January 27, 2019
Our Podcast brings you ideas, inspiration, and best practices for Team Building from cities around the globe. Learn More
Know each other as people, not just professionals.
We’re all so much more than our job titles. We have interests that may have drawn each of us to our roles and help us excel within them. There are easy team building icebreaker activities for work that will help you and your virtual team bond and get to know each other as more than co-workers.
We all have stories that connect us. Team building games and icebreaker activities can keep your team bonded throughout the year, even when you’re working virtually! Here are some examples of great icebreakers and team building activities to get to know each other:
- The Unknown Fact Game or Team Trivia
- Like It. Pin It. Own It.
- Toy Dump Icebreaker
- Carpool!
- The Imposter
5 TEAM BUILDING ICEBREAKER ACTIVITIES FOR WORK:
We all have stories that connect us. Team building games and ice breaker activities can keep your team bonded throughout the year! Here are some examples of great icebreakers:
1) The Unknown Fact Game or Team Trivia
This game is simple. Assign a coordinator and have everyone on your team submit one “unknown fact” to that person. The coordinator is responsible for auditing facts based on pre-set criteria. For example, you may ask team members to submit facts specifically about their hometowns. They then must create a randomized list of facts and a separate randomized list of participant names. Everyone has a set amount of time (e.g. complete by the end of the day) to match as many facts to participants accurately as possible. If you have a small team, you can also have each person explain the reasoning behind each match they guessed while reading individual answers aloud.
2) Like It. Pin It. Own It.
Our idea for this icebreaker is that when everyone first walks into the office in the morning, they choose a pin from the basket. This way, when people come up to your desk or see you in the kitchen area, they notice which pin you have chosen to wear and can strike up a conversation with you about your pin. Beforehand, have someone (or a select few people) organize the pins and write statements on them that resonate with people.
3) Toy Dump Icebreaker
What happens when you take the box of toys and dump it into the center of a team circle? Participants will gain a deeper understanding of themselves and those around them. Check it out here!
4) Carpool!
Can you carpool together somedays? The average roadway commute to work in the US is 26 minutes long each way. That’s a lot of time that your team could spend getting to know each other better, brainstorming ideas, or just debriefing from a long day.
5) The Imposter
To get people to drop their guard and start talking, this is a fun and lighthearted team building activity. It’s even available virtually, using the “Among Us” app!
Icebreakers are considered the #1 onboarding activity as well as the best way to get to know your team.
If you want some more ideas for DIY Team Building activities, check out our office icebreakers.
You can also build community and improve team dynamics by shopping our wide variety of Thumballs on our DIY Store. From Icebreaker Thumballs to Tell All Thumballs, your possibilities to simulate conversation, fun, and learning are endless.
Plays well with these activities...
