7 Virtual Meeting Icebreakers
Virtual meetings are becoming more common in business environments. For some staff members, the only time they see their colleagues is on a screen! Even when participants are in different geographic locations, you can organize icebreakers that help them learn more about one another and become better collaborators. Here are some of the best virtual meeting icebreakers!
How’s Your Social Life?
Ask participants a simple question about their social life so everyone can learn more about each other. Participants can share funny stories and get to know one another.
Ask questions like:
Take a Picture Why Don’t You!
One of the difficulties with collaborating online is that the other participants don’t feel as “real” as a person in the same room. One way to overcome this is by learning more about the person’s workspace and the objects that they have around them. You can ask participants to take a photo of a specific object that is nearby and share it with the group.
Some ideas for photos include:
This helps participants learn more about each other and helps to “humanize” one another! You can also ask participants to share some photos of the town where they live. This helps the group understand the part of the world where other participants live.
Eat Lunch Together!
Traditionally, people working in the same workspace often get the chance to share lunch with one another. During lunch they can have a chat and get to learn more about each other. Why not have a weekly lunch day where everyone eats lunch at their computer and talks about what they have been up to.
Participants can show others what they are having for lunch that day! Some subjects to talk about include any movies people in the group want to see, what books everyone is reading and what plans everyone has for the weekend.
The Best of the Web!
Because you are all in an online environment, it’s a great opportunity for the group to share the websites and online resources they absolutely love! The facilitator can ask the participants to share some of their favorite websites and explain why they love them so much. In many cases, the group shares some really useful online resources which are very beneficial for collaboration.
What Movies Do You Like?
Who doesn’t love watching something entertaining? Or something artistic for that matter? Well, while each person’s movie taste is going to differ to a certain degree, we can’t think of anyone who has never watched a movie in their life. It’s one of those hobbies that spans across the world regardless of culture. And speaking of cultures, you might even find out about movies you have never even heard of before. This is an especially awesome fact if your conference involves people from different backgrounds. You can check IMDB’s Top 250 movie list to get some ideas. Maybe you’ll even host a watch party later down the line.
Do You Play Video Games?
Not everyone is a pro gamer with an expensive PC or a new console. However, even boomers enjoy their Candy Crush or Angry Birds sessions from time to time. Why not try asking this question? If one member of the conference is also a fellow gamer, you’ll have a new partner for your multiplayer sessions. If not, you might still get someone interested enough to want to play a game that you like, and that way you’ll have someone to talk about it with.
Examples of popular video games you can talk about:
- Call of Duty
- Fortnite
- Fall Guys
- Valorant
- Minecraft
- League of Legends
- Dota 2
What Books Did You Read This Past Year?
Books come in all shapes and sizes. Literally and figuratively. Even teens and children will definitely find one that suits their taste. And since the number of titles seems to increase without stopping, the chances of discovering something that both you and your coworkers might like are high. So the next time you’re hosting a teleconference, why not ask this question? Maybe you’ll find out about books that you’ve never even heard of. Or maybe you’ll discover a sensitive side to a colleague that you thought to be soulless. There are many great outcomes that can emerge from asking such a simple question.
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