Creative Icebreakers for Online Community-building

Here are some suggestions for online icebreakers to bring some levity to your group. We found including these types of activities to be a great way of connecting with participants and forming a group bond.

A piece of tissue and clapping (whole group)

• • • • Throw a piece of tissue into the air and clap one time to show the participants. Start the game - everyone will try at the same time. The person who can clap most times while the tissue is in the air will be the winner. The second stage is clapping in front of your body once, then behind your back while the tissue is in the air. Participants will type into the chat box the number of times they clapped.

Introduce your favourite object that is related closely to yourself (small group and whole group)

• • • • Bring the one object you chose to our Zoom class and share it with your small group members. You may say a couple of reasons why you chose that object. Then each group introduces one person’s object your group felt interested in or found funny.

Your name is... (whole group)

• • • • Everyone turns off their video. On the zoom window, one person calls another person’s name and the person who is called calls another person. If you are called, please turn on your video and call another person’s name. Please do it quickly.

Hot potato (whole group)

• • • • A leader starts first. They pretend to have a hot potato in their hands and throw the imaginary potato at another person calling their name. Then repeat. Call someone’s name who was not called until everyone has had a chance to play. This is a great way to get the whole group talking early on, to pass along the conversation swiftly and smoothly, and to help participants get out of their heads and into their bodies.

Rock, scissors, paper using your arms (whole group)

• • • • A leader and participants do rock, scissors, paper. The people who win can go to the second round. Then the game goes on until one winner is left.

Copy me (whole group)

• • • • At first, a leader shows movements based on four beats. For example, they clap four times and touch their ears four times. The participants see the first set of movements and copy while the leader does the second set of movements. Eight sets might be good for this exercise. Then do those movements based on three beats.

Decorate your camera (small group)

• • • • The participants decorate their camera lenses on their laptops using gauze, paper or any material they can get. Everyone turns off the camera and decorates. Then turn on the video at the same time.

Doodling on the screen together (whole group)

• • • • Click the sharing screen and the whiteboard. Then let participants doodle on the screen for fun, or have people use the text function to brainstorm ideas.

Pictionary (whole group)

• • • • Use the whiteboard function on Zoom. Choose one volunteer. They draw anything they want to on the whiteboard. Then let other participants guess what it is. The person who says the answer has a chance to draw.

Charades (whole group)

• • • • A leader chooses one or two people and sends them a direct chat message to let them know the word. They express the word only using their bodies. The person who shows body language chooses the next person who will show their body language. And the leader sends a word using the direct message. (ex). Flower, school, keyboard, rabbit, wind, light, etc.

Team charades (whole group)

• • • • A leader let two or three people go to the waiting room on the zoom. Then show a word to other participants. They express what the word is using their bodies. The leader lets two people come back and see other participants’ body language and chat about what it is.

Butterfly meditation (whole group)

• • • • Close your eyes and take in a nice deep breath. Allow your tummy to fill up like a balloon, and then exhale slowly. Do this five times to really relax your whole body completely. Imagine a butterfly is flying near you.

Find a treasure (whole group)

• • • • Find an object that has the letter “A” and bring it in five minutes. The leader can change the condition (letter or colour).

Name bingo game (whole group)

• • • • Create a bingo board with all participants' names, and a leader calls one person’s name at a time. The person who was called, introduces themselves briefly and calls another person. The game goes on until the winner says “bingo” after finding three names in a row on the board.

Introducing myself with name and only one world (small group)

• • • • Participants introduce names and an adjective to represent themselves turn by turn in a small group. Then explain why they choose that adjective.