CHAPTER 1
Icebreakers
Icebreakers are great openers for most team-building events. They introduce people, help them find out each other’s names, and kick off the team-bonding process. These are especially important when new teams are forming. You can also use them anytime you add a teammate or want to discover something new about your team, even if the team members have worked together before. You can put these kinds of initiatives together very quickly and easily, and they help put the group at ease. You can also use icebreakers when you’re introducing a new piece of technology. Make sure to start with the most basic of functions when using a new piece of technology for an icebreaker.
Me in 140 Characters or Less—Twitter Hypernetworking
Time: 10 minutes
Participants: 2–1,000
Technology: Twitter, text, chat, teleconference, web conferencing
Category: Icebreaker
Goals
Get to know about each team member and assess needs.
Game Summary
This icebreaker solves simple challenges such as knowing everybody’s name, associating at least one word with that person, finding things in common, and beginning to understand the other person’s personality and style. It’s also a great opening initiative for people who are new to Twitter. Once you’ve logged on to the Twitter website, this initiative trains your teammates in how to use it, keep their posts short, use features to find out information about other team members, and most important, learn the names and something about each teammate.
