Welcome Wednesday: What's your favorite icebreaker? 🧊

[Dave LIAO]

🏁 How do you start a conversation started?

🛜 How do you get people to connect?

If you're meeting new teammates, or are at a social mixer, what icebreakers have you heard - or tried yourself - to get a conversation flowing? What has worked well for you, especially in situations where there might be a diversity of languages spoken, or of the participants themselves?

Looking forward to hearing what the community has tried!

🔎 And yes, if you search Community there's a few posts on icebreakers, including some in the Teamwork Lab collection!

[Matt Doar _Adaptavist_]

Pre-prepared icebreakers alway make myecringe a bit. So I talk about where I live and work, and people often respond with their own places. Or I ask how to properly say their name if I'm not sure. 

But I'd love to go on one of the nuclear-powered icebreakers that run cruises in the Arctic!

[Dave LIAO]

Yesssss - I'd love to go on an actual icebreaker! 🧊🧊🧊

[Jimmy Seddon]

I believe it was at Team '24 that the Community Managers handed out a deck of conversation starter cards to Community Champions to use as Ice Breakers at local events.

One of them is: "Is there a skill you'd like to learn?"

I have altered that slightly for virtual social events for our company to:

"If you could instantly master one skill what would it be? and why?"

That one usually results in some very passionate answers.

[Dave LIAO]

@Jimmy Seddon - That card deck is one of the few swag items I've actually kept over the years. I'll have to bring it to Anaheim in May!

Two of my favorite cards from that deck (and I'm replicating the bold text from the card) are:

1. Who came into your life at the perfect time?
2. What was one of your best decisions?

[Amanda Barber]

I really like the idea of a lot of the suggestions from this site - these nametags seem like a great way to jump into a true connection (and maybe I'd actually remember someone's name if I made a real connection first!) https://shop.weand.me/products/we-connect-sticker-nametags

Other than that, I rarely need icebreakers without a context I feel comfortable chatting in (like the gym, kids' activities, etc - they all offer an easy way into conversation.) 

Currently, here in the United States, I like to determine if I want to have further conversation by starting with some political statement or question. 🤪

[Natalie Beiler]

I'm with you @Amanda Barber in that I find it pretty natural to jump into a conversation with a contextual question depending on the setting. 

[Dave LIAO]

Love creative name tags!

I've attended a number of CreativeMornings events and the facilitators usually provide name tags with prompts!

At a past event I wrote that my favorite invention of all time was flash drives. 😬 No idea what inspired me to write that in the morning, but I guess I do have PTSD from having to tote around multiple floppies with segmented compressed files in the good old days...

[Andy Gladstone]

@Dave LIAO you know me well enough to know that I am the person that the ice-breakers are intended for, otherwise I'll just sit quietly in my corner hoping that no one speaks to me. 99% of the time, I am the ice. 

That being said, my favorite 'hey I don't know you, but I'm going to ask you a question that coming from a stranger will shock you' moment was when I was approached by someone at a conference and asked what my annual income was. No hello. No what's your name. Just a straight shot looking for a number. I remember just blinking and being confused whether I heard the request correctly. By the time I came to, he had moved on to someone else. 

[Matt Doar _Adaptavist_]

Wow. That's a child's tongue in an adult's head. 

[Dave LIAO]

@Matt Doar _Adaptavist_ - I can't un-imagine that phrase! 😂😂😂

[Barbara Szczesniak]

If I've met the person once or twice before, I generally start with something like, "I'm Barb. I know we've met before, but I have forgotten your name." I'd rather know their name than pretend I know their name.

If we haven't met, I will ask their name on meeting and before walking away in the hope that I will remember it when I see them again. 

[Andrea Dunlop]

When I’m meeting new people—whether it’s teammates or people at a social event—I usually start with something simple and natural. I’m a pretty warm, positive person, so I like to make eye contact first. Once someone meets my eyes, I’ll smile, ask their name, and mention that we haven’t met yet.

From there, I just let the conversation flow on its own. Sometimes it’s quick if we don’t really click, but other times we end up having a great chat and even exchange numbers. Honestly, my best icebreaker is that initial eye contact—it sets the tone and makes it easier for the other person to open up.

[Andrej Freeze]

Depending on the meeting I try. to have the ice breaker be something that actually fits to it. One that I like to use a lot when forming a new team is two truths and a lie. It helps us get to know each other and what type of humor we have some of our mates have.

[Mattejj]

I like to ask: What's the latest Event you attended?