ICE BREAKER OPTIONSGet the Conversation Rolling!

According to the Book of Lists, the fear of public speaking ranks number one in the minds of the majority of people.

The Book of Lists, 1977 Wallace, Wallenchinsky and Wallace

Ice Breakers – Option 1

FIRST: Turn to someone sitting next to you and…

1. Give your name,

2. Your position on Center if you’re a staff member,

3. your age,

4. where you were born,

5. and then tell us… if you were a car, what model you would be and why.

These 5 items should be on a PowerPoint slide on the screen or on a piece of chart paper on the wall.

NEXT: Have students repeat the process with the person’s name and the model of car they associate with, e.g., Hi Bill, the classic red Mustang.

The next person reiterates the information for the previous speakers and then does his/her own introduction, so halfway through, it might sound like this

“I’d like to introduce Bill, the classic Mustang; MarryLynn, the latest Prius; Jose, the 4-wheel drive Jeep; Malik, the Austin-Martin; Nara, the 2011 BMW; Jerry, the hard-working pick-up truck; and I am Samantha, I’m 22 years old, I was born in Florida, and if I were a car, I’d be a stretch Limo because I love to go out to fine places with a lot of people…

Ice Breakers – Option 2FIRST: Turn to someone sitting next

to you and…

1. Give your name,

2. Your position on Center if you’re a staff member,

3. your age,

4. where you were born,

5. and then tell us… tell us just one little secret about yourself; a secret is anything about you that no one in this room knows….

These 5 items should be on a PowerPoint slide on the screen or on a piece of chart paper on the wall.

NEXT: Have students repeat the process with the person’s name and the secret that they’ve revealed, e.g., Hi Bill who has 11 brothers and sisters…and then continue down the line having teams introduce one another so the entire group gets acquainted.

The icebreaker proceeds as above. If some students say they don’t have a secret, ask a direct question like “When did you learn to swim?” (Many won’t know how, which gives you a lead-in to talk about swim lesson alternatives, if you have them.) “What instrument would you like to learn to play?” or “What’s your favorite TV show/movie/sport to play/sport to watch?”

• Forty Ice Breakers for Small Groups, Grahame Knox

Forty Ice Breakers is a free, downloadable PDF

• Dozens of Ice Breakers and Team Building Games

Free4Teachers Blog that cites free online catalog through icebreakers.ws and more. Note that these sites have advertisements, yet lots of information

• 10 Techie Ice Breakers for the 21st Century Teacher

Free website promoting the use of technology and mobile learning

Links to Other Ice Breakers