Free
Icebreakers for Seminars and Workshops
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We often doodle to relax or to pass the time while we are doing
something else (like talking on the telephone). Usually we think
of doodles as small drawings that have no meaning at all. But
sometimes our doodles reveal our innermost hopes and fears.
If you were doodling while you were thinking about this workshop,
what would the finished doodle look like?
* * * * *
Most
people with dogs will tell you that as soon as a dog hears
thunder in the distance, it will start whining and wanting
to be let it. Cats, on the other hand, while they must be
scared of the thunder and lightening, remain aloof and silent.
Which
are you most like when conflict thunders about you - the whimpering,
scared dog? Or the aloof and silent cat that seems not to
hear the cracks, booms, and roars all around it? Explain.
* * * * *
Gutters
are designed to collect waters running off a house's roof
and direct them towards a safe place. However, things other
than water collect in gutters. Leaves, fir needles and pine
cones accumulate in the gutter and block the drainage pipes.
If these are not removed from the gutter, the overflowing
water can saturate the soil next to the home's foundation
and cause settling which then causes the foundation to crack.
The overflowing water also rots the wood in the roof next
to the gutters, causing extensive damage.
Your
team has its own gutters. The gutters are team norms that
help you do the job you are supposed to do. But problems within
a team can be similar to leaves, fir needles and pine cones.
If not resolved regularly, they can damage or destroy your
team's effectiveness.
In
what shape are your team's gutters?
*
* * * *
We've
all heard the saying, "The whole world's a stage."
What movie is playing at your place of work?
*
* * * *
If
your worst time management habit came to life as a movie villain,
who would it be? Explain.
*
* * * *
In
Lilly Walter's book, Secrets of Successful Speakers, a contributor
states, "I watched a famous woman golfer speak once.
She carried a huge white handbag loaded with junk and plunked
it on the lectern. We looked at it throughout her presentation.
I don't remember a word she said, but I do remember the handbag."
In
the same way, we all do things that detract from getting our
message heard. It might be looking people in the eye for too
long a period of time, being overly shy, or being enthusiastic
in a group whose norm is to be reticent. These detract from
our message being heard in the same way that the speaker's
prominent handbag did.
What
"large, white handbag" are you carrying around?
*
* * * *
The
Chinese place great importance on filial piety. They also
believe that the spirits of dead ancestors influence the fate
of the living. As a result, some people of Chinese origin
have an altar within their home where they offer up prayers
to dead relatives.
If
your organization had a leadership altar where they went to
gain advice, which famous leader from the past would they
offer prayers to? Explain.
*
* * * *
On
a typical day, does your team function more like a:
- dirt bike;
- double-decker
bus;
- second-hand
lemon;
- Rolls
Royce; or
- tank?
Explain
your answer.
*
* * * *
Most facilitators and trainers are familiar with the "Treasure
Hunt" where participants are given a list and have to
find people who match statements on the list. These statements
are generally generic such as "Who dropped off a child
to day care before coming here?"
Make
a treasure hunt but connect it to your class. If you are teaching
leadership or motivation, ask, "Who coached a sport?"
and "Who accomplished something that people said couldn't
be done?" If you are teaching creativity ask, "Who
always has to change a recipe just a little bit?" and
"Who has been told they are a daydreamer?"
*
* * * *
Form
pairs with someone you don't know and introduce yourselves.
Get to know each other. After five minutes, you are to introduce
each other and tell the group one thing you have in common
with the other person. Try and find something a bit unusual.
For
instance, you both coach little league. Or you both excelled
in math in high school.
*
* * * *
Imagine
yourself opening the door to a Time Machine. You strap yourself
in, set the dial to after this workshop ends, and push the
button. You feel a vibration and wonder if the machine is
working. Then you look out the window and see yourself at
work. You realize that you are watching yourself in the future,
after this training is over.
What
changes do you see in your behaviour and how you work?
*
* * * *
When
you think of your (whatever the workshop is about) skills,
do you visualize:
- a
rusted and neglected car;
- a
sleek limousine; or
- a
family sedan?
Why?
*
* * * *
Psychologists
say that we all have an inner child deep within us who influences
how we react, think and feel. Think about attending this workshop
and explore your inner child's reaction. Then tell us your
name and what happens when you think of this workshop from
the perspective of your inner child. Tell us what the is inner
child saying; what the expression on his/her face is. Why?
For
example, when I visualize this workshop, my inner child has
eyes bright with anticipation and excitement because I LOVE
helping others learn.
*
* * * *
Tell
the group your name. And then tell us about the imaginary
friend you brought with you to class. What will your imaginary
friend do to help you in this class/session?
For
instance, my name is ____ and my imaginary friend will poke
me every time I start falling asleep - as you can tell, I'm
not a morning person.
Leadership
Form
pairs and then number off. All even numbered pairs are to
come up with four desirable characteristics of leadership,
each one based on the letters in the term LEAD. For instance
you could say a leader:
- LOVES
his/her team as him/herself;
- EAGERLY
embraces their diversity;
- ACHIEVES
what he/she said he/she would achieve; and
- DISTINGUISHED
him/herself with a high moral standard.
Those
uneven numbered pairs are to come up with five characteristics
of bad leadership based on the term BLEED.
Each
pair will introduce themselves, state what is on their list,
and then tell us which one item each person wants to develop
(wants to stomp out) in his/her life.
When
the groups are reporting, the facilitator should write down
their comments on two sheets of flip paper, tape them to the
walls, and refer to them later in the training session.
Communication
Skills
Have
participants form pairs. Read the following paragraph to the
participants:
Stna
klat without gniyas a drow! Did you know that when stna touch
each other with their eannetna, it is one way they klat or
etacinummoc?
Ask
anyone who understood what you said to raise his/her hand.
(No one will.)
Advise
the groups that you are going to have a competition with a
prize going to the pair who can first decipher the hidden
message. Give each pair a sheet of paper with the mixed up
paragraph on it.
Ask
the group who first deciphers the message to read it out loud
to the rest of the participants (it shouldn't take long for
one pair to decipher it).
Debrief
by saying that communication can be like the mixed-up message.
Often we send mixed messages or messages that sound like garbly-gook
to the listener. It can take a lot of time and effort to find
the key to the real meaning (f the listener even feels like
trying to sort it out). And a misunderstood message can result
in poor performance, frustration, and extra costs for a company.
Advise
the participants that this workshop will show them how to
make sure that the message they give is clear and easily understood
by all.
Actual
wording is: Ants talk without saying a word! Did you know
that when ants touch each other with their antennae, it is
one way they talk or communicate? (from http://www.letsfindout.com
Customer
Service
Advise
participants that you are giving them a task to start the
training session on a fun footing. Their assignment is to
introduce themselves and then tell a continuing wild and
wooly tall tale about the customer service experience from
hell. You will start the tall tale, then each person will
add a few sentences to the story which will then be continued
by the next person in line.
Use
incidents in the tall tale to illustrate points in the workshop.
Organizational
Change
Often
our gut reaction and our logical assessment of a situation
operate in different worlds. When you think of organizational
change, what direction does your gut take you? Your head?
Why?
- full
steam ahead;
- turn
tail and run;
- stand
your ground.
*
* * * *
Most
children look forward to change - they are fascinated by
how a butterfly emerges from a chrysalis; how roses placed
in a vase slowly bend their heads, their petals becoming
dry tissue; the clouds are shape shifters, holding hidden
messages in their uncertain depths.
Tell
us how you reacted to change as a child. And how you tend
to react to it now.
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