New year, new friends, and new experiences. The idea of having to deal with these things can be overwhelming for any college student, yet we as advisors know how important personal interaction and shared experiences are to the college journey. Asking "How is everyone?" at the beginning of a meeting isn't always the best way to encourage connection and teamwork. Sometimes, you need to take it a step further by facilitating a quick energizing game. Meeting energizers (or icebreakers) have the power to strengthen bonds, stimulate better brainstorming sessions, and create an atmosphere of inclusivity. So here are a few fun, interactive ways to get to know your members and start your meetings off with some energy!
1. Giant Map: Ask the students to form a giant map of the world, with each side of the room representing North, South, East, or West. Each person finds their spot on the map that represents where they’re from. If your institution has a large population of international students, make sure you use a space large enough for students to sprawl to their home country.
2. Pop a Question: The leader will prepare questions on small pieces of paper and put one question inside a balloon. Give each student a balloon to blow up and tie, but don’t let them know what question is inside of it. Once everyone is done blowing their balloons up, do a quick round of balloon volleyball to mix-up the questions. Then, go around the room and one at a time, have them pop their balloon and answer the question inside aloud to the group.
3. Three of a Kind: Instruct the group to find three different students in the room that they share something in common with. These commonalities cannot be visible (so not hair color, eye color, etc).
4. Jenga questions: Who doesn’t love a good game of Jenga? Write thoughtful questions on each block to open up conversations – whether that’s asking about someone’s career goals or their favorite ice cream flavor. As each person pulls a block, they answer the question written on it.
5. Name Duck: Gather everyone in the group together in a circle. Instruct everyone in the circle to go around and say their name once out loud. To start off the activity, one person needs to stand in the middle of the circle. The player in the middle will shout out a name and that person must duck. The participants to the left and right of the player ducking must shout each other’s name as fast as they can. The player who says the other’s name slowest is eliminated from the activity.