Have you ever been in a professional setting where no one knows each other, and the conversation just isn’t flowing? You can skip the awkward silence and get the dice rolling with some fun adult icebreakers. These activities help break down barriers and get people talking, leading to better workplace communication and collaboration.

Here are 17 fun icebreakers for adults to try at your next team meeting or networking event.

Games for Getting to Know Each Other

If you have limited time or resources, these no-effort icebreakers for adults are perfect for quickly warming up a group.

1. Two Truths and a Lie

Two Truths and a Lie is a classic icebreaker, perfect for getting to know new colleagues. Each individual shares three pieces of information about themselves—two facts and one lie. The rest of the group has to guess which one is the lie. This game gets everyone talking and sharing interesting tidbits about themselves.

2. Human Bingo

Create a bingo sheet with different characteristics or experiences in each square, such as “has traveled to Europe” or “plays an instrument.” Each person has to find someone who fits that description and have them initial their square. The first person to get a bingo wins!

3. Never Have I Ever

This icebreaker is best played in smaller groups, as it involves revealing personal experiences. Each person takes turns stating something they have never done, and anyone who has done it must take a sip of their drink. This game can lead to some hilarious and unexpected revelations.

4. Desert Island

The team imagines they are stranded on a deserted island and must choose only three items to have with them. Each person can bring one book, luxury item, and music album – which items will they choose? This game allows for creativity and reveals much about each person’s personality.

5. Bowl of Questions

Have a bowl filled with playful or thought-provoking questions, such as “What’s your biggest fear?” or “If you could travel back in time, which decade would you visit?” Each person takes turns answering a question and then passes the bowl to the next person. This game can lead to some deep and interesting conversations.

6. The Name Game

Have everyone stand in a circle, and the first person says their name and then a personal item or hobby that starts with the same letter (e.g., “My name is Sarah, and I like skiing”). The next person has to repeat what the first person said and add their own. This game continues around the circle until it returns to the first person. It’s a great way to learn names and find common interests.

Games That Keep the People Moving

Try these icebreakers for adults that get people out of their seats and mingling for more active activities.

7. Speed Networking

Similar to speed dating, this game involves pairing participants and giving them a limited amount of time to introduce themselves and share something interesting about themselves. After the allotted time, everyone switches partners.

The game continues until everyone has had a chance to meet new people. It’s a great way to network and learn about your colleagues.

8. Scavenger Hunt

Divide the participants into teams and provide each group with a list of items or tasks to be found or completed within a specific time frame. This can involve locating specific objects or identifying colleagues who meet certain criteria. Here are a few examples of items or tasks:

Find someone who has traveled to Europe
Take a photo with a colleague wearing a funny hat
Bring back an item that’s the same color as your company logo
Find a colleague who shares the same birthday month as you

The team that crosses off the most items from its list wins. To make it more fun, you can give the losing team a consequence, such as buying the winner lunch or doing a silly dance.

9. Human Knot

Assemble the group in a circle and instruct them to extend their right hand towards someone across from them to grasp hands. Following that, they should also extend their left hand to take another person’s hand, ensuring each individual is holding two different hands.

The group must disentangle while maintaining hand contact at all times. This exercise is excellent for fostering communication and collaboration and serves as an effective warm-up activity for new teams to build rapport.

10. Leave Your Shoes at the Door

The activity starts with everyone removing their shoes and placing them in a pile. The group leader then scrambles the shoes, and each person must grab a random pair of shoes and return them to their rightful owner.

But here’s the catch: participants can ask as many questions as they like about the person whose shoes they have but can’t directly ask about the shoes. They can ask questions like: “What’s your favorite hobby?” or “Who’s your style icon?”. The goal is to find out as much about the person whose shoes they have as possible and then return the shoes to their owner.

11. Minefield

Create a “minefield” in an open space using random objects like cones, chairs, or water bottles. Pair up participants and blindfold one person in each pair. The other person must guide their partner through the minefield using only verbal instructions.

If someone steps on a “mine,” they must start over from the beginning. This is a great icebreaker for building trust and communication among colleagues.

Icebreakers for Virtual Meetings

Even Zoom or Skype meetings can benefit from a little bit of icebreaker activities to get people talking and feeling more comfortable. Here are some ideas for virtual icebreakers:

12. Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Similar to the in-person scavenger hunt, this activity involves giving participants a list of items they must find within their home and bring back to show the group. The first person to bring back all the items or the person with the most items within a set time limit wins.\

This activity can also be modified for specific themes, such as “find something that represents your favorite hobby” or “find an item that reminds you of your childhood.” You can also make it more challenging by asking participants to find items from a specific category, such as “something green” or “something that starts with the letter S.”

13. The Hot Seat

One individual takes the “hot seat,” and everyone in the meeting asks them one (work-appropriate) question on any topic. You can have one person in the hot seat per meeting or rotate through everyone. The goal is to learn as much as possible about your colleagues, so encourage everyone to be creative with their questions.

Some question ideas are:

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
If you could switch jobs with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be and why?
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

14. Virtual Pictionary

You can play this classic game online using drawing tools or screen sharing. Divide the group into teams, and have one person from each team draw a word or phrase while their teammates guess what it is. The first team to successfully guess wins a point. Repeat with different players drawing in each round.

15. Around the World Quiz

Choose a person in the group to start. This individual should name a geographic feature such as a country, city, town, river, mountain, etc.

For example, if the first person says “Canada,” the next person in line must then name another geographic feature, starting with the last letter of the previous word, like “Alaska,” and so on.

Each word must be unique and cannot be repeated during the game. As the game progresses and more geographic features are named, it will become increasingly challenging to think of new words. Continue taking turns around the group until someone can no longer come up with a geographic feature.

16. Build a Story

Put on your creative thinking hat and work together to build a story, one word at a time. The team leader can start by saying a word like “Once,” and the next person must continue the story with another word, such as “upon.” Keep going around in a circle until you have a complete (or completely ridiculous) story.

If you want to make it more fun, you can add more rules, such as each person must nominate a word starting with a letter of the alphabet and going through each letter in order. You can also choose a specific theme for the story, such as horror or romance. This game is a great way to get creative juices flowing and have a few laughs with your colleagues.

17. Virtual Charades

Who doesn’t love a good game of charades? This classic party game can easily be played virtually with some improvisation. To start, assign a category or theme for each round, such as movies, books, or TV shows. You can use an online charades generator for ideas or simply write down different words on pieces of paper.

One person will act out a word or phrase using gestures, acting, or sound effects while everyone else tries to guess what it is. The first person to guess correctly wins a point. Rotate through different players for each round and keep track of points to declare a winner.

Why Icebreakers Matter in Professional Settings

Icebreakers are valuable tools for creating a positive and inclusive environment within a group. They help leaders prime everyone to contribute, invite participation from quieter members, and build camaraderie among colleagues. They also provide a low-pressure way for individuals to get to know each other and find common interests or connections.

Other benefits of icebreaker activities include:

Reducing tension and awkwardness: Starting a meeting or training session with an icebreaker helps ease any tension or awkwardness among participants. It allows people to relax and feel more comfortable in the group.

Encouraging creativity and innovation: Icebreakers often involve some level of creativity, which can open up new ways of thinking and encourage individuals to share their unique perspectives and ideas.

Enhancing teamwork and collaboration: Many icebreaker activities require participants to work together or rely on each other’s input and ideas. This can help foster a sense of cooperation and collaboration within the group.

Build ‘multiplex’ relationships: Multiplex relationships are those in which people share multiple connections or commonalities. This is important in professional settings, as it can result in more effective communication and teamwork among colleagues. Icebreakers can help create these types of relationships by allowing individuals to discover shared interests or experiences.

Build Stronger Team Bonds With Group Dynamix

Group Dynamix is a premier team-building company that specializes in hosting fun, engaging team-building activities that foster collaboration and unity among colleagues.

Whether you’re looking to improve communication skills, encourage creativity, or simply have some fun with your team, our expert facilitators will work with you to design customized activities that meet your specific needs.