Ice Breaker Activities for Training Sessions

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"Learning from Experience"
Have participants introduce themselves and explain one thing they have learned the hard way
about the topic you are covering. Post their lessons learned on a flip chart. Refer to them
throughout the class.
"Challenges and O!ectives"
Divide the class into small teams. Instruct teams to identify their challenges in the topic and their
obectives for the training. Post wor! on flip charts. Have them introduce their team and share
their wor! with the rest of the class.
""#estions"
Have each person write a "uestion they want answered in the training on a Post#it$ %stic!y& note
or piece of paper. Have them introduce themselves and their "uestion. 'hen post all "uestions
on a wall chart. During or at the end of training( as! the group to answer the "uestions.
"$ole %odels"
Have each person identify someone who is a role model for the topic being discussed. Have
them share the person)s name and the "ualities or characteristics that ma!e them a good role
model. Post characteristics on a flip chart.
"&os and &on'ts"
Have participants introduce themselves( sharing their name( hospital or clinic( and either a *Do*
or a *Don)t* tip that they have learned related to HI+ and ,ID- .anagement. Post tips on a flip
chart.
"Collective (no)ledge"
Have participants wor! in teams to identify five rules for dealing with challenging patients. /rite
the rules on flip chart paper.
"A *elpf#l Colleag#e+"
Have participants identify someone who has contributed to their professional development and
who they admire. ,s they introduce themselves have them explain their relationship to the
person that contributed to their development.
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,dapted from Results Through Training( www.R''/or!s.com
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"&eveloping ,o#rself"
Have each person introduce himself or herself and share one action they have recently ta!en to
improve or further educate themselves related to patient care and treatment. 'his can be done
as a group or in small teams.
"Acceptance Speech"
Have participants introduce themselves and than! someone who has contributed to their
professional development. 'hey should than! the person as if they are receiving an ,cademy
,ward. 6ou may need to limit speeches to 74 seconds.
"-irst .o"
Have participants introduce themselves( sharing their name and something they learned on their
first paying ob.
"Brain Teaser"
8se a "ui9 as an ice brea!er. ,s! "uestions of common !nowledge about any topic( or a
number of topics. 'here should be both easy and difficult "uestions. ,s! members to answer
individually( and then give them a few minutes to wor! in small groups to finish answering the
"uestions. 'he groups should be able to answer more "uestions than any one individual. 'his is
a good demonstration of synergy and can lead into a discussion of the importance of teamwor!
in healthcare. -ample "uestions:
/hat are the names of the planets( starting from the one closest to the sun;
/hat are the five most populous countries in the world;
/hat are the five least populated countries in ,frica;
/hat are the five most commonly spo!en languages in the world;
"&inner /lans"
Have each person complete the following sentence:
*If I could have dinner with any person( living or dead( it would be
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< because <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<.*
"Experience Tall0"
,s! each participant how long he or she has been with their clinic or hospital( or had their
current ob. 'otal the number of years. Point out that the class will have = number of years of
experience on which to draw.
"1ood or 2e)"
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,s! each person to share something good or new they have experienced in the last 35 hours.
"I 2oticed"
,s an ice brea!er for the second or third day of a training( have each individual share one thing
he or she has learned since the last session that they !now they will use in their clinical practice.
"I'm 3ni4#e"
,s! each person to share one thing that ma!es him or her uni"ue.
"%0 Slogan"
>xplain that many organi9ations have slogans or sayings that reflect their values and are easy
for customers to remember. ?or example( the @oca#@ola @ompany uses the slogan( Have a
@o!e and a -mile. ,s! each person to write %or borrow& a slogan to describe him or herself and
share it with the class. , variation could be to develop a slogan for their hospital or clinic.
"The 5orst Team"
Have each person share a description of the worst team they have ever been on and why. Post
characteristics on a flip chart. Debrief this exercise by having the team identify ways to avoid the
*worst team* characteristics.
"Three Tr#ths and a Lie"
Aive each individual a 7x2 card and instruct them to write four statements about themselves:
one of the statements should be false while three should be true. >xplain that the goal is to fool
people about which one is the lie. ,llow five minutes to write statementsB then have each person
read the four statements and have the group guess the lie. ,ward a pri9e to the individual who
ma!es the most correct guesses.
"I'm like a6+"
Have each person develop a simileCsomething you compare with something else because
they share similar characteristicsCfor themselves when they are in a particular mood or
experiencing difficulty. ?or example: */hen I get busy and have too much to do( I)m li!e a car
with a little bit of gasCI usually have ust enough energy for one more tas!( but eventually I run
out and ust completely stop.* >mphasi9e that people have different ways of dealing with stress
and challenges because people experience them differently.
"5orries"
,s! each person to share his or her greatest concern or reservation about participating in the
training %e.g.( everyone else will !now more than me&. Post participants) concerns on a flip chart.
,t the end of the session( revisit the list and as! the group to share whether their concerns were
reali9ed.
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"5hat &o ,o# (no)+"
Divide the class into teams of three#four people. ,ssign each team a different flip chart or piece
of flip chart paper. >xplain that each team will be as!ed to record information they !now about
the members of another team. ?or example:
'eam ,: .ary( @hris( Pat( and 'erry
'eam 0: Dane( ?ran!( Phil( and -haron
'eam @: Dohn( .i!e( ,ndrea( and Earry
'eam , is assigned 'eam 0B 'eam 0 is assigned 'eam @B and
'eam @ is assigned 'eam ,.
Have the team divide their flip charts into sections( one for each person in their assigned team.
,llow them five minutes to record what they !now about the people on their flip chart %both wor!
and non#wor! related& without violating any confidences. ,fter five minutes( have teams rotate
flip charts and add information on their new flip chart. @ontinue rotating until they come to the
flip chart with their own names on it. Have each person comment on what was written about
himFherself.
"1#ess 5ho"
Prior to the session( have each participant complete and return to you a survey with answers to
five#to#seven "uestions about him or herself. ?or example:
o ?avorite type of food
o East movie you saw
o East boo! you read
o /here you would love to visit
o ?avorite activity
During the session( read the clues and have the rest of the class guess which person is being
described.
"Something 2e)"
Gn the second day of training( as! each person to share one thing they learned about another
participant on the previous day. Have the rest of the group try to guess who is being described.
7,o# did )hat8+9
Aive each person a 7 x 2 card and as! the group to write down something true that nobody else
in the room !nows about them( e.g.( I once wrestled a bear in 6ellowstone Hational ?orest. .ix
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up the cards and put them in a box or hat. Have each person pic! a card and read it out loud.
,s! the group to try and guess who wrote the card.
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