The Only Useful Icebreaker Activity Anyone May Ever Need

Jim Benson recently wrote a blog post on how Icebreakers Can Actually Be Useful. I have similar feelings to Jim about icebreaker activities that are contrived and awkward. Many seem to be tailored towards creativity and extroversion and rarely seem relevant to the work at hand.

Having said that, a good icebreaker can be useful, and I’ve recently found myself reusing the same basic format in different workshops. It’s very simple, and this is it.

… is like what?

The ellipsis at the start is replaced with something relevant to the workshop. For example, in a value stream mapping workshop, I might ask “Your current value stream is like what?” Or at the start of a portfolio workshop, I might ask “Your current portfolio is like what?”. Sometimes it becomes plural such as “Your current teams are like what?”. I’m sure you get the picture.

You might recognise this question from Clean Language. Its intent there is to be curious and explore metaphors. While it is really good at that, I also find that it works well for more literal thinkers who might want to describe something more factually. And there is a whole range of possibilities in between, so it generates some really valuable content to start a workshop with.

I like this question for 3 reasons.

Contribution

It gets people contributing to the work. I learned an early lesson as a trainer and facilitator, to “get people’s voices in the room”. The theory is that when people have spoken once, they are more likely to speak up again. Thus everybody can contribute an answer to the “… is like what?” question, without anybody having to feel pressured into being overly creative and original.

Connection

It gets people making a connection to the work to be done. In other words, that contribution is meaningful, and not something that will be discarded and forgotten. Training from the Back of the Room describes “4Cs” of Connections, Concepts, Concrete Practice and Conclusions. In that framework, a Connections activity is designed to connect learners to each other and to the topic. The way I use this icebreaker does exactly that.

Context

It creates a shared context for the group at the start of the workshop. The majority of times I have used the question, something comes out that becomes a recurring theme and thread throughout the rest of the workshop. At the very least it usually gets referred back to every now and again. Additionally, as a facilitator, I can start learning a huge amount about that shared context as well.

Do your icebreakers help create a meaningful contribution, participant connection, and shared context?