AIESEC US University WEB Pages 15/10/96

AIESEC UNIVERSITY
COMMON AIESEC ICEBREAKERS 1. TWO TRUTHS, ONE LIE:

Break everyone into groups of anywhere from 3-5. Each person must tell the others two truths and one lie about themselves. The other members of the group must then guess which statement was the lie. When finished the groups can each choose their !best liar" who can then try and fool the rest of the groups.

2.

GROUPING BY CHARACTERS AND THEME SONGS:

This is a fun way in which to break up a large group into smaller ones. Write the names of characters from sitcoms cartoons etc.. that can readily be recogni#ed as belonging together on inde$ cards. %f you want your group si#e to be about 5 you should make sure that you have 5 characters per grouping. &or e$ample if you pick the &lintstones as a character grouping you would have five inde$ cards each with a different character such as &red Wilma Barney 'ebbles and Bamm-Bamm. (i$ up the inde$ cards and pass them out as the people walk through the door. The groups then have to find each other by singing the theme song from whichever sitcom cartoon etc the characters represent.

3.

HUMAN ZIPPER - HAND:

)ave people line up one behind the other. 'ut your left hand through your legs and grab the right hand of the person behind you. *each your right arm out to grab the left hand of the person in front of you. Then starting with the very last person in line everyone must crawl through the legs of the people in front of you.

4.

HUMAN ZIPPER:

Break up the room into two groups. +,ou can keep it in one if there aren-t enough people for two.. /ine them up preferably female-male. 0ne person then needs to lie down on their back. The ne$t person will lie down ne$t to the first person but with his1her feet facing the opposite direction. They should be close together to the point where their heads are touching. /ay people down alternating them in the same manner. Everyone-s feet should be facing out from the center. Then have everyone raise their arms in the air and fle$ their wrists so that they make a flat surface. Tell them that it-s very important to keep their arms stiff. Take the first person out of the line have them stand up help lay them down on the first set of hands. This person will be passed all the way down the line along the hands. The people lying down need to keep passing them down the line without letting them fall. +2omeone is needed to spot this game because usually they will start to waiver every so often.. %t-s important for the person being passed to remain stiff as well so that it-s easier to pass them. 0nce they reach the end that person is helped off the human #ipper and they will lie down ne$t to the last person in line and become part of the #ipper. The second person toward the front of the line now will go through the same process and then the third and so on and so forth. %f you have enough people to do more than one line you can have races between the !#ippers."

5.

NAME GAME:

This is a !get to know you game." Everyone breaks up into groups of around 34-35. The person who starts needs to say his or her name along with a word that starts with the same letter. The facilitator may want to choose a specific area. &or e$ample favorite foods or ad5ectives to describe yourself. The second person must say their ad5ective1food1whatever along with their name and also what the person before them said. &or e$ample if the second person in the circle is named karen and the first is named 2cott6 7aren would have to say !7iwi 7aren 2callion 2cott." 8nd so on until the last person has to say everyone-s name 9 ad5ective.

6.

HUMAN NOT:

:Break into groups of around ;. Everyone should form a circle and reach out and grab the hands of someone in the group who is not standing directly ne$t to him or her. The group must then !untie." %f you have more than one group you can make it into a race. *eali#e6 this is possible no matter how hands are grabbed as long as no one grabs the hands of someone who is directly ne$t to him or her.

!.

COUNTRY ON "OREHEAD:

Everyone has an inde$ card or sticker on their forehead. 0n the sticker is written the name of an 8%E2E< country= the person should not know the country that they are. The participants must then walk around and ask !yes or no" >uestions

AIESEC US University WEB Pages 15/10/96

about their country which will give them clues as to what country they are. &or e$ample one could ask !?oes it rain a lot in this country@" The purpose of the game is to figure out what country you are.

#.

THE $TRASH% GAME:

Without telling people what will be done with them have each person write down on a piece of paper anonymously one of their problems a frustration something they are currently worried or concerned about. 8sk them not to make them incredibly personal. When done have them crumple up the paper and throw it. The facilitator will then go pick up a couple of the crumpled pieces of paper open them up and read them to the group. The group will then brainstorm to offer solutions on how this difficulty or problem can be rectified.

&.

$YELLING AT EACH OTHER%:

This should probably be done with people who are fairly comfortable with each other and used as a stress reliever. /et the individuals in the group pair up. Each person can then scream anything at all at the other person as loud as they can even if there is no possible way that it could be the other-s fault. %f the pair runs out of stuff to scream have them scream !grumble grumble" at each other.

1'. KISS WHAT YOU LIKE, LICK WHAT YOU DONT: Have the group form a circle. Have them name something on the person to the left which they like about that person (ie. their teeth) and something about the person of their right that they dont like. Once everyone has done this, they have to kiss what they like and lick what they dont. This should also be done with people who feel relatively comfortable with each other. n order for this to work, the people cannot have any idea of what they have to do in the future . 11. HUMAN SANDWICHES:

?ivide the group into smaller groups of even numbers of people. 8ssign each group a component of a sandwich. &or e$ample bread meat cheese condiments etc.. Within each smaller group let each person decide more specifically what they want to be within their sandwich component. &or e$ample in the meat category you might have five people who will then be ham turkey roast beef mortadella +cool %talian lunch meat. liverwurst etc.. Bring someone out of the whole group and ask them to build a sandwich not knowing which person is what specific component. &or e$ample the person may say6 !%-m really hungry. % think %-d like to have a sandwich on white bread." The person who has chosen white bread then lays down on the floor. The sandwich maker goes on to add meat cheese whatever and each time someone else will lay down on top oc the other !components."

12.

THE (UARTER GAME:

/ay everyone down one ne$t to each other facing the dame direction preferably alternating males and females. %f you have enough people to make more than one line you can have races between the teams much like in the human #ipper game. 'lace a >uarter on the chest of the first person in line. The aim is to pass the >uarter onto the ne$t person without the use of hands. This means that the second person in line must roll on top of the first person with the >uarter both people roll back over again so the second person is again on the bottom and then the first person must roll off leaving the >uarter on the chest of the second person. %n order to keep the >uarter between them the pair must hug each other rather tightly in the rolling process. 2hould the >uarter fall to the ground they have to start from the beginning again. Then repeat the game going on down the line.

13.

THE TRA)EL GAME

Everyone gets A4 statements which relate to different countries or cultures. E$. %t is an insult to show the bottom of your feet. ,ou can play this either as a competition >ui# - who gets the most right or as a guessing game. %n this case everyone would get a country on their back 9 a sheet of paper with mi$ed cultural statements 9 have to guess which country is theirs or have to find the other people with the same country.

14.

THE CULTURE GAME

:8 large group is split into two and each is given a culture to act out. The culture should be e$plicit 9 different from modern day norms +E$. 2houlder shaking means yes and hand flapping means no. (en cannot approach another man without a woman-s consent. 2ocially people should stand arms length apart at all times etc.. The two groups should get proficient at their own culture 9 then representatives should be thrown in with the other group 9 e$plain their confusion to their own culture. Eventually both groups should end up together 9 discuss the differences 9 uncomfortable feelings associated with not understanding norms.

AIESEC US University WEB Pages 15/10/96

15.

THE M * M GAME

/arge bads of (9(s are passed out 9 people take as many as they want. They are then told that they have to tell the entire group something about themselves for every (9( they took. +<an be done with toilet paper s>uares also.

16.

"LIP CHART PAPER

Bive everyone a sheet of flip chart paper to post on a wall 9 tell them to break it up into three sections. %n each section they must draw a picture and1or write something *e6 predeterminded categories. &or e$. the 3 categories could be6 - (y strengths - (y weaknesses - What % want to get out of this year1semester1e$ercise1week etc. 0* - Why % am here - What my hobbies are - Who % want to be in 34 years. %f appropriate people can go around after 9 write comments on each other-s sheets.

1!.

THE ROPE GAME

Two teams compete by taking a rope +thread yarn etc.. 9 feeding it through each other-s clothes. The first person puts the rope down their shirt and pants 9 hands it to the other person. They put the rope up their pants 9 shirt 9 hand it on. The first team to finish wins. +Be sure to use something which will not create rope burns.

1#.

THE LI"E SA)ER GAME

Two teams line up 9 each person gets a toothpick to put in their mouth. The first puts a life saver on the toothpick 9 passes it to the ne$t person-s toothpick without using their hands. The first team to finish wins.

1&.

THE HUMAN CHAIR

8 group of A4 people or more form a circle 9 stand front to back +boy girl order preferable. as close as possible. Everyones feet should be facing straight in front of their body directly under their hips 9 they should be touching +s>uishing in fact. the person in front of them. +we are talking tight circle. 0n the count of three eveyone sits on the lap of the person behind them. The circle will hold itself up. Eveyone should be able to rela$ 9 5ust sit. %f this is not the case someone-s feet are not directly underneath them or not straight ahead. When everyone is rela$ed the facilitator should call 3-A-3 9 everyone should move one leg at a time +the same leg. and the circle can !walk" in a circle.

2'.

BRAIN TEASERS

8 good team building e$ercise is to lay 5 - C +one per team. brainteasers out on 5 - C different tables +stations. and have every team rotate around 9 have 5 - 34 min. +depending on difficulty level. to figure them out. 8t the end the winner is announced. ?uring the e$ercise observers should walk around noting !teamworking" issues. ie. how well the teams worked together if people argued or collaborated if teams worked better together as the time wore away etc.. Teams can then comment on if they think they worked well toghether or not 9 how these issues come into play in 8%E2E< functional areas or teams.