The purpose of Ice-Breakers is to set up a comfortable atmosphere for proceedings to develop by making the individuals present feel at ease. These systems are all the more essential when the individuals don't know each other well enough to get off on the right foot by themselves. An ice-breaker will help the participants feel relaxed and also set the right attitude for a meeting to get under way. This relaxed state of mind will cause the participants to be more focused and receptive so they can actively engage in the dialogue at hand.

Ice breakers are used not only in the beginning, but also when the meeting is in the midway or reaches a difficult situation. The content and timing of using an ice-breaker doesn't need to be given excessive consideration - as some individuals instinctively understand how to implement an ice-breaker. With minimal training, others can easily learn this skill as well.

Ice-breakers are basically small exercises that inspire individual enthusiasm - making interpersonal situations more favourable, with the usual overall result of more meaningful interactions. Some of the commonly used ones are:

1. True or False - Ask each individual to state three facts about themselves, two of which are correct, and one false. The other members are to guess at the incorrect statement. The person who guesses the False statement is then the next in line for the continuation of the game.

2. Inferring - Ask each person to write a list of their choices, for example, favourite animal, flower, and personal hobbies. Read out this information to the group one by one without saying anything about the name of the person being talked about, and then ask the others to guess who was just being described.

3. Ask the members to clearly state two or three adjectives about themselves that begin with the same letter as the initial of their first name. This generally enhances everyone's thought process.

4. Physical exercises will remove any lethargic feeling some may have, for instance, ask the participants to stretch their arms and legs.

Some of the Do's and Don'ts that can help in the successful use of ice-breakers are:

Do's

- The game chosen should be appropriate and suitable for the group concerned.

- Make the instructions as simple as possible to understand.

- Keep an eye on the participants to ensure that they are enjoying the process.

- Irrespective of how much effort you have put into devising a good ice-breaker, it may not work. So, always have a back-up plan in place.

- Make sure that you have the right number of people for the game.

Don'ts

- Don't go for ice-breakers which might make the participants feel uncomfortable, physically or mentally.

- Don't force anyone to participate.

- Don't be unorganized. Have all of the material you might need, as any delay can quickly make the atmosphere lose direction and focus.

- Don't underestimate the time that might be needed for completing this activity.

- Don't limit the use of ice-breakers to the start of a meeting

Finally, as a general rule of thumb - insert Ice-Breakers whenever needed.

Copyright (c) 2009 Alan Gillies