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If you’ve been in back-to-back Zoom meetings all day, the worst words you can hear are “Ok, let’s do an ice breaker!”
You just want to have the meeting and be done with it.
But with increasing reports of Zoom fatigue and Zoom burnout, having some short positive chatter to your digital meeting might be good not only for the team’s agenda but for each meeting participant.
But even if you are convinced that check-in questions are good for meetings, no one wants to burn brain cells trying to come up a clever-but-not-too-personal Zoom icebreaker.
This post will help you think about the different kinds of ice breaker questions for digital meetings and the best context to use them.
Oh, and did we say that we’ve curated a list of questions to make your life easier? *wink*
[Looking for our list? Just scroll all the way down.]
Benefits of using Zoom icebreaker questions
People have a high tendency to brush things off pretty quickly in the hustle and bustle of merging their work and life at home.
Having ice breakers before meetings gives people some space and time to process experiences and events they’ve readily dismissed or simply provide them with some form of a breather.
Icebreakers allow people to unload baggage
Now that almost all meetings are done virtually, we don’t know what another person is going through. Asking people questions allows them to unload whatever they’re holding, allowing them to come to the meeting fresh and light.
Icebreakers provide people with context
Having an idea of what the person is going through helps the team understand why they’re easily set-off or aloof. Using contextualized icebreakers for Zoom meetings also helps give team members context about where the meeting is headed.
Icebreakers remind us that we’re humans
Being too absorbed in work may unknowingly turn us into unfeeling robots. Asking questions like “Can you share a favorite family tradition?” is a nice refreshing reminder that we are more than just our jobs.
Icebreaker questions ensure that everyone is truly present
It’s easy to get sidetracked by a million other things. Having a hanging question in the virtual meeting helps the team focus. Ever experienced preparing for the perfect answer to a question way before it’s your turn? Yep—it helps you stay engaged with the discussion!
Icebreaker questions allow for others to catch-up
Things happen. Some people just sign in a few minutes late. Having ice breakers gives people enough wiggle room not to miss relevant points in the meeting proper.
Icebreaker questions give everyone enough exposure and airtime.
At most meetings, people in charge do most of the talking. However, even when everyone’s given equal opportunity to talk, some are just more proactive than others.
Having a short Zoom icebreaker for everyone to answer makes sure that each person’s voice will be heard – even if it’s just a sentence.
Types of Zoom icebreakers questions
Check-in questions
Check-in questions may seem unnecessary and a waste of time for people in a rush. But these questions help team members reconnect with each other, maintain relationships, and ultimately, increase work engagement and team cohesion.
Fun and light
This kind of Zoom icebreaker is like, “What’s your go-to karaoke song?”. These questions are good ways to connect people. Not only are they fun, but they also do not force people to expose themselves or become too vulnerable.
Light check-in questions are great to use for an already solid team or newly formed ones. Here are other examples of fun check-in questions:
- Ocean, desert, mountains, forest?
- What was the weirdest food you have ever eaten?
- What’s a sport that you don’t understand the rules to?
Deeper and reflective
Questions could also go a little deeper and trend towards some introspection or nostalgia. They remind and help people recall their motivations, aspirations, and hope.
These more profound questions are best for a group that has already established a certain level of comfortability and trust. These check-in questions can help dig issues buried under the pile of work and daily life routine.
Here are some examples of more serious check-in questions:
- What has been the highlight of your week so far?
- What makes a “good day” for you?
- What’s a subject/topic that you’d like to teach others about?
Context-related Zoom icebreakers
When holding meetings to tackle or discuss a particular issue or agenda, questions related to them help prep and psyche the participants up for a more thorough discussion.
For example, if you are going to discuss key performance indicators (KPIs), you may want to ask the question, “how do you evaluate your own success?”
Here are other context-related questions:
- What’s a significant idea you’ve read/listened to in the last month? (this is good for brainstorming!)
- What is one thing you’re excited to discuss about in today’s meeting?
- What can you bring to the table for today’s agenda?
Getting-to-know-you questions
No matter how long a team has been together, there’s always something new to learn about the people you work with.
Here are some nice get-to-know zoom icebreakers:
- What are three words that best describe you?
- What is your favorite time of day?
- Your favorite ice cream flavor?
- Name one thing that you couldn’t go a week without
Things to consider when choosing a Zoom icebreaker
Length. Ideally, icebreakers for Zoom meetings should not take more than 10 minutes. Again, as much as possible, we want to prevent Zoom fatigue.
The good thing is, you can easily shape questions to ensure that you keep the time. You can use phrases like “in one sentence” or “in a few words” as parameters for your questions.
Mood. You may opt for lighter or more serious questions depending on the mood you want to set.
Relevance. Questions do not always need to be related to the topic of the meeting, as long as it meets the goal for which it was asked.
You can simply use it to lighten the atmosphere. You can also use questions to focus on a specific agenda or topic. In such cases, they must be connected to the issue at hand.
Inclusion. Questions should be relatable to everyone and must not single out anybody. Don’t ask questions on a specific status (being a parent or being a spouse, for example) or class.
Asking people for the first car they’ve owned may be typical for most middle-aged people in the US; however, this isn’t the norm for all.
In the same way, you should avoid questions on divisive issues like religion and politics.
Build connection. Questions that reveal something new about another person are great tools to build relationships and bonds between people in a group.
Freedom. People should be free to take a pass and not answer a question if they are uncomfortable doing so. Don’t tease them or feign disappointment by saying “oh, come on” or “you’re no fun.” It’s okay if people don’t want to share.
Can you give me that list?
By all means—especially since most of the stuff you’ll see online are full of fluff. We’ve curated a comprehensive list of good questions plus a lot of other questions you’ll actually enjoy asking.
Here is an icebreaker question generator that will give you one of over 100 great icebreaker questions. Feel free to bookmark it or just steal the ones that you like. Enjoy!
Have some new ideas? Connect with us on Twitter!
If you’ve been in back-to-back Zoom meetings all day, the worst words you can hear are “Ok, let’s do an ice breaker!”
You just want to have the meeting and be done with it.
But with increasing reports of Zoom fatigue and Zoom burnout, having some short positive chatter to your digital meeting might be good not only for the team’s agenda but for each meeting participant.
But even if you are convinced that check-in questions are good for meetings, no one wants to burn brain cells trying to come up a clever-but-not-too-personal Zoom icebreaker.
This post will help you think about the different kinds of ice breaker questions for digital meetings and the best context to use them.
Oh, and did we say that we’ve curated a list of questions to make your life easier? *wink*
[Looking for our list? Just scroll all the way down.]
Benefits of using Zoom icebreaker questions
People have a high tendency to brush things off pretty quickly in the hustle and bustle of merging their work and life at home.
Having ice breakers before meetings gives people some space and time to process experiences and events they’ve readily dismissed or simply provide them with some form of a breather.
Icebreakers allow people to unload baggage
Now that almost all meetings are done virtually, we don’t know what another person is going through. Asking people questions allows them to unload whatever they’re holding, allowing them to come to the meeting fresh and light.
Icebreakers provide people with context
Having an idea of what the person is going through helps the team understand why they’re easily set-off or aloof. Using contextualized icebreakers for Zoom meetings also helps give team members context about where the meeting is headed.
Icebreakers remind us that we’re humans
Being too absorbed in work may unknowingly turn us into unfeeling robots. Asking questions like “Can you share a favorite family tradition?” is a nice refreshing reminder that we are more than just our jobs.
Icebreaker questions ensure that everyone is truly present
It’s easy to get sidetracked by a million other things. Having a hanging question in the virtual meeting helps the team focus. Ever experienced preparing for the perfect answer to a question way before it’s your turn? Yep—it helps you stay engaged with the discussion!
Icebreaker questions allow for others to catch-up
Things happen. Some people just sign in a few minutes late. Having ice breakers gives people enough wiggle room not to miss relevant points in the meeting proper.
Icebreaker questions give everyone enough exposure and airtime.
At most meetings, people in charge do most of the talking. However, even when everyone’s given equal opportunity to talk, some are just more proactive than others.
Having a short Zoom icebreaker for everyone to answer makes sure that each person’s voice will be heard – even if it’s just a sentence.
Types of Zoom icebreakers questions
Check-in questions
Check-in questions may seem unnecessary and a waste of time for people in a rush. But these questions help team members reconnect with each other, maintain relationships, and ultimately, increase work engagement and team cohesion.
Fun and light
This kind of Zoom icebreaker is like, “What’s your go-to karaoke song?”. These questions are good ways to connect people. Not only are they fun, but they also do not force people to expose themselves or become too vulnerable.
Light check-in questions are great to use for an already solid team or newly formed ones. Here are other examples of fun check-in questions:
- Ocean, desert, mountains, forest?
- What was the weirdest food you have ever eaten?
- What’s a sport that you don’t understand the rules to?
Deeper and reflective
Questions could also go a little deeper and trend towards some introspection or nostalgia. They remind and help people recall their motivations, aspirations, and hope.
These more profound questions are best for a group that has already established a certain level of comfortability and trust. These check-in questions can help dig issues buried under the pile of work and daily life routine.
Here are some examples of more serious check-in questions:
- What has been the highlight of your week so far?
- What makes a “good day” for you?
- What’s a subject/topic that you’d like to teach others about?
Context-related Zoom icebreakers
When holding meetings to tackle or discuss a particular issue or agenda, questions related to them help prep and psyche the participants up for a more thorough discussion.
For example, if you are going to discuss key performance indicators (KPIs), you may want to ask the question, “how do you evaluate your own success?”
Here are other context-related questions:
- What’s a significant idea you’ve read/listened to in the last month? (this is good for brainstorming!)
- What is one thing you’re excited to discuss about in today’s meeting?
- What can you bring to the table for today’s agenda?
Getting-to-know-you questions
No matter how long a team has been together, there’s always something new to learn about the people you work with.
Here are some nice get-to-know zoom icebreakers:
- What are three words that best describe you?
- What is your favorite time of day?
- Your favorite ice cream flavor?
- Name one thing that you couldn’t go a week without
Things to consider when choosing a Zoom icebreaker
Length. Ideally, icebreakers for Zoom meetings should not take more than 10 minutes. Again, as much as possible, we want to prevent Zoom fatigue.
The good thing is, you can easily shape questions to ensure that you keep the time. You can use phrases like “in one sentence” or “in a few words” as parameters for your questions.
Mood. You may opt for lighter or more serious questions depending on the mood you want to set.
Relevance. Questions do not always need to be related to the topic of the meeting, as long as it meets the goal for which it was asked.
You can simply use it to lighten the atmosphere. You can also use questions to focus on a specific agenda or topic. In such cases, they must be connected to the issue at hand.
Inclusion. Questions should be relatable to everyone and must not single out anybody. Don’t ask questions on a specific status (being a parent or being a spouse, for example) or class.
Asking people for the first car they’ve owned may be typical for most middle-aged people in the US; however, this isn’t the norm for all.
In the same way, you should avoid questions on divisive issues like religion and politics.
Build connection. Questions that reveal something new about another person are great tools to build relationships and bonds between people in a group.
Freedom. People should be free to take a pass and not answer a question if they are uncomfortable doing so. Don’t tease them or feign disappointment by saying “oh, come on” or “you’re no fun.” It’s okay if people don’t want to share.
Can you give me that list?
By all means—especially since most of the stuff you’ll see online are full of fluff. We’ve curated a comprehensive list of good questions plus a lot of other questions you’ll actually enjoy asking.
Here is an icebreaker question generator that will give you one of over 100 great icebreaker questions. Feel free to bookmark it or just steal the ones that you like. Enjoy!
Have some new ideas? Connect with us on Twitter!
