Oh Heavens how I loathe ice-breakers. You've probably seen the situation:

"Right, we're just going to do a little fun exercise now to warm ourselves up..."

Doing the fun activity now, everyone is having a laugh and the energy in the room is right up...and then...

"Right, great, thanks, hope you all enjoyed that. Now take your seat and we'll start the session".

The energy evaporates and whatever follows feels like a dull grind.

 

When I directed any performance I always ensured that the warm-up at the beginning of a rehearsal flowed naturally into the actual work. Vocal exercises enunciating syllables (it's no myth that actors tend to focus on the "me-me-me" part) would run quickly into lines from the piece, or words that might be associated with the feel or the setting of the production.

How hard can it be to start with an exercise that runs into the main point of the session? Here's a thought: if an ice-breaker appears to be necessary, maybe we need to review our whole approach to the session and the way it is being delivered. Is it dry? Are the participants expected to just sit and listen to the trainer?

Okay, I do have a favourite ice-breaker, it's one that works especially well with people in non-managerial roles:

"Right, we'll do a fun ice-breaker"

Each member of the group has now tensed up and looks worried.

"Or should we just get on with the session and all be nice to each other?"

In the moment of relief and release that follows, I can lead the group anywhere, preferably into a practical, purposeful exercise to start the work of the session.

A simple and effective ice-breaker. Worthy of the Norwegian Navy.

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© Ivor Randle 2009

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