Workshop ice-breaker collection
Use this Workshop Icebreaker Collection Template to bring energy, engage people, and foster collaboration when running a meeting or workshop.
Ice-breakers can get a bad reputation for being a waste of limited time. However, effective ice-breakers are an essential tool in every workshop or meeting, in making the group feel comfortable, eliciting more information and demonstrating desired behaviours.
The 5 categories of ice-breakers — It’s important to choose an ice-breaker that fits the needs and purpose of the workshop/meeting you are facilitating. Start with an objective, which will depend on external factors e.g. where you are in the process, time of day, size of the group etc. We categorised some of the most effective ice-breakers by 5 common objectives:
Getting personal
Use these activities to help participants bond, create a feeling of safety and cohesion, and move beyond the 'professional' sphere into the personal. Introduce them at the beginning of a workshop, because they also help participants get familiar with using Miro.
Who is here?
Mini-superpower
Where are you?
Encourage teamwork
With these activities, you can get participants to work together as a group and demonstrate how collaboration leads to better outcomes.
1 to 20
Speed sketch
Demonstrate divergent thinking
You can encourage participants to think more creatively. Often by asking the 'unreasonable', people feel more confident to think outside of the box.
Invent a game
This is not...
Convergent thinking
These activities are all about helping people to refine, analyse and synthesise. The objective is to make your participants feel more reflective.
One word check-in
Map of me
Injecting energy
Sometimes you need a bit of light fun to break up the intensity of a workshop. With these activities, you will keep participants engaged and focused in the middle of a slump or tackling a particularly complex topic.
GIF tournament
Pictionary
After every energiser, ask the group what they thought the point of the exercise was. Relate this to the next task they will be doing. This will get them to reflect on the objective and ground it in logic. It’s also a useful way to demonstrate the type of behaviour/thinking required.
How do they work—
Each ice-breaker activity template is created and shared with clear instructions on how to use it, along with the approximate time it takes to complete each activity.
To add these ice-breakers to your workshop board, simply copy the frame of the ice-breaker and paste it into your Miro board.
How do you break the ice in a workshop?
Most facilitators use icebreakers to ensure people are comfortable interacting with each other and participating in the meeting or workshop. Icebreaker activities are also an excellent way to loosen up your audience, mainly because they are fun and non-work-related activities. It’s a way to give people a break and get them more relaxed and engaged with what’s coming next.
What are some good virtual icebreakers?
Miroverse has many virtual icebreaker activities you can choose from. Select one according to your needs or that better fits your online session. Remember, each icebreaker serves a different purpose. You can use icebreakers that are either energizing, collaborative, or reflective.
Get started with this template right now.
"The Big Picture" Puzzle Icebreaker
Works best for:
Icebreakers
Learn how to better collaborate and communicate with this fun and unique Icebreaker Puzzle Template.
Monster Workshop
Works best for:
Icebreakers, Workshops
Get everyone’s creative juices flowing with the Monster Workshop Template. Bring energy and fun to your meetings and workshops.
Emotions Wheel Icebreaker
Works best for:
Icebreakers, Meetings
Allow people to express emotions and connect with each other. Use the Emotions Wheel Icebreaker to build the foundations for an important conversation.
Digital Event Icebreakers
Works best for:
Icebreakers
Use Miro’s free Virtual Event Icebreakers Template to get to know your distributed team, encourage participation, and help everyone feel at ease. Run virtual drawing sessions, ask participants to pin their location on a map, and get everyone to share a little bit of information about themselves.
The Check-In Icebreaker
Works best for:
Icebreakers, Meetings
Run a dynamic online session with the Check-in Icebreaker Template. Use this icebreaker before your meeting to boost energy levels, connect people, and warm up the room.
Icebreaker Template
Works best for:
Icebreakers
There’s no better way to kickoff a meeting or workshop than by building comfort and familiarity between your guests — to put them at ease and get them ready to participate and collaborate. That’s just the kind of human connection that icebreakers create, which make them great for remote gatherings or introducing new team members. There are many icebreakers to choose from, including: Describe yourself in one word. Share a photo of yourself as a baby. And if you were an animal, what would you be?