Strategies For Virtual Icebreakers

Please stop with the BORING zoom meetings! For anyone who hosts virtual meetings, please add one little thing. At the beginning of a meeting with a group of 4 or more, ask an icebreaker question in the chat to get the good vibes going. This can replace small talk and can serve as a knife to cut any tension. Use this if you usually have meeting participants slowly trickle in for the first few minutes, or if you're waiting for one particular attendee. Icebreaker questions in the meeting chat can be especially useful to get creative juices flowing and get people feeling comfortable speaking up if you're hosting a brainstorming session. Here are a few questions you can steal: --> If you could time travel, would you prefer to go forward or backward? --> What's a great book you've read recently? --> What city would you love to travel to next? --> What would be your strategy in a zombie apocalypse? --> What was the first concert you saw live? --> Which famous person would you invite to dinner? --> Favorite quote? --> Favorite food to eat? Asking icebreaker questions like these is exactly what Ryan K. and I did in my podcast this week. I really like his management style and I took a page out of his book and brought some fun into my workday :) Life is short. Office life can be dry. Introduce some fun. Let's give it a shot. Find a question in the comments below that makes you smile and leave a reply (or comment your own question that people can answer!)

Ever feel awkward going into a check-in meeting or have no idea what to say? Try these questions to make them come alive and effective! 👇  1. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 1 𝘵𝘰 5, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 5 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦? Keeps it light, lets everyone share how they're feeling. 2. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺? Open invitation to share anything bothering or exciting them lately. 3. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸? Gets that enthusiasm flowing and match tasks with passions! 4. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰-𝘥𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺? Keeps everyone on the same page and avoids overlap. 5. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴? Promotes self-awareness and helps tackle obstacles. 6. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨? Encourages problem-solving that helps keep things moving. 7. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬? Because gratitude goes a long way in boosting morale. 8. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? A nudge to reflect on career goals and make sure we're on the right track. 9. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬-𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦? Shows care for well-being and fosters a supportive culture. 10. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳? Empowers team members and shows your commitment to their satisfaction. Remember, the right questions can transform any meeting. What's your secret to an effective check-in?

If you’re making the perfect sandwich, what would be on it? What is one thing that never fails to make you feel better? What do you own that you’re pretty sure no one on the team owns? What is the most interesting thing in your fridge? These are some of the icebreakers I’ve posed in the team chat this year and the responses always reveal something I would never have known about my colleagues otherwise (like, some of us have very strong opinions about Dutch crunch bread)! It’s a simple act, but asking questions (and I mean really good questions) regularly is so crucial to building connection on my team. - How to do this: Use what Priya Parker calls “magical questions”: these are prompts everyone in the group wants to answer and hear and that go beyond small talk (e.g., “What was the first concert you went to, and who took you?” or “What’s a gift you got that you deeply loved?”) - When to do this: At the top of a team call (popcorn-style) or asynchronously in chat by posting a regular icebreaker thread. - Why to do this: A significant share of intrinsic motivation ties back to an employee’s relationship with their manager. That means we have to be intentional about creating personal connections, especially in a virtual workplace where this is less likely to happen organically. If you have a favorite magical question, please share it. I’m always on the hunt for compelling queries! #RemoteWork #Culture #Inclusion #Leadership 

Fostering respect, love and appreciation for each other is a key part of our focus for our executive team. Work is hard in the best of circumstances, and we refuse to pay an extra tax of negative energy. Time is never our team’s most important commodity; emotional energy is far more important. Executive teams that have to walk on eggshells, don’t respect each other and don’t believe that they are running at the same shared goals and vision will never win across a long-time horizon. Of course, it starts with a super-rigorous screening process to make sure there is cultural and energetic alignment before bringing in someone new to the team. But once you have those ingredients, it still takes a lot of effort to maintain and increase the goodwill that greases the wheels of high-performance. We do a lot of things to foster respect and love at work. One of my favorites is very simple. Our COO, Sam Zimmerman starts off every EOS L10 meeting with an icebreaker. These are often very simple, but the surprising things you learn are never what you expect, and it builds the habit of remembering that everyone is on a journey with surprising twists to it. Here are some of our recent prompts, try them out! What is the best advice you have received and how did you receive it? What is a time you did something that was against your own self-interest? What is your favorite movie and why? What is your favorite book and why? What mentor do you feel most appreciative of and why? What view have you changed most over the past year? What was your first job? What thing do you believe that you think no one else on the executive team does? What is the best event you’ve been to and what made it so great? What two things do you like about yourself? What is one thing you would like to change? What is the kindest thing someone has done for you? Do you have any mentees? Who on our team were you most recently impressed with and why? What is one thing you would like to never have to do again? What is one flex thing you’ve never shared with the team? Do you have any great prompts that have worked for you?

Ever led a meeting that felt like a freeze-dried snooze fest? ❄️💤 I used to think icebreakers were cheesy. Now I am a fan. Here's the deal: Teams that start with icebreakers see a 15-20% boost in performance. Why? They build trust faster. But we're not talking "If you were a vegetable what would you be?" here. Let's get clever. 1. Reverse Intros: Present your neighbor, not yourself. Suddenly, everyone's all ears. 2. Desert Island Tech: What 3 gadgets would you bring? Reveals priorities (and who's addicted to their smartwatch). 3. Five-Word Career Story: Sum up your journey succinctly. Mine? "Curious kid. Still asking why." 4. Skill Swap: Trade expertise with a teammate for a day. What would you learn? What would you teach? 5. Hidden Tech Heroes: Share an unsung innovator you admire. Spotlight the shadows of Silicon Valley. 6. Virtual Office Tour: Show one item that defines your workspace. That rubber duck? It's not just for bathtime. 7. 60-Second Solution Sprint: Pitch fixes for minor office annoyances. Coffee machine woes, begone! 8. Emoji Roadmap: Plot your next project using only emojis. 🔍💡🛠️🚀 (Decode that, team) 9. Tech Trend Time Machine: Predict an innovation 10 years out. Bonus points for boldness (and humor). 10. Tech Haiku Challenge: Describe your role in 5-7-5 syllables. "Bugs drive me crazy / Coffee fuels my keystrokes / Code, test, ship, repeat" These aren't just warm-ups. They're catalysts for creativity, trust-builders, and secret weapons for turning strangers into collaborators. Next meeting, ditch the small talk. Get connected. What's your go-to icebreaker for tech teams? Share below! 👇