Never underestimate the power of training & meeting icebreakers on employee motivation. Icebreakers are a powerful tool to connect employees, build trust and break the ice!

I have been conducting icebreakers at my meetings/trainings for over 15 years. I found out that EVERYONE has a child inside of him or her. And that child has the same need to play and to have fun than it has when the person was five years old.

It is difficult to measure its impact on meetings exactly. Here are some benefits of meeting icebreakers:

•  It breaks down the natural barriers that exist between people. Employees will start sharing things about themselves that will help build team trust.
•  It clears people’s minds. Most of us show up at meetings with our bodies there, but our minds are either on what we did before the meeting, or on what we still need to do after the meeting. Ice breakers bring them into the here and now.
• Ice breakers are fun and bring laughter to the process. They are also a great stress reliever.
•  If the meeting consists of people that don’t interact a lot, icebreakers are a great tool to get to know each another better.

Here are some important tips on how to maximize the benefit of training & meeting icebreakers:

Have fun with it yourself. This is the most important part. Don’t just do it as another part of your agenda.

Get over your fear of emotional discomfort.

Use upbeat music if  your activity involves a lot of movement.

NEVER think that your employees will not like the team icebreakers. Most employees will love them! Watch your employees light up and have fun!

Build your activities up. In other words, don’t start with an activity that might make people emotionally uncomfortable. Save these exercises for when team trust has been built.

Here is a free website http://www.teampedia.net for icebreakers. I hope you have fun with them! Please feel free to write me and let me know how it goes!