By: Katie Nelson
Center Editor
I’m sure we have all been in “that” awkward situation at one point or another. Most often, it takes place in a workplace meeting or a classroom. The situation in question is traditionally—if not infamously—when there is a gathering of new people and, for some odd reason, they have the unfortunate tendency to gravitate toward making the uncomfortable situation even more uncomfortable with the one and only Icebreaker Question. Perhaps the purpose of proposing an Icebreaker Question is to attempt to ease the tension in the room, but from personal experience and the shared situations of many, the disjointed attempt to start a conversation (if it can even be called one) merely succeeds in adding a level of cringe to the already awkward situation in its attempt to foster a community-building environment. My stance on Icebreakers? The Icebreaker questions need to go – permanently.
It has been an all too common occurrence in which I enter a new classroom, and an Icebreaker is asked to start everything off. I think there are much more constructive—and less awkward—ways to ease the initial tension in the room, and I think the vast majority would agree: Icebreakers are not the way.
Starting off with a couple of the fan-favorite Icebreakers, the amount of times I’ve heard the Icebreaker questions “Who would you have dinner with, dead or alive?” or “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?” or “What is a fun fact about you?” never ceases to make me sigh (insert face-smack emoji). What’s even worse than these questions are the infamous Icebreaker Games. I am about 90 percent positive when I say that the first Icebreaker Game that comes to everyone’s mind is Going on a Picnic, in which everyone (and I mean, everyone) goes around the circle, stating what they are bringing to the picnic based on the first letter of their name. Afterward, everyone has to go around the circle, repeating the names and picnic items of all of the other people before them until it gets to the end of the circle, and the very unlucky individual at the end has to repeat everyone’s name and picnic item. Not only is this not-so-icebreaking Icebreaker painfully awkward, but it never ceases to make me cringe as I have to say, “My name is Katie, and I’m bringing kale to the picnic,” since the person before me already said, “Key-Lime pie” (side eye emoji).
Although I understand that Icebreakers are initiated in an attempt to “break the ice” (pun intended) of the situation, I often find that these Icebreakers only succeed in making the environment much more awkward than it started with. I’m all for getting-to-know-you games, but Icebreakers definitely need to go.