People get together to be social. Every social environment will be unique, a different place, different people and at least at a different time. Even the same group of people in the same place but at a different time will have a different feel, those people will be at least be a little older, even wiser.
Add to that, some people are naturally more social than others. So sometimes it's helpful to encourage things along a little. When individuals can relax into that social environment, they are more likely to have a more enjoyable time. And so it then stands to reason, that the sooner individuals relax and get comfortable, then the longer they can spend enjoying themselves. So there's great benefit in getting people comfortable and enjoying themselves quickly.... more people can have a great time sooner.
Ice breakers are a great way to accelerate that process of getting comfortable. There are lots of different ice breaker approaches, and some more active than others. This is not really about structured games, which themselves can be really good at engaging people in the right circumstances, but more about enabling and stimulating conversation. This about using light, informal approaches, mostly built around simple questions, and can be picked up and put down to suit. This really suits small groups, and often around the naturally occurring tables.
One of the simplest and quickest ways is using neutral, curious, interesting, and sometimes odd questions, to create some common dialogue and build some rapport. The right questions can generate a flurry of interesting and humorous responses that allow people to start to talk naturally with each other. It's about creating and having some fun.
So over time here's well share some of those approaches and questions. Here's a sample of those coming ice breakers....
What if....
- If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
- If you owned a shop, what would it sell?
- If you could have a secret camera in any room in the world, what room would you choose?
- What's your all time favourite movie?
- Who's your favourite TV detective?
- What do you order when you have Chinese food?
- What's the longest you've ever gone without sleep?
- What's the best bargain you've ever found?
- What's the biggest surprise you've ever had?
- Brown sauce or tomato sauce?
- Bath or Shower?
- Spring or Autumn?
