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How well do you really know the people you work with every day? If the answer is "not much," that's not unusual. You don't have to know every detail of your colleagues' lives to work well together. However, evidence suggests that taking the time to get to know your coworkers, even just a little, can pay dividends in the form of better business outcomes.
Why getting to know you activities are critical to team success
Research from Gallup shows the impact of having a best friend at work. Data shows that friendships with coworkers can:
- Increase engagement and productivity
- Lead to greater job satisfaction
- Reduce safety incidents
- Reduce costly turnover
Participating in getting to know you activities may not lead to every coworker becoming best friends. However, these activities can be the start of solid relationships and strengthen camaraderie, which can have positive effects on your team.
12 exciting team-building icebreakers to help you build team spirit
Use these fun (and funny) activities to help your team bond through laughter and curiosity.
1. Two truths and a lie ⁉️
Do you think you can tell when someone's being untruthful? Think again! This fun game tests the limits of your investigative instincts by challenging you to determine when your colleagues are telling the truth and when they're stretching it.
In Two Truths and a Lie, the Confetti team collects three statements (two truths and one lie) from each person and turns them into an interactive presentation that allows your team to dig into the details of each other's quirks. Your hilarious host will make sure this identity game is one to remember!
2. Guess who? 🙋
If lying to your colleagues just isn't on your to-do list, you can have just as much fun telling each other the truth. In this classic game, each person on your team will submit a photo and a few fascinating facts about themselves (you know, like the teammate's favorite food or their personal hero).
Confetti's Guess Who? host will then reveal those facts one by one as your team tries to figure out who they belong to. It's like a personalized version of team trivia! You can even make it a competition where the person or small group with the most points wins. Each teammate will get a chance to tell their side of the story, as you learn more than you ever thought you'd know about the people you work with each day.
3. Would you rather? 🤔
Ever feel like you've had to make an impossible choice? This game gives you dozens of them! In Would You Rather?, everyone gets a glimpse into why their coworkers do the things they do. You'll start with a list of outrageous scenarios, such as "Would you rather be stuck in a past life forever or spend every day reliving today?" or "Would you rather fight a wild animal or try to outrun one?"
Everyone not only has to give an answer but also has to explain their choice. The best thing about this activity is that you can make it funny, weird, deep, or even breezy and pop-culture focused. Choose questions that suit the mood you want to create, and ask away!
4. Creative workshops 🎨
Creativity is such a personal thing. What better way to find out how your teammates see the world than to do a creative exercise together? Fortunately, team-building crafting events are both easy and fun to set up, especially when Confetti provides kits containing everything you need to do your best work.
Here are a few cool ideas to get you started:
- Cookie Decorating: Use colorful icing to decorate pre-baked themed sugar cookies
- Painting Class: Create your next masterpiece with the help of an experienced art instructor
- Moss Wall Art: Work with a plant enthusiast to build a creative connection to nature
- Songwriting Lab: Create harmony with your teammates by writing an original tune
When you're done, have each group member take a few moments to share their creation and the thought process behind it. You'll get a chance to learn new things about the people you work with as they share the heart behind their art.
5. Escape quest 🧩
A huge part of bonding with your team members is learning to solve challenges together. Though you likely already solve a lot of them in your team meetings, none have been as exciting as Confetti's Escape Quest.
If you've played the human knot a thousand times, it's time to try something new. This combination of a virtual scavenger hunt with an escape room works to foster collaboration, requiring everyone to use their communication skills as they solve puzzles, gather clues, and get to the bottom of the mystery at hand.
For some added fun, break your team up into small groups and go head-to-head to beat the quest within the time limit. The first team to finish wins!
6. Corporate castaways 🏝️
When it comes to team-building activities, learning how to fight for your life probably isn't what immediately comes to mind. While in-person teams love survival challenges, you can put together something just as exciting for your virtual crew without having to book a team retreat.
Break your team up into small groups and give each a list of items, such as a toothbrush, a hammer, matches, and safety pins. Then, give them a survival scenario, such as being stuck on a deserted island, trying to avoid getting eaten by a bear in the woods, or even being the only adult at a child's birthday party.
Have each team go into breakout rooms and choose five items from the list that would help them stay alive in that situation. Your team won't be able to stop laughing as coworkers explain how they plan to get back to safety with the random tools they've been provided.
7. Water cooler 🥤
Confetti's Water Cooler game is just like having a chat in person, except with a dose of speed networking to shake things up. Fortunately, this activity is perfect for both new teams and more established groups.
In this experience, a Confetti host will split your group into randomized breakout rooms and give them two minutes to discuss a topic that reveals personal perspectives and unique facts. You'll go through several rounds of rapid conversations (all with unique groups) and come back together in the end to share the most interesting (or most outlandish) thing you learned.
8. Cloudy with a chance of... 🌦️
Sharing your feelings is a great way to get to know and support your teammates. Still, opening up to a group can be intimidating. Sharing emotions through icebreaker activities can help your team connect in a much more lighthearted way.
Instead of having everyone give one word to describe their feelings, teammates will use weather terms. For example, suppose that you're a little overwhelmed and in need of some stress relief. You might say you're feeling "partly cloudy with a chance of light rain later this evening." Whether funny or sad, make sure that everyone respects the person speaking, and don't forget to offer encouragement where possible.
9. Birth map 🗺️
Everyone on your team has an origin story, and the Birth Map is an icebreaker activity that gives remote teams a chance to bond by sharing their unique personal histories. All this activity requires is a picture of a world map on a virtual whiteboard.
Then, have each participant use a virtual writing tool to mark their place of origin, which can be the team member's actual birthplace or a location they consider a significant part of their life story. If your team is in an in-person meeting or game room, pin a little flag on a paper map for a tangible representation of team diversity.
The Birth Map is a great icebreaker for those looking to build an inclusive environment and find common ground. If your team feels up to it, give a little time for everyone to answer questions about themselves or their background.
10. Whose refrigerator is it? 🍇
This virtual icebreaker game gives new meaning to the phrase "You are what you eat." You'll simply have each teammate open their refrigerator and take a picture. Then, collect those photos and compile them into a presentation.
As the group leader advances through the slideshow, ask participants to guess which teammate the fridge belongs to and why. This is a fun way to get to know each other better. You might be surprised to learn the interesting things that your coworkers say about your preferred foods!
11. The name game 📛
There are many versions of The Name Game out there. For this one, you'll have each of the participants write an adjective or verb that both describes their personality or favorite activity and starts with the same letter as their first name. For example, you may have a Vivacious Vivian, a Friendly Freddy, a Brainy Brian, or a Dancing Debra.
Each person will then introduce themselves using their adjective and their first name. The next person to go must then greet the first person using their new name and then introduce themselves using the same formula. It gets harder to remember each name as the game progresses (especially when the last person has to remember the first person's name), so you'll definitely need patience for this one!
12. Hot takes 🔥
Looking to spice up your next training session? Ditch the speed dating and Never Have I Ever for this hot sauce-infused icebreaker game. Confetti's Hot Takes puts your teammates in the hot seat as they answer sizzling (and work-appropriate) questions that require them to tell the truth, take on a dare, or dip their tongue in the ring of fire. As the game goes on, the sauces — and the stakes — heat up, too!
Build strong bonds with Confetti's icebreaker activities
For better business outcomes, start by building a positive company culture based on fun and camaraderie. Confetti's icebreaker games and activities are here to help you create it, even among remote teams. Our complete team-building experiences encourage bonding and trust to make everyone feel welcome.
Book an activity from our Get to Know Your Team collection and discover how to take your team-building efforts to the next level.
