Modern organizational life, regardless of culture, focuses on essential teamwork. To help teams get to know each other, meeting icebreaker questions are great for breaking down barriers and getting everyone comfortable. They can be simple or complex, fun or serious, but they’re a proven way to help remote teams build trust and get things rolling at a group meeting.
Unlike rapid fire questions that can be uncomfortable and feel like an interrogation, good ice breaker questions are open-ended and allow the team member to take their time answering them. They are meant to encourage conversation among all participants and can include anything from what emoji represents you today to what your dream job is.
The best part about these types of questions is that they can be used to break down barriers at any type of meeting, from a group call with a remote team to a more formal project meeting. You can even use these at a team retreat to introduce new members to the group or to bring them together before their first project with each other.
When you ask icebreaker questions, it’s important to be an active listener and to offer a comment or follow-up question to keep the conversation going. This shows that you care about the person and are genuinely interested in what they have to say. You can even use a tool like Slido to add interactivity to these kinds of meetings and encourage people to share their responses in real-time during the session. ice breaker questions for kids