If I’m being totally honest, I do not enjoy icebreakers at meetings. They tend to give me anxiety, especially when the icebreaker is “two truths and a lie.” Silly, I know, but it is what it is. Between my years in Junior Leage, PTA and National Charity League, I’ve participated in more icebreakers than I can count over the decades. I was tasked with devising icebreakers at two NCL meetings this past year, and I am pleased with the results. As many boards install their new leadership members during the summer months, I thought now is a good time to share my two foolproof icebreakers. Save this page for future reference if you are about to take on a board position in the coming months.
Back in the fall I was put in charge of the icebreaker for the incoming Tick Tocker board members for NCL. If you’re not familiar with National Charity League, this means nothing to you. The gist is that I needed a group of about 25 young ladies aged 13-17 to get to know each other a bit better. Thanks to Pinterest, I hit a home run.
All that was needed for the activity was a sheet of paper for each participant (could even be a scrap), some pens and a large bowl. Each girl was to write their answers to these three questions:
- What is your favorite color?
- College football team of choice?
- Favorite band/musician/musical artist.
I asked the girls to fold their papers and drop them in the bowl. Once everyone was done, I randomly chose a few to read aloud. The girls had to guess who wrote the answers. I only did as many as time allowed, which I think turned out to be about five. No winners or prizes for this icebreaker, but nobody seemed to mind. Although I think this would work well in just about any group, it was perfect for a group of teenagers.
Three Questions Icebreaker
I didn’t take any photos of this icebreaker, so here’s an image I lifted from the NCL Insta. That’s the back of my head. You’re welcome.
In the spring I was, once again, in charge of an icebreaker for an NCL board training session. All that is required of this icebreaker is a prize. Given the age of the participants, I went to Sephora and chose a Bum Bum body spray. This is called “the sit down icebreaker.”
How to play:
Compose a list of questions before the meeting. Have the group leader start each sentence with, “sit down if you….” (fill in the blank with fun or silly phrases.” Some ideas are:
“Sit down if you’ve eaten chocolate today.”
“Sit down if you have a cat.”
“Sit down if you saw Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour”
And so on. The last person standing wins a prize.
Sit Down Icebreaker
This was low stress, minimal prep and lots of fun. I’ll definitely use both of these icebreakers in future meetings.
I hope you find these icebreakers easy and useful. Have a great week!
