8 Icebreakers for Virtual Meetings

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees are now remote, which means meetings are now virtual. Leading a virtual meeting isn’t easy, and keeping your employees engaged through a computer can be challenging. So how do you add vigor and excitement to your meetings without being in the same room?

To help you out, we came up with eight icebreakers you can use to get your virtual meetings off to a fun start.

1. Ask a simple question.

We’ve all probably done this one before. Sometimes a fun icebreaker can be as simple as asking an intriguing question about your colleagues to get to know them better.

Here are some fun questions you could ask to get started:

• What actor/actress would play you in a biopic of your life?
• If you could choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why?
• What is your most used emoji?
• What is your spirit animal and why?
• If you could kill any fashion trend forever, what would it be?
• What is your least favorite food?
• If you had to teach a class on one thing, what would you teach?
• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• What is your favorite color and how does it make you feel?
• What holiday perfectly matches with your energy?

2. Show off your work-from-home set up.

Working remotely gives you the opportunity to create your own ideal work environment. So why not show it off? Before the meeting starts, have your colleagues show the team their remote digs.

3. Build a pump-up playlist!

What makes everything more fun? Music, of course! To kick off your meeting, have your team go around the virtual room and share their favorite “pump-up song.” Once everyone has shared, build a playlist with all of the songs. Then, send it out to the team to keep them inspired and excited. You could even play it quietly in the background or at the start of your meetings to lift the mood.

4. Play two truths and a lie.

Like a simple question, but with a little more pizzazz. Go around the room and have everybody share two truths and a lie about themselves. The goal is to then have the rest of the team guess which one is the lie. It’s fun, gets your brain working and allows you to learn a lot more about your coworkers!

5. Draw your mood.

Let’s get creative. Begin your meeting by asking your team to take five minutes to draw, paint or color a picture that represents their current mood and share their creations with the group. Not only does it give you a good feel of how your employees are doing mentally, but it’ll stretch those creative muscles to have an effective and productive meeting.

6. Have a new hobby? Show it off!

Being stuck inside has given many of us the opportunity to try out those hobbies we put off or decided we just didn’t have time for. So, what have you picked up during quarantine? Have your teammates share their new hobbies! Whether it’s painting, knitting, writing or cooking, it’ll be exciting to hear what your colleagues have been up to, and perhaps inspiring for others to pick up new hobbies as well.

7. Lead a 5-minute exercise.

Get up and get moving! Chances are, you and your employees have spent most of the day sitting down. So, initiate your meeting by leading a 5-minute stretch with your team. This will wake up both your bodies and minds, so your meeting can be as productive as possible.

8. Show your favorite picture in your home.

Whether it’s a piece of artwork or a family photo from the beach in 2012, why not show your colleagues what you have on display in your home? It’s a fun way to get to know others better and finally get an explanation for that weird painting that’s always behind your coworker in every meeting.

We at GovLoop know these are difficult times. Staying engaged and inspired, especially during meetings, is even more challenging. So, we hope these icebreakers help! If you try any of these icebreakers at your virtual meetings, take a screenshot and tag us on social media. We’d love to see it. As always, thank you for your continuous dedication to public service.