Team Building Games and Ice Breakers

by Robbie Schlosser · 1 comment

Thanks in advance for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas. I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation. Tell me what you think, and I'll reply. Promise.
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Team Building Games can be crucial for making parties and meetings successful.

Especially at cocktail parties and networking meetings.  The main point of these events is to encourage guests to create and enjoy their person-to-person relationships.

In a party or meeting, particularly where some guests haven’t met the others before, these team building games are often called ice breakers. They deliberately introduce people to each other (in other words, “break the ice”) and start conversations.

Good ice breakers are familiar tactics used by expert Wedding Coordinators, Catering Directors, and Party Planners all the time.  Meeting Planners and Classroom Teachers, too. In fact, I think everyone should use ice breakers at every party. Don’t you agree?

Magnolia Jazz Band in Sunnyvale 2011

Well, maybe not at EVERY party, especially one where all the guests are already good friends.  Here we are entertaining at a recent birthday party.  At the beginning we were the only strangers in the crowd, and by the end we were chatting comfortably with everyone.  Thanks for the wonderful photo, Shaija.

On my Facebook Page, I post handy tips for planning music at special events, and recently I wrote “Tip for a Successful Party: If you’re in charge, begin with an interactive game! A great “ice breaker” will start things quickly.”

What do great ice breakers accomplish? Two things, as I see it.  Can you add another one?

  • Get people to relax and interact, usually by having fun working together toward some simple goal.
  • Foster openness and lead to “bonding” with the group, and willingness to “engage”.

Let me give you three examples of ice breakers I’ve enjoyed.

The first ice breaker I can remember involved music (naturally). You’re familiar with “Musical Chairs”?  It was a popular favorite game in kindergarten.

More recently, I attended two Silicon Valley NACE networking meetings which began with effective ice breakers.

At one, just before Halloween, each guest registered and received a small basket of trick-or-treat candies — all the same but a different kind for each person. Then we circulated in the room, meeting each other, chatting quickly and trading one of our candies for one of theirs. At the end of 30 minutes, the person with the most different candies in their basket won a nice prize.

Last December’s “Gift Exchange” began with everyone bringing a small $10 wrapped gift and putting it under the holiday tree. When we registered, we each received a numbered ticket.

Playing the game: One by one, each person’s number was called and we chose either a gift from the tree or a gift someone had selected a few moments earlier. The game ended when everyone had a gift, and few of us eventually wound up with the first gift we selected. Lots of fun and camaraderie in the process.

Bottom line:  Ice breakers are team building games for giving parties and meetings a great start. What’s your favorite game to get people in the swing of things?

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Thanks for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Got one or two? I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation -- I'll reply. Promise.

By the way, does a friend need help selecting wedding or party music? Do them a favor: EMAIL this article, or SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.

And if you find my blog useful, please LIKE it, TWEET it, and SUBSCRIBE for more ideas. Use those cute little icons below.

Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.

How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.

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TopBoss

Hello Dear,
Thanks For writing this kind of blogs. This is very helpful for us. Thank You so Much.Awesome Blogs Sir

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