What makes a good icebreaker
- No right answer. Opinions and preferences, not knowledge.
- Easy to answer. Two options or one word; nobody should have to think hard.
- Safe. Nothing personal, political or embarrassing.
- A split. The best questions divide the room roughly in half.
Formats that work
- Would you rather: two options, an instant split. “Would you rather work from a beach or a mountain cabin?”
- Word cloud: “Describe your weekend in one word.” Inclusive, and it fills the screen.
- Quick poll: “Coffee or tea?” for the shortest possible warm-up.
- Rating: “How’s your energy today, 1 to 5?” Useful for the facilitator too.
Run it in two minutes
- 1 Start from the Icebreaker or Would you rather template.
- 2 Set Access to results to Always, so the split appears as people vote.
- 3 Open present mode in the room or share it in your video call.
- 4 Once the votes are in, ask someone from the smaller side why.
That last step is the icebreaker. The poll just gives people something to talk about.
Remote, hybrid and big groups
In a video call, share the present mode tab; people answer on their phones or laptops with the join code. For five hundred people, word clouds work best: everyone contributes, and nobody needs the microphone.
Don’t ask for names. Icebreakers work because nobody is on the spot.
