Break The Ice At Corporate Events With These 5 Activities!

Tips & Tricks · 29 Jul 2023

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Corporate events needn’t begin in an awkward or banal manner. In fact, the best corporate events are ones where your attendees are actively involved while feeling at ease. But for event planners, it may be slightly challenging considering the various personalities in attendance.

Some people take a longer time to warm up and this is where corporate icebreakers come in. They are a handy way to engage your attendees, get them comfortable, and encourage them to know each other better. Looking for some ideas? Here are a few icebreakers that you can introduce in your next corporate event.

What Do We Have In Common?

If you’re holding a smaller corporate event like a business conference, this activity is for you. Break your attendees into smaller groups, and give them a set time limit to discuss and come up with a few things in common. Once the time has run out, get each group to share their list of newly discovered commonalities. It’s interesting to discover how many individuals share the same alma mater or live in the same neighbourhood.

The purpose of this game is to encourage open communication in their respective groups, giving them a reason to find out more about each other in an inquisitive yet casual way. This allows them to connect based on newfound interests, which may not surface from natural conversation. As such, try not to allocate the people who already know each other in the same group as it would defeat the purpose of the activity.

Round Robin 'Interviews'

Similar to the previous activity, the aim is to get your attendees to find out more about each other. But instead of allocating a fixed grouping, attendees are paired with a different person each round. As the name suggests, participants take turns asking questions about each other to different people in the room.

Draft a list of questions for your attendees to refer to. It could be about their background, their hobbies, or what they’re looking to take away from the corporate event. Set a time limit for each question and get them to shift to a different partner each time it resets. It’s great for brief introductions and connecting people with others they normally won’t approach at corporate events.

BINGO

If you prefer letting your attendees mingle freely on their own, consider implementing this icebreaker. Unlike the previous two activities, Bingo works well with larger corporate events.

Start by designing a five by five grid with statements in each square. You can use generic statements like ‘been with a company for more than three years’ or event-specific statements like “avid user of software XYZ”. Once a participant finds someone who fulfils the statement, get them to sign on their square. The catch is that they’re only allowed to sign one square on the same sheet. Following the conventional bingo rules, the person who completes their card first wins.

This activity encourages them to move around and interact with one another proactively. The idea is to have each square act as a platform for further conversation, either on the spot or at a later time.

The Business Card Race

This icebreaker mixes networking with a touch of competitiveness. Get your corporate event’s attendees to collect as many business cards as possible under a preset time limit. The one holding the most will be declared the winner so try throwing in some neat incentives.

However, this activity involves more than simply going around to collect business cards. Participants are required to ‘interview’ each other for their business card. To kick things off, you can suggest simple questions like their personal experience, interests, or hobbies. Ultimately, the point of this activity is to maximise the number of people your attendees engage with. Plus, they’ll be able to keep the name cards they collect!

Trivias

Trivias are great for team-building corporate events whether it’s an award ceremony or a milestone celebration. Divide your attendees into teams or have them compete individually for the ultimate bragging rights. Regardless, feel free to have fun. You can insert questions like “which coffee shop is located nearest to the office” or even questions about the company like “when was it founded”. In this situation, it’s ideal if the participants are already familiar with one another.

It can also be repurposed for more ‘formal’ corporate events. Set up a quiz with the corporate event’s theme in mind to find out the level of background knowledge your attendees possess. If done correctly, trivias can get your attendees in the right mood and mindset.

Don’t forget about your emcees or hosts that conduct these icebreakers because they matter too. Effective facilitators are able to clearly communicate instructions, create a safe and energised space, and encourage participation. Eventive can handle it for you. Event management and production are our expertise so leave it to us! As event organisers, our aim is to create a comprehensive event plan that is tailored to meet your corporate events’ objectives.

Catch The Mic

Try involving your guest speaker or host to build a stronger rapport with the audience. This helps your audience build trust and resonate with the guest speaker which can positively impact their experience at your corporate events.

For this activity, you’ll require a microphone and foam balls, toy balls, or anything that can be thrown around safely. Pose some questions to the audience and toss it around the room! This icebreaker is great for audience interaction. Its novel effect generates a fun atmosphere that encourages even the quieter participants to speak up. We recommend starting with a few light and casual questions to warm up the audience before diving in deeper.

Corporate Events Made Easy

Corporate icebreakers are great at loosening up your attendees. Whether you want to introduce them to as many people as possible or form connections on a deeper level, there are plenty of icebreakers you can use for your future corporate events.

Nevertheless, it’s wise to use the appropriate activity, so always consider your event’s purpose, attendees, and available logistics. Remember, a well-planned and meaningful icebreaker should never feel out of place. Instead, it should help set the tone and atmosphere for your corporate events.

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