facilitators know that the right delivery and approach are vital in ensuring a method is successful. While every energizer has some unique elements that you should consider, there are some general tips and approaches you can use to help your virtual energizer be a success. Do you remember doing scavenger hunts as a kid during hot summers? Many of us will have seen a movie where one salesperson asks another to try selling them a pencil. How about we take that idea, add some potential for hilarity and move it online?

Even if you’re not artistic, this game is absolutely funny and fun. Gartic Phone gives you a short time frame to sketch photos based on other players’ prompts—and can result in some hilarious artwork. Here’s a list of my favorite icebreakers to avoid having those awkward meetings.