[AiYa – MeetingArkAdmin]

What are good approaches for breaking the ice in a respectful way?

[Ron Eagle]

Gauge how much ice needs breaking first before enacting  a strategy:

1. Very stuffy staid serious ethos and attendees will probably be best thawed by traditional round robin of introductions around the table (not just names and titles…ask each to give a few minutes explaining what they do what their thought  contribution is on the project and maybe some small personal details to humanise them) BTW this isn’t  a bad approach to any meeting.
2. At the other end of the spectrum in a very whacky creative style organisation then even arriving in a pantomime horse outfit probably wont be too startling so think of a totally non sequitur  approach e.g. once all are seated, ask everyone to change seat positions then ask them each to write down briefly why they chose the seat they sat at after moving…and ask them to let the person next to them to read it (only ask this AFTER they have all written) …that always gets brain cells buzzing and complacency comfort nudged….then go to 1 above.

[Ron Eagle]

Try to have something welcoming at arrival: if a morning offer hot drinks and maybe bacon rolls (include vegan too ); if lunch then offer  maybe a buffet. This not only attracts attendees but allows some for some pre meeting mingling, ice breaking etc.  Regardless have at least one person responsible for welcoming the people arriving

[AiYa – MeetingArkAdmin]

Cheer, Ron!

Creating a welcoming space in the meeting room can have a surprising effect on enabling people to relax. One seminar I led had an interesting piece of feedback –

“I knew it was going to be fun because there was a beautiful display of flowers on the trainer’s table”

It is often the tiny details that make the most impact in helping people feel welcome.

[Ron Eagle]

Also, be careful of ‘forced’ ice breaking. For example where the group leader points to someone and makes them stand up and talk about something or themselves etc. This could be embarrassing and unless it is an addiction group  ‘sharing session’ may be inappropriate.

[Author]

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