Icebreaker: 10 activities to get to know the group

Discover 10 icebreakers to use in remote work or in person, to get group work off to a good start

An icebreaker is a game to get to know each other. Lasting 5, 10 or 15 minutes, each Klaxoon online ice breaker is a different game for groups of people, whether they already know each other or not. With this kit, you have a selection of 10 activities to help you start a group discussion and improve your teamwork. Each one is a game to get to know each other that can be used on-site, in remote work, or in hybrid mode.

Depending on how much time you have, you’ll find the right quick energizing icebreaker that will let everyone have their say and spark curiosity. And once it's finished, you can launch your meeting or workshop with the team feeling at ease and stimulated!

How can a quick icebreaker help you work better together?

Have you ever launched a working group or even facilitated a meeting without knowing much about the people around you? It’s not always easy to collaborate effectively with people we don't know. For good teamwork, we all need to trust each other, recognize each other and at least know whom we're talking to! That’s exactly what these games to get to know each other are for.

Letting shy people have their say, stimulating the group’s imagination, listening to colleagues, and feeling energized so everyone wants to collaborate, are just some of the major advantages of these icebreakers. A fun ice breaker ensures to put everyone at ease so you can follow up with a friendly, effective and creative work session.

How to run an online icebreaker with Klaxoon

Klaxoon has various icebreaker games for you to do on your online whiteboard.

The quickest? Live Storm and Live Vote. Ask your team to share their mood of the day to create a word cloud, or suggest a list of songs and ask participants to vote for the one that best suits their mood. You can use these two quick 5-minute ice breakers with an unlimited number of participants.

Are you facilitating a group of 5 to 10 participants? With Geo’Music, ask everyone to share the music they're listening to now on the map. Feel free to adapt the theme (dish of the day, mood of the day etc.) to simulate the team’s curiosity! You can also try One, Two, Three: each participant sends a photo of their dream destination, one of a famous person who would go with them, and one of an item they would take with them. Here too, you can vary the questions to boost the team’s creativity.

Duplicity is another game to get to know each other, that can be used for up to 20 people. Choose one of the two contrasting pairs (Intro/Extra or Stress/Relax), or customize them, then ask your collaborators to position a photo representing them on the chart. It's guaranteed to create a good atmosphere!

For a group of 3 to 10 participants, Klaxoon has the really easy Team Mood. First, choose your favorite mood picture (the tree or the house), then ask everyone to position themselves as one of the characters represented in the drawing. You can set a 1-minute timer so that everyone has time to explain their position. A really great way to find out how everyone is feeling.

Are you feeling playful? For 4 participants or more, we have the fun Speed Match icebreaker. Form two teams and pit them against each other with 5 questions about the upcoming meeting. This will energize the team, and get them thinking in preparation for your work session.

Do you just want your team to get to know each other? You can use the quick icebreaker If I were, for up to 20 participants. Let each team member submit their ideas in the City, Dish, Song, and Animal boxes, then give them a minute to comment on their choices.

Does your team consist of 12 people or more, and you want to awaken its competitive spirit? Try the Banana Challenge! Three teams of 4 people or more compete in four 4-minute rounds, each one taking turns to play the referee. Answer the questions, score each team, and you get a highly motivated group ready to work together!

For 4 participants or more, you can try the simple and effective Who’s who?. Post ideas with the name of each participant, and then everyone has to send 2 secrets about themselves. Give the whole team 8 minutes to try to figure out who’s who, then spend 5 minutes sharing the results. Your collaborators will feel comfortable and work better together, even in hybrid or remote work.