Networking Games / Ice Breakers

Are you looking for fun networking games or ice breakers for your next networking meeting? Use games and activities to help engage participants. You can keep them interacting with each other that will build lasting relationships.

Here is a list of networking games to use at your next meeting.

For a networking icebreaker, hand out a piece of paper to every person that attends. Have everyone think of a question that you would like an answer to about networking or business building.

examples:

Where do you save the most money on printing?

What was your best personal development book that you've read?

What business or personal event (trade shows, rotary club, sports events) do you get the most leads from?

Write your question down on paper. Put the paper in a container, mix them up and hand them back out to your participants. Each person will answer the question and pass it to the person on their right, who will also answer the question. When all the questions are answered, hand them back in and talk about each question out load. You can get some great tips.

Everyone could share a challenge they have (like a staff person who's performance is declining), see who has related challenges, and group everyone together to brainstorm for 10 minutes..

This really isn't a networking game but it does help to address a "need".

Have participants take 5 minutes to write down on full sized paper.

Name
Company or career
1 hobby
1 -3 personal values

Then have them hang the info using masking tape on the front of their bodies. Then, they then circulate and discover info about each other.

Be very clear up front that they need to move reasonably quickly from person to person... the tendency is to carry on long conversations, thus defeating the objective.

Give everyone a piece of paper, and ask them to write an answer to a question you give them. Could be as simple as why they came to the networking meeting today, or their favorite movie or flavor of icecream.

Then have them all crumple up their paper, and throw it into the center of the room. Then ask each of them to grab a piece of paper (not their own) and return to their seats. Go around the room and ask each person to read the answer on their paper.

This might not qualify as networking or a networking game, but it does get everyone more comfortably socially. If you pick a good question (or maybe two), you set people up to follow up with each other.

Completed Thought

After giving each person a pen & paper, explain that participants will be listening to a list of incomplete sentences. They will write down the statement and then finish the thought in their own words. For example, "If I could volunteer full-time, I would�" The facilitator reads a total of 10 incomplete sentences, giving a minute in between each for folks to write down their answers.

When the writing has finished, re-read each statement and have participants answer. Answers can be commented on and discussed. If there are a large number of people, you may want to break people into small groups to report out.

Sample statements:

A. Today I wish I were�
B. The main reason I am here�
C. When I think of service, I�
D. I choose friends who are�
E. I think my best quality is�
F. Today I am planning to learn�
G. A pet peeve of mine is�
H. People who volunteer are�
I. Metworking meeting like this are usually�
J. If I could change the world I would�

One networking game that I like to use with new groups is to have them stand up and quickly form groups of 3-4 people each. The task of each small group is to find three things that they have in common, outside of work (e.g.,likes/dislikes, family, geography, etc.). The group to do this in the shortest amount of time wins.

You could have them give their three things in common and then introduce themselves in their small groups. The exercise is fun and doesn't take much time.

With this networking game, everyone in the room is charged with finding one other person they don't already know and then asking and answering the following questions (or some variation, substitute your own):

1) Name?

2) What company do you represent?

3) What role do you play for that company?

4) Where were you born?

5) What's your favorite (fill in the blank: food, restaurant, leisure-time activity, book, etc.)?

6) If you could be anywhere doing anything at this very moment, where would you be, and what would you be doing?

You have the people record the answers of the other person, and then after this portion is over, they introduce each other to the rest of the group, including the other person's answers to those questions. We've always had a great amount of "ice-breaking" fun with this, particularly that last question, because it generates some interesting and fun answers.

Human Scavenger Hunt

Create a table with two columns: "Signature" or "Initials" and "Task" with the items listed below in that column. Find a person or persons for each item. Have them sign your page after completing the item. Do not have anybody sign your page more than twice! Extra points if you get the initials of everyone present.

TASKS 1. Find someone with a penny. Have them give it to you.

2. Find someone who went on vacation out of state last year.

3. Find the person in your group who was born the farthest away from here.

4. Find someone who is currently working towards an advanced college degree.

5. Find someone who has never been to Starbucks

6. Find someone who has visited 4 continents.

7. Find someone who has bungee jumped.

9. Find two people with the same middle name

10. Find someone who played a varsity sport in college.

13. Find someone who was a cheerleader.

14. Find someone who is a twin or triplet.

15. Find someone who will give you something other than a penny. What did they give you? ________________________.

16. Find someone who has lived on both coasts of the US.

17. Find someone who speaks two languages fluently.

18. Find someone with a last name beginning with "L".

19. Find someone who owns a pet.

20. Find someone who has a sister and a brother.

21. Find someone who has a tattoo.

22. Find someone who can juggle. Have them prove it.

23. Find someone whose birthday is in October.

24. Find someone who has been paid to sing

25. Find someone who knows the answer to the universe.

26. Find someone who can whistle the theme to the "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

Everyone loves a good Scavenger Hunt. This is one of my all-time favorite networking games.

Business Card Bingo

This networking game works the same way as regular bingo except you use business cards.

Download the PDF Bingo Card here

Give a prize to the winners.

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