Announcing an icebreaker activity at the beginning of a meeting could sometimes produce audible groans or visible head shakes among employees. In spite of some people’s aversion to icebreakers, their benefits are undeniable. Fun Icebreaker games nurture team morale, encourage bonds between workers, and give less assertive employees the courage to participate in the meeting.
Are Meeting Icebreakers Really Necessary?
Icebreakers are an effective and fun way to start a meeting or team-building session. They have the ability to ease tensions and improve team spirit. An icebreaker game holds the power to transform the energy in a room. When done well, they can enhance creativity and foster stronger relationships between employees. At the very least, they encourage workers to converse and learn more about each other.
“The ultimate goal of an icebreaker is to encourage participation from every individual present at the meeting,” according to Keith Fletcher, a marketing writer at Academic brits. “This ensures that workers who are more shy and reserved contribute as much to the meeting as their more assertive counterparts.”
The Benefits of Fun Icebreaker Games
Companies need strong relationships with their workers to succeed. Despite this, an Employee Engagement Report by TINYpulse found that only 27% of employees believe their companies are doing well with team-building efforts.
Businesses are facing dwindling rates of employee loyalty. Management doesn’t invest in fostering relationships among their employees yet they wonder why their workers are eager to leave.
When managers invest the effort to nurture friendships and encourage social bonds between employees, it results in stronger relationships within the company. In turn, these stronger bonds between workers lead to increased collaboration, improved team morale, and higher employee retention.
With so many benefits, it’s no wonder icebreakers are a staple at many events. Here are a few fun icebreaker games to try with your team during your next meeting.
Two Truths And One Lie
This icebreaker work best among participants who know very little about each other. To play, participants must share three statements about themselves. Of those three statements, two must be true and one must be lie. This icebreaker game frequently generates hilarious lies among workers which fosters connections through humour. It can also spark conversations and promote connections among employees.
Who Did It?
To play this icebreaker, ask employees to write down something interesting about themselves. Collect the interesting facts and read them out loud one by one while asking participants to guess who it is. This is a great way for your team to discover more about each other.
Charades
This classic game can be repurposed as a fun icebreaker for your next meeting. For anyone unfamiliar with Charades, a participant can select a movie, book, object, or famous person to play. Have them write down what they selected on a piece of paper. Then, they must act it out while other team members guess the answer.
It is an effective team-building game as it promotes understanding between participants and encourages them to win as a team. It can also put people at ease to watch other workers act out silly words.
Common Ground
This icebreaker is perfect for large group settings. The larger the team, the more fun this icebreaker becomes. To play, a host can call out a trait and participants must then find someone they have that trait in common with. For example, you can ask people to find someone who shares the same birthday month as them. Similarly, you can ask people to find someone with the same favorite sports team as them. This promotes finding commonalities and shared traits among team members which can strengthen bonds and produce friendships.
Conclusion
Organizations that dedicate time and effort into developing stronger connections between workers will reap its benefits in the form of stronger employee loyalty and improved cooperation between employees. When employees feel connected to their companies and their co-workers, companies succeed. So play fun icebreaker games at your next meeting or team event. It might make all the difference.
Also Read: 10 Powerful Mind Mapping Software You Need to Check Out!
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