Super Fun Get-To-Know-You Program for 30 People

If I were to survey a group of ten program leaders, I would estimate that all 10 of them would be eager to learn new and engaging activity ideas to enhance or update their existing ‘ice-breakers.’

As discussed here and here, one of my hobby horses is the fact that most leaders deliver icebreakers poorly and/or cringe when they hear that word uttered in the context of what’s about to happen.

You can never have enough fun, engaging and meaningful get-to-know-you programs to add to your repertoire.

To this end, below is this month’s instalment of useful program templates you can make your own. Collect them all 🙂

Highly Interactive Get-To-Know-You Session (60 mins)

The key to successful ice-breaking or ‘get-to-know-you’ sessions is that they MUST be simple, highly interactive, non-threatening and, of course, fun.

There is no shortage of group activities that achieve these objectives in our database, and here is just one possible sequence of activities you could try.

Props: 1 x ‘Nonsense Numbers’ sheet per group, pens, hula-hoop, 1 x deck of UBUNTU Cards

Nonsense Numbers – starting in small teams of say 5 to 8 people, this exercise is not only a wonderful way to start the getting-to-know-you process started, but a terrific process to invite sharing at a deeper, more interesting level. The more questions you add to the form, the longer the exercise will take. To this end, adopt the template you can download from the activity, and adjust accordingly.

Name Roulette – now it’s time to get up and move. Create a bit of space to form two circles of people holding hands, and work your way through a sequence of challenges. The numbers of each group will ebb and flow, and I promise you, there will be plenty of laughs.

UBUNTU Cards – in many ways, you could dedicate your whole getting-to-know-you program to this one resource. UBUNTU Cards are so versatile and ideally designed to help people build connections and relationships.

Cocktail Party – this final exercise will put a cap on your time together in an intentionally silly way. No props are required, all you need is a fun framing to the activity and possibly, an over-the-top demonstration of the sorts of interactions you are looking for. Challenge your group to mingle, meet and greet every other person in the room, especially if you have invited people to capture as many (new) names as they could during the earlier activities.

Note, this program is not intended to be a prescriptive formula, but it is better than starting with a blank page.

Start with this basic framework and then change one or more activities with those you believe would be more appropriate for your group or program needs.

This program is drawn from my book Serious Fun in which I include 40 x free program templates, all with simple step-by-step instructions. Click the link below to purchase today.

Buy Serious Fun > playmeo    Buy Serious Fun > Amazon

Stay tuned for more.

A new program template is published each month.

By Mark Collard - Experiential Trainer, Author & Speaker

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