When it comes to gathering a new team together, you will need to start slowly and allow team members to ease into the process. This may require the use of team building ice breakers to help everyone loosen up and relax. It can be overwhelming to start working with a group of people that you do not know. There are many different activities and exercises that can help your team ease into a team atmosphere and get on the right track to working together. Ice breakers should be fun and casual, inviting everyone to feel comfortable and invited to contribute.

Try using a social setting like a potluck lunch at work. Have everyone bring something to contribute and then incorporate games that are designed to help people get to know one another. There are all kinds of things that you can use for this, including a good old fashioned board game. Look up some additional ice breaker games if you are not sure of what to incorporate. There are endless tips and ideas to be found online. Make use of the resources that you have available to you in order to get your team feeling good about working together.

Try using games like “Two Truths and a Lie” in order to get everyone talking and sharing. Have everyone sit and each take turns telling everyone else two things that are true about themselves and one that is a lie. Then everyone else has to guess which fact is the lie. This can be a great way to get everyone laughing and laughter is one of the best ways to lighten the mood and make people feel at ease. When people can laugh together and joke around, they are already building a team mentality.

Another great game is to have them all share a few bits of information about themselves but then have others guess something about them that most would find surprising. By sharing little tidbits or something that is unexpected, it allows everyone to get personal but in a fun manner. Quite often these games take off on their own. Once everyone gets sharing and laughing, the mood will be noticeably different.

Sharing personal interests and things in common is always a great idea. From movies to sports teams or celebrities, everyone has a favorite something. Discuss why you like something and what makes it special to you. Then go around the team and have everybody else contribute. The beauty of sharing music or movie interests is that there is so much to talk about. There should be no reason for silence with so much to share.

If your team is substantial in size, it may be easier to split them into smaller groups. Have them do speed introductions where they sit in pairs and get to know each other for a set amount of time. When the time is up, have them move so they are now sitting with someone new. Ice breakers should be fun and have everyone feel involved. It is worth the time taken to ensure your team is on the path to success.