Sometimes when people hear the word 'icebreaker' they cringe or might feel super anxious about taking part in one. Yes, icebreakers can make you feel a bit awkward initially, but they are proven to help enhance relationships and encourage creativity. 'Icebreakers can help increase team bonds, boost performance and creativity'—Harvard Business School study Integrating icebreakers into your workshops or meetings is a great way to get everyone relaxed and ready to participate. But how do you choose the right ones so that you avoid those dreaded awkward silences? Here are my Top 2 Icebreakers that are easy to implement (in-person or online): 1. My First Job Ask everyone in the group to write down their name, their first job, and what they learned from that job. Then go round the group and have everybody read theirs out. 2. Pointless Questions Prepare a few fun questions ahead of the workshop, then go round the room and have everybody take turns answering the questions. It’s as simple as that—you don’t even need to write anything down! Here are some question suggestions to get you started: - If you could invite a celebrity over for dinner, who would it be and why? - What is your most prized possession and why? - You can have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life. What do you choose? Here are some more icebreakers for you to explore! What's another great icebreaker that I can add to my list?

During our virtual meet-up last week, we were reflecting on and sharing our learnings from running our first workshops. The conversations were fascinating and each person shared something completely different. My first workshop experience was amazingly terrifyingly wonderful! 😂 I was asked to run a workshop for 60 people at a retreat that we as a company had organised in Italy. My biggest fear was public speaking. I had always believed that I could NEVER stand up in front of a crowd of adults and speak, yet there I was... Beforehand I was super nervous, pacing around the place and looking over my agenda a number of times. But then the weirdest thing happened. The minute I started talking to my audience, this sense of calm came over me. I started to feel comfortable, excited and I was getting energy from the crowd. Maybe this is for me, I thought to myself. Of course I made MANY mistakes but I didn't care. The audience understood I was new to this and they made me feel soooooooo comfortable and supported (shout-out to my amazing audience at the Workshopper Master Retreat, I love you all 💛). Looking back on it, I loved it. It was so much fun and most importantly, my participants had fun! Check out the video I recorded reflecting on my 3 key learnings from running this workshop which I've added to this post. I would LOVE to hear your stories/experiences and key learnings from running your first workshop in the comments. Feel free to record a quick video if you'd like 😊

Hello from Brazil! Really happy to be part of the community! Being a UX Designer for many years I ended up picking up a lot of the facilitation skills along the road... I am looking forward to learning with you guys and better structure the knowledge I already have with the new ones