Online Training Ideas: Virtual Ice Breakers

Icebreakers are a great way to warm up your participants, start a casual discussion, and get your training rolling. But, you might be wondering what type of icebreaker activities work best in a virtual setting. Consider implementing the following online training icebreaker ideas. These virtual icebreakers will set the tone for the rest of your session!

HRDQ offers a fully customizable virtual training library, so you can provide specialized training content to your team no matter where they are. Explore the Reproducible Training Library.

Two Truths, One Lie

Just as the name sounds, the idea of this icebreaker is to make three statements, two being true and one being a lie. The objective is for other participants to identify which statement is the lie. Here’s how to implement this icebreaker in your virtual training session:

• Announce the game to your participants and tell them the instructions.
• Give them a few minutes to think of their responses.
• Have them reveal their two truths and a lie one participant at a time.
• If you’re using webcams, participants can announce and respond to the statements verbally.
• If you’re not using webcams, have them type their statements in the chat feature.
• Continue until every person has shared!

Take a Virtual Poll

One of the simplest virtual icebreakers you can implement is a virtual poll. These questions can be related to your training topic or something else entirely. Whatever you decide, we recommend presenting the question, having your participants take the poll, and then revealing the results as soon as they’re in. Then, everyone can discuss the outcome. Continue moving through your questions and talking about the responses as a segue into your other training content.

Abstract Analysis

The Abstract Analysis icebreaker is a great way to reveal the way your participants think and who thinks similarly. Here’s how to get started:

• Gather a list of concepts or photos. Again, it’s up to you whether you’d like them to be related to your training topic or not.
• Reveal the concepts or photos one by one.
• For each concept or photo, ask participants what first comes to mind when they see them.
• Tell participants to type their responses in the chat feature. This will prevent people from accidentally talking over one another.
• Discuss the similar and different responses. It can be exciting to see who came up with the same or different thoughts! You can even ask participants why the concept or photo makes them think of their particular response.

Continue the Story

Another icebreaker to warm your participants up for your training is Continue the Story. Here’s how to play:

• Establish the order of your participants. If you’re using webcams, the person at the top left corner of the screen should start, followed by the person to their right, and so on. If you’re using only the chat feature, simply assign each person a number.
• As the facilitator, begin the story by saying a three-word, unfinished phrase. For example, “Can you believe...” or “It’s funny that…”
• The first participants should continue the story using only three more words.
• Have each participant build upon the story until each person has participated.
• If the story ends before everyone has participated, create a new beginning to the story, starting with the next person in order.
• If you’re playing this icebreaker with the chat feature, at the end, copy the story and paste it on a clean document. If you’d like, you can send it to your participants at the end of the training session!

Map Your Participants

This is an especially fun icebreaker if your participants live in all parts of the country, or even in other countries! Here’s how to play:

• Display a map of your country or the world, depending on where your participants live.
• Ask each team member where they live.
• Add a virtual star to their location.
• Have the participants share a fun fact about the area they live in.
• Continue until each team member has shared!
• Save a copy of the completed map to send to your participants, if you’d like.

Map your Participants is a great way for your remote workers to learn a little bit more about each other!

Start Virtual Training with HRDQ

We hope you enjoyed these online training icebreaker ideas! Virtual icebreakers are a great way to prepare your participants for the upcoming information in your session.

If you need help creating an effective online training program, work with HRDQ. Our live, instructor-led virtual training allows your team to complete sessions and workshops no matter where they are. View our virtual classes today to get started!

Explore HRDQ Virtual Training