Icebreaker Generator for Meetings, Classes and Parties: how it works
This icebreaker generator deals one question at a time from a deck of 394, written to get strangers, coworkers or a new class talking without putting anyone on the spot. Tap Safe for work meetings, Kids and classrooms or one of 12 topics, choose how deep to go, and read the card aloud. Press Next card for another. The full list is printed below.
Run a round from one phone or a shared screen
A question is on screen when the page opens. Before you read it out, tap a group: Safe for work meetings, Kids and classrooms, or a topic such as Food and cooking or What if. Then pick a level. Easy takes ten seconds to answer, so use it when people have just walked in. The host reads the card and answers first, which shows everyone how long an answer should be. Go round the circle, then press Next card. Skip swaps a card that does not fit the room.
What makes an icebreaker work, and the rules worth setting
Plenty of people dread icebreakers, usually because the last one was pointless or too personal. The fix is in the choice of question: no right or wrong answer, nothing private, and some link to why the group is here. Set two rules aloud. Anyone may say "pass" without giving a reason, and an answer is one or two sentences. With more than twelve people a full circle takes too long, so pair people up for two minutes and have each person report their partner's answer.
The printed list and what the phone remembers
All 394 questions are printed under the generator: 12 topic groups, then our two picks. Safe for work meetings holds 332 questions and leaves out the most personal cards, such as earliest memories and private reflection. Kids and classrooms holds 202 that a nine-year-old can answer. The phone remembers the cards played in one sitting, and after twelve quiet hours the deck is full again. A team that meets weekly should keep its own note of the questions used, or work down the printed list. Nothing anyone says is typed in or stored.
Tips
- Match the level to how well people know each other. Strangers get Easy, and a long-standing team can take Going deeper.
- Put the question in the meeting invite. Quiet people give better answers when they have had an hour to think.
- On a first day of class, use Kids and classrooms on Easy and let students answer to a neighbor before anyone speaks to the whole room.
- Close a workshop with a card from Work, school and check-ins, such as What are you taking away from today, in one sentence?
- At a dinner table, deal from Silly questions. Is a hot dog a sandwich? gives everyone a side to take, which a question about jobs never does.
Questions and answers
What makes a good icebreaker question?
It is easy to answer, safe to answer and worth hearing the answer to. That means no right or wrong reply, nothing that asks for private information, and a link to the purpose of the gathering where you can find one. A good test: would you be comfortable answering it first, in front of your manager or your students? If not, press Skip.
Is this icebreaker question generator safe for work?
Tap Safe for work meetings and it is. That group has 332 questions with no politics, religion, romance or health, and nothing about pay or anyone's private life. Questions such as What is one tool you could not do your work without? keep the talk close to the job. A few reflective cards outside that group suit friends better than colleagues.
How long should an icebreaker take in a meeting?
About five minutes, or one sentence per person. In a group of six, a full round fits easily. With fifteen people on a video call, ask everyone to type an answer into the chat and press enter on the count of three. An icebreaker that eats a quarter of the meeting is the kind people complain about.
Can I use these questions with students?
Yes. Kids and classrooms has 202 questions that need no work history and no long memory, such as What two animals would you combine to make the best new animal? They work as morning meeting prompts, line-up questions and journal starters. Every card is clean, so an older class can use All.
What do easy, medium and hard mean?
They measure how much a question asks of the person answering. Easy needs a few words: a favorite pizza topping. Medium asks for a sentence or a short story: the best trip you have ever taken. Hard takes some thought and a little trust: something you changed your mind about. The deck holds 177 easy, 173 medium and 44 hard questions.