The unique or interesting facts icebreaker is a very simple, if somewhat boring, activity. In this activity individuals in a group introduce themselves to each other and share a unique or interesting fact about themselves.
Summary by The World of Work Project
Unique / Interesting Facts Icebreaker
This very simple icebreaker activity can be used in small or medium sized groups. In larger groups where multiple tables of participants are present, it can be used to break the ice at the table level.
All that happens in this icebreaker is that participants are asked to introduce themselves to the wider room / group, and say an interesting or unique fact about themselves.
Learning More
Team building and ice-breaking activities are very important. They help build trust in teams and help progress team maturity. They can also reduce the risks of social threat and improve interpersonal awareness.
Being able to deliver them is a helpful facilitation and meeting skill. A few specific activities we’ve written about include: Human Rock, Paper Scissors, the Film Photo Challenge, the Map Game, Circle of Memory and the Questions Cocktail Party.
Laughter and play are also great ways to help build a team. You can learn more about how playfulness helps teams in our podcast on the subject:
The World of Work Project View
This is a simple yet unimaginative and fairly unhelpful icebreaker. It’s a real shame that so many people use it. Many people dislike trying to think of an interesting fact about themselves because what is interesting is subjective and the exercise can become competitive.
In our experience what really happens when using this icebreaker is that many people worry and think about what they’ll say about themselves and pay no attention to what everyone who speaks before them actually says.
Overall, we think there are much more effective ways to break the ice in group activities.
