Our Best Warm-Up Activities for Virtual Meetings
Warm-ups (also called “icebreakers”) have been good facilitation practice for a long time. When done well, these activities set the stage for a productive, positive meeting and build a group’s energy from the start.
We know the word “icebreaker” makes some folks cringe but chances are if you’ve experienced a bad icebreaker it was because the activity wasn’t properly selected to match the work context or team culture. We use warmups in all settings – with close-knit teams who know each other well to groups of executive directors coming together for the first time. Especially when folks are in separate spaces during virtual meetings, warm-up activities are one of your most powerful tools for building energy and camaraderie.
How to choose the right warm-up activity
Virtual meetings allow us to use new types of warm-ups and adapt in-person favorites, so you have a lot of options to choose from. Choosing an activity that matches the tone and objectives of your meeting is critical. It’s also important to think about the culture and social norms of the group.
Consider these tips when choosing the right warm-up for your virtual meeting:
Match the length of the warm-up to the length of the meeting. A one-hour meeting should have a warm-up that’s about 5-7 minutes, while a multi-hour meeting can have one that’s a bit longer. A warm-up that’s too long leaves people feeling like they are wasting time, so keep it to a length they will appreciate.
Make sure your warm-up has a purpose. Are you bringing people together who don’t know each other at all or is it a group who meets every week? Are they getting to know each other better or just trying to figure out the basics of who is in the room? Connect the warm-up to the meeting content and objectives. Different warm-ups accomplish different things, so choose wisely to make it time well spent.
Match your warm-up to your audience. Match your choice of activity to the tone of the meeting and the potential interests of those in the room. Everyone is capable of having fun, so don’t be afraid to ask people to do something a bit different. Here are some examples of matching prompt questions to participants:
Your team: Draw a picture of your breakfast and show it in the video.
A board of directors: What is some of the best advice you’ve ever gotten that we might bring into this meeting today?
A leadership coalition: If you could have a new skill in an instant, what would it be?
Some of Our Favorite Warm-Up Activities
Some of Our Favorite Warm-Up Questions
You can also create great warm-ups by asking a good prompt question, giving everyone a moment to think, and then going around and giving each person a bit of time to share their response. Pair these prompts with basic introductions (name, location) for groups that are meeting for the first time or do them alone for groups that know each other well.
Just remember that this can take time, so don’t have everyone introduce themselves with a prompt if you have more than 10 people - it will take too long. If you have a large group and still want to try a prompt like these, use break out rooms so people can share and discuss in smaller groups. When calculating time, assume 1-2 minutes per person for the activity.
A few of our favorites:
What was your first concert?
What is something you are really in to right now?
What’s some of the best advice you ever heard?
What is a skill or fact most people don’t know about you?
Share one positive thing that happened to you (personally or professionally) this past week.
What are you most excited to tackle in this meeting?
If you could have a new skill in an instant, what would it be?
What’s your favorite family tradition?
Want make your virtual meetings amazing? Check out our webinar on Activities & Techniques for Great Remote Workshops.
Interested in reading more about effective ways to host virtual meetings? Read our other blogs in the Impact Lab such as:
