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10 energizing icebreakers for meetings and presentations

Engage groups ranging from small to extra large with these exciting icebreaker game ideas.

The most memorable meetings and presentations do not begin with small talk, awkward silence, or everyone blankly staring at a speaker. The best presenters do something differently. They break the ice! Captivate people’s attention from the start, spark their curiosity, and get them feeling comfortable to share and ask questions; all with the most energizing icebreakers.

Some icebreaker games are better suited for smaller groups, while others are perfect for larger crowds. Pick what you believe will engage your particular audience, and is more in line with your company culture, or suitable for the topics to be discussed.

Here is a list of icebreakers for awesome presentations and meetings, separated into categories.

 

By audience size:

 

By purpose:

 

Icebreakers to get to know people in your audience

 

Icebreakers to kick off a workshop

 

Multi-purpose trivia icebreakers

 

All of the following ideas can help engage groups in hybrid, remote, or in-person environments. Many of their descriptions also contain icebreaker questions for inspiration.

Team icebreakers (for small groups)

1. Selfie
Are new team members joining your meeting? This icebreaker is perfect for introducing people.
Have new starters come up with questions about themselves for everyone to guess the answer. For example, “What languages can Martha speak?,” “What is Matt’s favorite food, one he could eat all day?,” or “What did Sam do for work before joining our company?.”

Instead of awkward and formal intros, use selfie kahoots as a fun way for team members to get to know colleagues. Right and wrong answers are sure to prompt conversations throughout the meeting and even after it.

Small group playing a kahoot next to a preview of a mobile phone enabling a Selfie icebreaker

 

New team members can customize a selfie kahoot template and have an engaging icebreaker game ready to play within minutes.

2. Guess whose picture this is

Make room for a fun, team-bonding icebreaker! Pick one of the following categories (or come up with your own) and before your meeting or presentation, ask everyone to send you the relevant picture.

It could be:

  • A picture of their pet.
  • A baby picture of themselves.
  • A picture of their happy place.

On a kahoot, you can show them on the screen one at a time and have everyone guess who sent it. Make the icebreaker questions multiple choice, with other team members as the answer choices. Set the timer to 10 seconds to make the game extra challenging.

Some photos are sure to have a story behind them that will get people talking and laughing.

3. Two truths and a lie

Get ready to play this popular game and energize any small meeting. The game’s theme could be about any topic or entity, including your organization or even your team. Here is an idea: Before the session, ask everyone to privately share 2 truths and 1 lie about themselves with you, the host.

For example:
1. Mary has an identical twin sister.
2. Mary has never left the country.
3. Mary enjoys horror films.

Then, challenge all team members to guess what each other’s lie is. Bring the game to life easily on a kahoot and play it live. Rest assured that it will spark conversations and questions about truths and lies.

To mix it up, you can also include a variation of Kahoot! quiz (multiple choice) questions and true and false icebreaker questions. The person with the most points, aka 1st place on the podium, gets all the bragging rights and a prize if you decide to offer one.

4. A look back

Retrospective kahoots are an awesome way to kick off end-of-the-year sessions or discussions evaluating a product launch, campaign, project, etc.

Gone are the times when meeting hosts had no alternative but to ask questions out loud, and to one person at a time in a meeting. Now, you can ask icebreaker questions like “In one word, how would you describe the project delivery?” and seamlessly collect everyone’s anonymous input at the same time. Shortly after, check out all answers summarized in a colorful word cloud!

Consider also asking for everyone’s ideas on the biggest achievements, and what did not go so well during the relevant period. Using brainstorm questions, have the team discuss them live and vote on the ones they agree with the most too.

By the end of this short icebreaker, participants will have takeaways fresh in their minds, be ready to apply them, and ideate for what’s next. Talk about breaking the ice!

 

Icebreakers for bigger meetings and presentations (for medium to large groups)

A medium to large group is gathered around a screen showing the Kahoot! podium after icebreakers

 

The remaining ideas on this list of icebreaker games can be carried out for groups of up to 2000 people and even across locations.

5. Puzzles on favorite subjects

Everyone loves a good challenge. Get your team ready for analytical thinking with puzzles on a specific subject like history or math, for example.

If building and solving equations is more your style:

Have your audience fill in the blank with the correct math operation or value.

Example of icebreaker question made possible with Kahoot puzzle questions

 

If you are more of a history lover:

Create a kahoot where people order events in chronological order. It could be ordering inventions, presidents, wars, periods in time, or even milestones within your company or team if you want to add a relatable touch!

History icebreaker made possible with Kahoot question type

 

After a couple of quick puzzles, everyone’s brain will be mentally prepared for the meeting and some problem-solving. Learn more about puzzle questions to create your own version of this energizing icebreaker.

6. Fun kahoot on your topic of choice (flags is a good one!)

Sitting in meetings and presentations can get dull. Captivate your audience’s attention from the start with a fun, and perhaps a bit random, trivia-like game. For best results, pick a popular or relatable topic. For example, country flags, Disney movies, or music from the decade of your preference.

Vary between question types like true and false, quiz (multiple choice), and puzzle (what’s the right order), all in the same kahoot. And like in any good game, everyone plays to score points. Plus, the top 3 players make the coveted podium!

Creating, and customizing your own kahoot is always an awesome experience. Yet, you can also save time by selecting from a comprehensive library of premium ready-to-use kahoots for entertainment and engagement.

Whatever the topic you choose to make these types of icebreaker games about, your audience will:

  1. Have learned something new
  2. Be looking forward to seeing what else you have prepared

Double-win!

7. Word association (perfect for a brainstorming session)

Use this icebreaker game to spark creativity at the beginning of any workshop.
Think of a couple of broad themes related to the main topic to be discussed. For example, if your department is discussing ideas for a summer social media campaign, you could select themes such as beach, hot weather, or vacation for this exercise.

Then, ask your audience to type what word or idea (up to 20 characters) comes to mind when thinking of these themes. The twist is that, with a kahoot, everyone has a chance to ideate at the same time and share anonymously, relieving any pressure.

When time’s up, all ideas will show up as a word cloud on the screen. The more participants, the bigger the word cloud with even more unusual associations to the initial themes.

Let those creative juices start flowing with several exercises like this, and consider also including brainstorm questions into your interactive presentation to collect, discuss, and vote on ideas as a group.

 

Icebreakers for major events or gatherings (for extra-large groups)

8. Pop quiz on the topic to be discussed

Kahoot showing on the screen as an event icebreaker for large group

 

Leaders worldwide have come to love bringing to life this icebreaker with Kahoot! In fact, a group of educators came up with a name for the energizing, unexpected, quiz-like game that sets the scene for learning. They called it a “blind kahoot.”

The main idea behind blind kahoots is to introduce a topic by testing initial knowledge of it. By making it more of a game rather than a test, you as the host can entertain your audience, spark curiosity, and provide a space where they feel safe to make educated or random guesses. Additionally, your customized kahoots can be played live by hundreds to thousands of people.

Bonus: This icebreaker can also provide immediate feedback on how much people know and can help point the speaker in the right direction for what to focus on.

9. Survey it up

Who says large gatherings have to be impersonal? Warm up any crowd with a gamified survey or poll where the audience learns more about other participants. Certainly, these are a must amongst icebreakers for meetings and presentations to unite a group, no matter its size.

Take the first 5-10 minutes of your session to host a survey-like kahoot uncovering whether people are from different cities, countries, or continents even, or what sports are most popular amongst the group, for example. Or, get inspired by this kahoot with team-bonding icebreaker questions that are not only great for team bonding but also incredibly engaging at a large scale.

When the time’s up after every question, answers show up on the screen for everyone to see!

Pro tip: Use this event energizer quiz template to build your own icebreaker that is half-quiz, half-survey that is sure to enlighten and bond the crowd.

10. Pulse check

Break the ice by checking in with your audience in a way they’ll find engaging! Do a quick pulse check with a kahoot that goes beyond asking “How are you feeling?” but also explores views around relevant topics or the session in general.

For instance, if you are hosting a webinar or training session include icebreaker questions like:

  • How confident do you feel about your knowledge of the topic? (Poll)
  • What are your views on X? (Open-ended)
  • Why do you want to learn about this topic? (Word cloud)
  • What are you looking forward to the most? (Word cloud)
  • What do you expect from this meeting? (Open-ended)

You could also explore what people would rather see in the next part of the presentation or meeting. Would they rather have an introduction about X or Y? Would they rather you, the expert presenter, talk about only the basics, or dive into the details? Ask them!


Consider the ice broken. Get ready to kick off your next meeting in an innovative way that is also inclusive, fun, suitable to your audience size, and for any work setting.

With the most energizing Kahoot! icebreakers, go on and ride your strong starts to ensure the group gatherings you host are your most memorable yet.