Trainers need to establish comfort and camaraderie in the workplace while maintaining professionalism. Have trainees choose from a collection of coins and share a story about their life that pertains to the year on the coin. Organize the coins in advance, based on the age range of employees. Keep the stories brief or divide everyone into smaller groups to manage time. To keep stories focused on the workplace, choose newer coins and encourage people to share stories about a work-related incident.
Give the group open-ended sentences, such as "I am happy when I..." or "Teams succeed when..." and let each person finish the phrases. Use field-specific phrases such as "The most important safety precaution we can take is..." or "The most frustrating type of customer to deal with is..." This helps trainees reveal a bit about themselves, while also sharing how they feel about their workplace. If you are training a group outside of a work environment, use phrases pertaining to the training such as "Today, I hope to learn..." or "I need a change in my life because..."
People might feel awkward in new social situations, especially if their surroundings are also unfamiliar. Life History Bingo is a new twist on a familiar game and helps people feel at ease. Create a bingo board with squares listing a variety of life experiences and personal traits. Choose phrases such as "I love attending live theater performances," "My kids still live at home," and "I have been on a blind date." Include several squares that are guaranteed to be checked off, so you know there will eventually be a winner. Avoid embarrassing admissions so participants are willing to acknowledge their squares.
Icebreaker games can be very simple, as long as you keep the goal of creating a comfortable environment in mind. The Find My Match game gets trainees mingling and talking with one another. Create cards with pictures of items that are common pairs such as peanut butter and jelly or salt and pepper. Each trainee gets a card and must find the item that matches. This is also an effective way to get people unfamiliar with one another into pairs and small groups.