Icebreakers

Icebreakers for quick icebreakers

Icebreakers that take under five minutes for the whole group — for meetings that cannot spare more but would be better with a warm start.

10 questionsAny meeting of up to ten people with a few minutes to spare.
Other occasions

The questions, and why each one works

  1. Thumbs up, sideways or down: how is your day going?
    • Done in five seconds by everyone at once, and a thumbs-down is worth a quiet word after.
  2. One word to describe your morning.
    • The shortest possible answer that still says something.
  3. How many coffees so far today?
    • Everyone can answer, and the numbers are always funnier than expected.
  4. What is on your desk that should not be?
    • Quick, a little embarrassing in a friendly way, and people laugh.
  5. Describe the last photo on your phone — only if you want to.
    • The opt-out makes it safe. The answers are usually pets, food or screenshots.
  6. What is the best thing that has happened since yesterday?
    • Starts on something good, in one sentence.
  7. What is the plan for lunch?
    • Practical and mundane in the best way. Sometimes it turns into a lunch plan.
  8. Early bird or night owl?
    • A one-word answer that also tells colleagues when to send things.
  9. Which song is stuck in your head?
    • Fun to hear and, sometimes, to regret hearing.
  10. Finish the sentence: today I am going to…
    • Quick, focused on the day, and people hold themselves to it.

How to run it

Ask one and go round quickly, ten seconds each. With six people the whole thing is a minute.

Keep one question per meeting. Quick only works if you do not stack them.

If time is truly short, use the thumbs or one word — both can be done by everyone at the same moment.

What to leave out

Anything that needs explaining

If the rules take longer than the answers, it is not a quick icebreaker.

Personal questions without an opt-out

Short does not mean safe. Always leave a way to pass.

Asking “any icebreaker ideas?”

Choosing one together takes longer than doing it.

Questions

What is the quickest icebreaker?

A thumbs up, sideways or down from everyone at once. Five seconds.

Are quick icebreakers worth it?

In a regular meeting, a minute spent hearing each voice once makes it more likely people speak up later.

What if the meeting is only fifteen minutes?

Use one word each, or skip it and leave a minute at the end for anything else instead.

Icebreakers for other meetings

Team meetingsQuestions for the start of a regular team meeting — short enough for a weekly habit, and useful enough that the answers matter.Virtual meetingsIcebreakers built for video calls: ones that use the camera and the chat, survive a bad connection, and do not leave long silences.Welcoming a new team memberIcebreakers for the week someone joins: they help the new person learn how the team works, without putting them on the spot.Workshops and trainingIcebreakers for the start of a workshop or training day, chosen because the answers tell the person running it what the room needs.Large groupsIcebreakers for thirty people or more — all-hands, town halls, big classes — where going round the room is impossible.One-on-onesOpeners for one-on-one meetings between a manager and a member of their team — questions that start a real conversation rather than a status report.

Every occasion →

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