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Short Icebreakers Felt Hats Each participant is given a pre-made red felt donut-shaped circle of approximately 18 inches in diameter and given the instruction to form some type of hat out of the felt piece. Participants are given enough time to make their hat, and each person explains the hat they created. This is a quick, and fun, way to "break the ice." Names & AdjectivesAsk each participant to take a few moments to think of an adjective that starts with the same first letter as their first name (e.g. "Merry Marilee"). Start by modeling it yourself. Then move around the group asking each person to state their name/adjective combination. Additionally, participants can be asked to share "where they work," or other pertinent information. At various points during introductions, or at the end, ask for volunteers to remember each of the names, with adjectives, that have been volunteered thus far. Reinforce the efforts and successes of volunteers. Names & StoriesAsk participants to introduce themselves, with each person talking briefly about the most ridiculous thing they've done in their working life. The Napkin GameAsk participants to form groups of equal size. Give each group a napkin and explain to them that their task is to fold their napkin as small as possible, but still large enough for each small group member to place a toe on the napkin. The Stone Sharing ExerciseREQUIREMENTS: Enough small, attractive, vari-colored stones for everyone in the group (perhaps from the shore of one of the Finger Lakes). Have the group sitting in a circle, close enough to each other to hand off and receive stones easily. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE GROUP (with rationale): "This warm-up exercise is designed to help us get in touch with three aspects of life that contribute to our overall health and well-being: a right relationship with ourselves; a right relationship with all other living beings; and a right relationship with the earth." "After everyone has selected a stone from the basket that I will pass around, we will each share briefly with the group: 1) our full name and some mention of its possible meaning or significance to us, its family or ethnic origin, etc. (expressing right relationship with oneself); 2) an animal that has been special in our life, as a pet, e.g., or as an object of fascination and interest (expressing right relationship with all other living beings); 3) a place on earth that is special to us as a place of beauty, comfort, good memories, inspiration, relaxation (expressing right relationship with the earth)." "I will start, and when I have finished sharing, everyone should pass their stone to the person on their left and receive the stone from the person on their right. This is the process that we will follow after every sharing. By the time we have finished the exercise, everyone will have had their stone touched by everyone in the group and will have touched everyone else's stone, and we will each end up with our own stone." "You may keep your stone for the rest of your life, or give it back to the universe at some point. You might keep it in your pocket, your pocketbook, on your desk, or on a shelf and it can serve as a reminder of each person who shared and with whom you connected during the exercise; it can serve as a reminder of this workshop/session/training/experience and of all the things that you will learn from it; and it can serve as a "touch-stone" to rub when you are feeling stressed. "My name is . . . . . . . etc." (You may have to remind and prompt about the way to pass off and receive the stones after your sharing as leader.) VARIATIONS: Right relationship with oneself can be expressed in a variety of ways: "My name is and my favorite color is . . . and why," "My name is and I was born in (country, city, state, province, etc.)," "My name is and my parents are/were (professions, careers)," "My name is . . . and what gives me great joy in life is . . .," "My name is . . .and when I retire I am going to . . .," etc. Right relationship with all other living beings can also be expressed in a multiplicity of ways: "My spouse/partner/children/grandchildren/ favorite friend is/are special because . . . ," "What I value most in my friendships/co-worker relationships is . . .," "It is easier for me to forgive someone who has wronged me if . . .," etc. Right relationship with the earth can also be expressed in many different ways: "What I do to care for the earth is . . .," "One way that the earth nourishes me is . . .," etc. It is useful and helpful to process the exercise a little bit at the end and to allow for some expression of how it felt to do it. Ball Toss / Group JuggleIcebreaker for Day 2 of a multi-day training session. Good for a group of at least 12 and up to 30 where some people know each other, but the whole group is still getting acquainted: Have 3 tennis balls handy. Get the group in a circle. Facilitator tosses 1 ball to someone in the group whose name they know saying their name and then the other person's name (e.g. Sandy to John). John (person who receives the ball) tosses ball to someone whose name he knows (e.g. John to Phil). Phil tosses to someone whose name he knows and so on, saying both names all the way around the circle. The ball is tossed to each person one time only until everyone in the circle gets it and all names have been said. THEN, facilitator starts again and tosses the balls to the same person (Sandy to John to Phil, etc.) only this time with 2 balls in succession (not at the same time) saying both names, both times. Balls get tossed to the same people they were originally tossed to; first one ball, then the next, all the way around the circle stopping when they get back to the facilitator. THEN, facilitator starts again only with all three balls this time. Saying names each time, all three balls get tossed, in succession, in the same order until they get back to the facilitator. By the time there are three balls going, it gets pretty chaotic and fun. By now all names have been said so many times everyone should have a pretty good idea of who's who and they are pretty warmed up and ready to go. If (I should say, when) someone drops a ball, simply give them a chance to chase it down and just pick up where you left off--no need to start again. More resources? Click here for a library of new ideas! FAQs/Contact Us/Motivational & Inspirational Quotes/Useful Sites |