Are you wondering what to do in virtual meetings full of the awkward silences that plague your colleagues? Well, worry no more.
Keep in mind that things nowadays are not like they used to be, so knowing some virtual meeting icebreakers is critical. This way you will not only show that you are an outgoing person but also someone who knows how to interact with others.
Summary
- The activities shown here are not entirely about visiting websites. It is a compilation of activities that help to break the ice and silence in virtual meetings.
- Not all the activities in this list require a call platform like Zoom or a powerful device to interact with.
- The point of putting these activities into practice is to have fun and create a more friendly atmosphere among colleagues. In addition, the minimum number indicated includes a host and 2 players.
The best virtual meeting icebreakers: the definitive list
Here is our definitive list of the best icebreakers for virtual meetings.
Guess who
Guess who is a typical activity that used to be done in school when we were kids. However, as the years go by, the game tends to become much more entertaining, as people are more focused on themselves than on each other.
So a fun way to play guess who can be virtually or impromptu:
| Method | Virtual | Improvised |
|---|---|---|
| You can look up the Guess Who game Online. | You can ask your team members to tell you a characteristic about them and have the rest guess. |
- People required to play: minimum 3 (there is nothing wrong with playing with less, but the more, the better).
The roulette decides
This one is much simpler and the name says it all. On the internet you just have to look for a random roulette wheel where you can write activities or challenges for everyone. Then whatever the roulette wheel chooses has to be done.
This activity is not very common though because there are not that many challenges to choose from at a distance.
- People required to play it: minimum 3.
Among us
This game became popular during the 2020 pandemic. It requires 10 people in a fleet and 1-2 impostors who will kill the crew members as time goes by. The mission of these crew members is to win by fixing the ship or kicking the impostors off the ship.
However, the impostors can also win by eliminating all the crew members. This game is very interpersonal because it is fun to find out who is lying and who is not.
- People required to play it: minimum 4 (the experience is better if you play with all 10).
Downloading may seem difficult, but there are tutorials on Youtube and the internet which provide useful steps and methods to avoid getting viruses and so on.
Among us
Would you rather choose?
A game that can change over the years, Would you rather choose? is a game that dates back to unspeakable times. Many companies use this game to get to know each other better and engage in conversations about hobbies or topics in general.
Knowing each other’s preferences is a good thing because you can discover people and hobbies you didn’t know before. We highly recommend playing this one if you have to meet new friends or colleagues.
- People required to play it: minimum 2.
Would you rather choose?
Pinturillo
This is another game, however, it is not necessary to download it. Most people just search for “pinturillo” in their search engine and it will appear among the first options.
This game consists of drawing whatever the page tells you to draw, each painter will have 30 or more seconds to draw the assigned word. The rest will have to write the word through the chat. Obviously, whoever gets it right the fastest will win the most points.
- People required to play: minimum 3 (otherwise it won’t be as entertaining).
Pinturillo 2
Mafia
This game, although not found on the internet, is very similar to Among Us mentioned above. The game consists of imagining that you are in a town and that among the population there is a mafia that murders people.
If that were not enough, the roles in this game are based on voting. In the room there must be:
| Players | Function | Number of players |
|---|---|---|
| Detective | Decides who to execute | One person |
| Mafia | Picking out a person to murder | One person |
| Narrator | Keeps the game flowing and describes the events | One person |
| Doctor | Can save one of those killed | One person |
| Civillians | They are the jury when executing a defendant | The remaining players take over this role |
The game goes as follows:
- The narrator will choose a detective for the town, and everyone will know who it is.
- Then the narrator will send a private message to the mafia and indicate who he wants to kill.
- The narrator, once the message arrives, must say “there has been a murder in town”.
- After that, the narrator will ask the doctor to privately tell him/her who he/she thinks he/she should save.
- The narrator will ask the detective to bring a name to the fore in order to prosecute.
- The people as a whole will have to choose between “sentencing someone” or “letting the killing spree continue”
- Finally, the narrator must announce whether the doctor successfully saved the one they hurt, whether they got the murderer right in the trial, or whether they got it wrong and he died in vain.
People required to play: minimum 5 (you can remove roles such as the doctor and increase the population)
Personality tests
Personality tests are the funniest thing you can find because they can lead to situations where you can discover a new side of yourself. These can be found on the internet, or you can even create one yourself with the necessary knowledge of the subject.
The recommendation in this list suggests using personality tests based on each other’s hobbies. An example would be if you are a good fit for the job they do, thus joking or highlighting the characteristics of another person.
- People required to play it: minimum 3.
Gartic phone
Better known as the internet’s bad phone. This is a web page with several game modes, but the main ones are:
- Game 1: Everyone has to type words. After that, the page will distribute the words randomly to everyone.
This means that you can get the word that someone else wrote and once you know it you will have to draw it. Once you have drawn it, you will receive the image that someone else drew, and you will have to guess the word. In the end, it will be revealed where the phone was ruined. - Game 2: Everyone writes a word and randomly chooses one word which everyone must draw.
Once drawn, everyone will get the next word, and so on until all the words are drawn and see who failed. - Game 3: This game is the same as Game 1, but now you can’t see what you are drawing. It is very interesting to try to fool the rest using colored backgrounds, but it is difficult to guess what they did.
- People required to play it: minimum 4.
Gartic Phone
Quick Questions
This is another offline activity. It is less creative in terms of dynamics, but ironically it is the most dynamic of all. Here everyone has a maximum of 2 seconds to ask a question and someone has to respond with a question to someone else.
Obviously, there are many versions where people ask questions and answer with “yes” and “no”, another one where they ask everyone in general and everyone thinks of the answer, etc. It is a very well-known and versatile game.
- Persons required to play it: minimum 3.
Trivia
This is a quiz game that is more specialized in a topic than in the people themselves. Doing trivia is fun when it comes to general topics, as someone may know more than another about the topic.
The most fun is to test each other’s knowledge and learn from each other. It is a very educational and entertaining game.
- Persons required to play it: minimum 3.
Trivia Crack
FAQ
How do these icebreakers work?
If you want these icebreakers to work perfectly, it is best that you are the host and try them out on your own rather than reading them.
How to make these activities more entertaining?
You can modify them to your liking, after all, many of these have different versions. Whether it’s the quick quiz or Mafia, they all have their own versions, which you can innovate yourself.
How do you define a good icebreaker?
Defining a good icebreaker consists of you being able to interact with others when they cannot. If someone is in charge of speaking before the rest, it inspires confidence so that not only the rest will do it, but also so that imagination and thought will flow.
How to select the best icebreaker?
As we mentioned before, these icebreakers are all very good, but depending on the number of participants.
Are there any free icebreakers?
Each of these virtual meeting icebreakers is free, so you can enjoy them with your participants as much as they want.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that the icebreakers shown are very entertaining, especially if there are a lot of participants. Even with a few participants, you are still going to have lots of fun doing these activities and don’t have to force an unnecessary conversation.
Sometimes it is better to share your thoughts before making the basic introductions so that you can interact with your peers.
