9 Virtual Icebreakers: Effective Icebreakers for Remote Teams

Virtual icebreakers are activities that encourage team bonding in online meetings. They help people warm up to one another or “break the ice.” In remote work settings where online meetings and virtual conferencing are the norm, light-hearted virtual team-buliding activities allow coworkers to connect in an informal setting. Icebreakers are an effective way to help work-from-home coworkers learn more about their fellow team members.

You can use virtual icebreakers on any video call, so long as you allow enough time for the activity. Depending on the size of your team, you may want to have teams join breakout rooms. Breakout rooms create smaller groups that can help team members communicate more personally. They also allow you to set a time limit so that the groups know when to return to the main meeting. You can use icebreakers at any time, but they’re especially beneficial for small teams who are meeting each other for the first time or who meet together infrequently.

There are several good reasons to implement a virtual icebreaker on your next video call.

1. 1. Icebreakers energize a group. Back-to-back video meetings can become monotonous. Icebreakers can help teams feel energized by shifting their focus to something fun and personal before getting back to work.
2. 2. Icebreakers can inspire teamwork. Team icebreakers encourage coworkers to brainstorm collectively in order to complete an objective or win a game. This is a light-hearted way to help teams learn to work together and hone their problem-solving skills in a relaxed environment.
3. 3. Icebreakers unite distributed teams. Remote employees who only ever interact with their coworkers via email or video calls may not have the opportunity to get to know in-office coworkers on a personal level. Virtual icebreakers provide a forum to socialize when coworkers don’t have opportunities for watercooler talk.

While icebreakers are typically less formal and more personal than other meeting formats, it’s important to remember that you’re using them in a professional setting. Stay away from overly personal questions when you’re facilitating an icebreaker, and do not pry or pressure colleagues to answer questions they’re not comfortable with.

Whether you’ve been asked to be a meeting facilitator for the first time, or are looking for more icebreaker ideas, consider the following types of icebreaker questions.

1. 1. Emoji check-in: Ask your teammates to use the chat feature on the video call platform to express their current mood with emojis. This is a simple icebreaker that can elicit humorous responses and help you get a pulse on the overall mood of the group. This kind of icebreaker is particularly useful for large groups where it isn’t possible to have everyone answer questions verbally or play a game.
2. 2. General get-to-know-you questions: Some good get-to-know-you questions that can help a small group learn more about each other quickly, include: What’s your favorite food? What’s one fun fact about you? If you could be present at any historical event, which would you choose? What’s your favorite place to go on vacation? What’s your favorite movie and why? If you could have one superpower, which would you choose? What’s your guilty pleasure TV show? What’s the most adventurous thing on your bucket list?
3. 3. Would you rather...?: “Would you rather?” is a fun game that involves proposing hypothetical questions and asking team members to choose between one or the other. These questions can range from light-hearted and silly to serious and thought-provoking. For example, you could ask: Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds? Would you rather meet your ancestors or your future grandchildren?
4. 4. Trivia: Trivia questions give coworkers the opportunity to learn about each other and engage in some good-natured competition. You can choose a theme for the trivia, such as pop culture or history. Or you could ask trivia questions related to your business. Consider questions such as: Who on your team has been at the company the longest? What was the company’s original tagline? How many team members make up the IT department?
5. 5. Guess who?: For this question-based game, ask team members to fill out a brief survey prior to the meeting. The survey should include several get-to-know-you questions. You might ask about the attendees' favorite band or past Halloween costumes. The manager will then read several of the responses, and team members will have to vote on who said what.
6. 6. Two truths and a lie: This is a fun icebreaker that challenges your team’s familiarity with one another and tests their acting abilities. Each team member will come up with two true statements about themselves and one falsehood. Their coworkers will then brainstorm about which statement is the lie. When a unanimous decision has been made, the person in question will reveal which statements were true and which one was false. This is a great icebreaker for smaller groups, as it can take some time for people to think of their answers.

Virtual icebreaker activities can break the monotony of virtual team meetings by giving team members a reason to move or get up from their desks.

1. 1. Virtual scavenger hunt: For this activity, ask team members to find a real or digital item and produce it for the group. Some virtual scavenger prompts include: Find something bigger than your head; change your video call background to the set of your favorite TV show; copy and paste the link to your favorite streaming playlist into the chat; find a houseplant. As team members produce their findings, ask follow-up questions about the items and why they chose them.
2. 2. Show and tell: Workspace show-and-tell is a great way to learn more about your coworkers’ ideal work environment. Ask your team to show one item they must have on their desk and explain why. You can also go the classic route of asking team members to bring a significant object that represents their personality to the call and be prepared to explain why it’s important to them.
3. 3. Pictionary: Many popular video conferencing softwares have a virtual whiteboard that allows team members to draw digital pictures using their computer mouse. The facilitator should split the group into teams. Then they can message one team member directly with what they’re supposed to draw. As the team member draws the prompt, their coworkers have to guess what the drawing is.

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