When organized well, group meetings help with brainstorming, enhance collaboration, and enable productivity. However, they can also get boring and set an awkward atmosphere. The speaker may become passive, and the attendees may become absent without leaving!
To prevent this awkward experience, speakers can embrace icebreakers, which encourage the audience to be open to one another. An icebreaker is any activity, game, or event that warms up the participants and allows them to talk freely.
A speaker can use an ice breaker when opening a meeting, introducing a new topic or when the meeting has been long and wants to make it more exciting. The ideal icebreaker should provide relief to the audience and offer a wide range of mental activities tanzohub.
Keep reading in for more details on the mental health benefits of icebreakers.
Why Use Icebreakers?
Icebreakers can help you manage a group if you struggle to handle the people or don’t know how to interact with them. As the people laugh or answer your icebreakers, the tension in your body lowers, and the members feel free to talk to you.
You can use icebreakers for small groups in many ways at any stage of the meeting. For instance, you can use them at the beginning to warm people and make them feel welcome or during breaks to relax and recharge.
Here are the main reasons you should use an icebreaker in the next group meeting!
- It creates a warm and relaxed environment for the participants, encouraging them to open up during the discussion.
- Improves the energy of the attendees to stay longer in the meeting.
- It opens doors to more idea-sharing, collaboration and networking for the participants.
- Stimulates creative thinking as the members play the games and share the fun
- Creates a more positive energy in the group.
- Reduces boredom.
Mental Health Benefits of Using Icebreakers
Here are the main psychological benefits of incorporating icebreakers in small group meetings.
1. It Brings Psychological Safety
Psychological safety eliminates interpersonal fear. It gives people confidence that they won’t be humiliated when they raise their ideas, concerns, or questions in a meeting. Icebreakers break fear among meeting attendees even when they don’t know each other well. The strong sense of togetherness provides a supportive environment for everyone to contribute, improving the effectiveness of the meeting.
2. It Reduces Anxiety
Feeling overwhelmed or anxious when presenting in front of people is expected. That fear may make you miss important points or make mistakes, which could affect the quality of your presentation at the meeting.
By using suitable icebreakers during the conference, you create a less formal experience and recollect yourself, allowing you to gain more courage.
3. It Boosts Mental Energy and Creativity
People hold meetings to discuss important topics in class or at work. In many setups, all attendees are encouraged to share their opinions on the topics or ask questions when they are unsatisfied. However, a discussion can become tedious when the attendees lack morale.
Ice breaks boost the speakers’ and audience’s mental energy and creativity. For instance, if it’s a game, the members must think creatively to get an answer. Everyone gets reenergized and becomes more creative when it’s time to continue the meeting. A physiologically energized team brings forth the following benefits:
- More productivity
- More focus
- More participation
- More creative ideas
- Better acceptance of feedback
4. It Builds Trust
Trust is a vital element for holding group meetings. Each member should be able to trust each other to be more open and transparent during the meeting. While building trust isn’t easy, the right icebreakers can make it easier and foster personal connections.
Some icebreakers require the members to introduce themselves and share some details. Others create a way for conversation among the members, allowing them to discuss more information about their personal lives. Such openness creates positive connections, which build trust among the attendees and make everyone more comfortable to talk to each other.
5. It Creates Fun
Icebreakers are mainly made for fun! They break the monotony of long, serious talks. The fun moment helps alleviate stress or any other mental challenge and allows you to fully focus on the discussion.
Rules for an Effective Icebreaker
There are many types of icebreakers, but most of them are games. They may include painting a picture, telling a story, guessing the logo or drawing, and more. The ideal icebreaker should be effective in triggering the expected emotions among the audience. Follow these rules before using an icebreaker to avoid further boring the audience.
1. Make It Objective
An icebreaker should have a clear objective. For instance, if the team members are all strangers, your icebreaker’s goal is to make the people comfortable with each other and enhance collaboration.
2. Keep It Simple
The ideal icebreaker should be simple. It should be short because the longer it takes, the more tedious it becomes. Ensure the members don’t spend too much time in the activity or think about it for hours.
3. Be Keen On Timing
Don’t use an icebreaker when the members are in a meaningful discussion to avoid disturbing them. Instead, use it at the start of the conversation, at the end, or during the transition of sessions.
Conclusion
Icebreakers are a fun way to lighten up meetings and break boredom. They come in many forms and always stay in fashion. If you plan to hold a group meeting and you will be presenting, find a great game or activity that you can use to make everyone relaxed.
The best icebreaker will ignite the minds of your audience and make everyone joyous. It will also reduce your tension and anxiety, mainly if you are presenting for the first time.
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