Icebreakers and Energisers
What shape are you?
(with thanks to Jackie, Graham, Ann and Belinda)
Draw four shapes on a flip chart” a square, a triangle, a circle and a
squiggle. Then ask delegates “which shape do you think represents you
the best” (it might be worth clarifying this is not about their physical
shape!). After a minute or so, read out the following information about
the different shapes:
 Square – you are reliable, structured, regimented and efficient,
but you might not like change.
 Triangle – you are aspirational, grounded and focused, but you
may not always be able to seethe wood for the trees.
 Circle – good communicators, empathetic and participative, but
you have a tendency to be indecisive.
 Squiggle – energetic, adaptable and flexible but may also be
impatient.
D-I-Y Icebreaker
(with thanks to Steve, Janet, Linda and Stephanie)
This is a great activity to promote creativity, address boredom and/or
low energy in the room and can be useful for facilitators and trainers to
gauge the level of engagement or learning styles etc. of delegates. It
could also raise their awareness and appreciation of what’s involved in
delivering learning activities.
Put lots of different resources on the tables e.g. post it notes, bendy
men (!), squeezy toys etc. – whatever you have in your props box – and
give groups of delegates 10 minutes to come up with a quick, fun
icebreaker or energizer that will help people get to know each other.
The delegates then run their icebreakers and vote on which one they
think is best.
Spell It Out
(with thanks to Claire, Alison and Amy)
Choose a word that is related in some way to the session content or
perhaps delegates’ names and ask them to use the first letters of that
word to come up with words or phrases that describe them. We used
the word ICE to illustrate and examples that were given were:
I - imaginative, idiotic ideas, innovative
C – creative, champagne-loving, canoeing
E – energetic, extrovert, enthusiastic
This is a really simply idea that can be used in any training session, with
no set up needed. I’ve also used this as a review activity at the end of a
workshop and taken a word that relates to the session, then invited
participants to come up with words or phrases that describe what
they’ve learnt.
Question Time
(with thanks to Steve)
Simply ask questions that get people thinking, such as:
- what was the last thing that made you laugh?
- Tell us one thing that your mother doesn’t know about you.
Unique and Shared
(with thanks to Claire)
This icebreaker is great when you have a very large group of people who
don’t know each other very well or at all, or for team-building.
Divide the large group into smaller groups and give each group two
sheets of A4 paper and some pens. First ask them to come up with a list
of qualities or traits that are unique to one person in the group; they
should avoid things that are obvious (e.g. wearing a blue top) but come
up with ideas that are a bit deeper (e.g. failed driving test seven times).
The aim is to come up with the longest possible list. After about 5
minutes ask the groups how many items they have and get them to read
out their lists.
Next, do the same thing but this time ask the groups to write lists of
qualities / traits they share. Again these should not be really obvious
things.
In total this should take no more than about 20 minutes. You can also
award small prizes for the groups with the longest lists.