Top 4 Icebreakers for Successful Online Meetings

Meeting icebreakers help us break through shyness and establish a relaxed flow to the meeting. You might not think of icebreakers when you plan an online meeting. But you should.

Being in an online meeting is intimidating for many people. They don’t know the web conference technology, are unsure how to break in and comment politely, and don’t have nonverbal cues to tell them how comments are received.

If you’re running an online meeting you’ll want at least one of these icebreaker tips:

1. Introduce yourselves

At a bare minimum, always ask who’s on the call. If participants don’t know each other - say in a kickoff meeting with people from other companies - take it a step further and ask each person to expand beyond their name. Try for title, purpose attending the meeting, and something personal. A common (and effective) tip is to ask them to tell something about themselves we may not know.

2. Why are we here?

Help everyone understand the reasons for the meeting. You might ask each person to share one thing they want to get from the meeting. Advanced online tip: if you have interactive chat in your web conference software, have everyone type in their answer. Think of it as a quick software orientation inside the icebreaker.

3. Use a visual puzzle

Make a quick powerpoint slide with a question to answer. For example, ask them to complete a quote, answer a riddle, or figure out what a closeup picture is of. Why a visual? It gives participants a chance to focus on the presentation screen AND ensures their software’s working. If you’re feeling really brave have them try to write the answer on-screen with the annotation tool.

4. Survey says!

Surveys let attendes participate semi-anonymously. The shyer folks may be more willing to join in and get comfortable. Try one if your software supports group surveys.

Don’t be afraid to try an icebreaker or two in your next online meeting. You’ll be pleased with the results.