Tips · Video calls
How to run a virtual icebreaker that doesn’t feel forced
Twelve faces in boxes, half of them muted, one of them eating lunch. Here’s how to open a video call in a way that gets everyone talking without the awkward pauses.
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
When joining a conversation, what helps you feel comfortable enough to take part?
Ano ang tumutulong para maging komportable kang sumali sa kuwentuhan?
You can invent a first line you would enjoy hearing when you join.
Puwede kang gumawa ng unang linyang gusto mong marinig kapag nakisali ka.
In short
The idea
The easiest virtual icebreaker is a chat waterfall: post one quick question, ask everyone to type their answer without hitting enter, then all hit enter at the same time. Everyone answers, nobody has to unmute first, and the burst of answers usually gets people laughing.
For longer sessions, a round robin or breakout pairs work better. Choose the format by group size and how much time you have.
Good for
Tips
- Prepare two or three questions before the call.
- Use a chat waterfall when you’re short on time.
- Go in participant-list order so nobody fights to unmute.
- Start with the remote people in a hybrid meeting.
- Make cameras optional.
Decks for this
Before the call
- Pick two or three questions in advance; never improvise on the spot.
- Mention in the invite that you’ll open with a quick question and cameras are optional.
- Test screen sharing if you’ll show the question.
- Decide the order for a round robin (alphabetical, or the participant list).
Four formats that work
Chat waterfall (any size): post a this-or-that or one-word question; everyone types and hits enter on “go”. Read a few answers out loud.
Round robin (up to 10): show the question on screen, then go in order so nobody has to fight to unmute. Keep answers to one sentence.
Breakout pairs (10 or more): four minutes in pairs with one question, then back to the main room where each person shares their partner’s answer.
Show and tell (up to 12): everyone grabs one object within reach that answers the question. It gets people moving and the objects are always better than the answers.
Timing by group size
| Group size | Format | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 6 | Round robin | 5 minutes |
| 7 to 12 | Round robin or show and tell | 8 to 10 minutes |
| 13 to 30 | Chat waterfall, or breakout pairs | 5 to 10 minutes |
| 30 or more | Chat waterfall or a poll | 3 to 5 minutes |
Hybrid meetings
When some people are in a room and others are remote, the remote people get forgotten. Start the icebreaker with the remote participants, call on them by name, and have people in the room answer in the chat too so everyone is on the same channel.
The async version
For a team spread across time zones, post a question in your team channel on Monday morning and let people answer during the week. Rotate who posts. It builds the same familiarity without anyone being on a call at 6am.
The questions
Questions for virtual icebreakers
Real cards from the app, grouped by format.
For a chat waterfall
5 questions
One word or a quick pick.
-
Would you rather know the exact weather or the exact traffic before leaving home?
Bago umalis, alin ang gusto mong siguradong alam: lagay ng panahon o lagay ng traffic?
Back of the card
Imagine you check before a day out. What would you pack differently?
Isipin na nag-check ka bago ang lakad. Ano ang iibahin mo sa mga dadalhin mo?
-
Pick your ideal weather: a warm rainy afternoon or a cool sunny morning.
Pumili ng gusto mong panahon: maulan pero mainit na hapon o maaraw pero malamig na umaga.
Back of the card
Choose a sound to go with your weather.
Pumili ng tunog na bagay sa pinili mong panahon.
-
What day from the past would you like to watch?
Anong araw sa nakaraan ang gusto mong mapanood?
Back of the card
Pause on one scene from that day. Which detail would you want to look at longer?
Huminto muna sa isang eksena ng araw na iyon. Anong detalye ang gusto mong tingnan nang mas matagal?
-
What flavor of ice cream would you invent?
Anong lasa ng ice cream ang iimbentuhin mo?
Back of the card
Give your invented ice cream a name if you like.
Kung gusto mo, bigyan mo ng pangalan ang ice cream na inimbento mo.
-
Choose a memory power: remember every name or remember every route you have taken.
Pumili ng memory power: tandaan lahat ng pangalan o lahat ng daang nadaanan mo.
Back of the card
Give your memory power a name. It can sound heroic or completely ordinary.
Bigyan ng pangalan ang memory power mo. Puwedeng pang-hero o ordinaryo lang.
For show and tell
5 questions
Answered with an object within reach.
-
Pick one small item you use often that makes life feel a little easier.
Pumili ng isang small item na madalas mong gamitin at nagpapagaan ng life kahit konti.
Back of the card
Small useful things can feel quietly heroic. They make the day easier without asking for attention.
May small useful things na quietly heroic. Pinapadali nila yung araw nang hindi nagpapapansin, kahit simple lang sila.
-
Name one item you always seem to lose, like keys, earphones, a pen, a charger, or your wallet.
Magbanggit ng isang item na parang lagi mong nawawala, like susi, earphones, pen, charger, o wallet.
Back of the card
Some items have a talent for vanishing at the worst time. At some point, it starts to feel like a relationship issue.
May items na ang galing mawala sa worst time. Dumadating sa point na parang relationship issue na siya.
-
Name the small thing you always bring, even for a quick errand.
Sabihin yung small thing na lagi mong dala kahit quick errand lang.
Back of the card
The thing you always bring has earned its place. It may be small, but it clearly passed the trust test.
Yung lagi mong dala, may reason yan. Maliit lang siya, pero clearly pasado sa trust test.
-
Pick one small mood upgrade, like a drink, song, scent, snack, or clean space.
Pumili ng isang small mood upgrade, like drink, song, scent, snack, o malinis na space.
Back of the card
A mood upgrade does not need to be big. Sometimes one small detail is enough to change the angle of the day.
Hindi kailangang malaki ang mood upgrade. Minsan isang small detail lang, nag-iiba na yung angle ng araw.
-
When you get home, what’s the first thing you usually do?
Pag-uwi mo, ano yung unang bagay na usually mong ginagawa?
Back of the card
That first move can be funny, tired, quiet, or automatic. It can say something about how you settle in.
Yung first move na iyon pwedeng nakakatawa, pagod, tahimik, o automatic. May sinasabi rin siya kung paano ka nagse-settle.
For breakout pairs
5 questions
A little longer, for four minutes in pairs.
-
If your afternoon suddenly became free, how would you spend it?
Kung biglang naging free ang hapon mo, paano mo ito gagamitin?
Back of the card
Free time shows what you reach for when nobody is asking for anything. It can be rest, fun, errands, or nothing at all.
Makikita sa free time kung saan ka kusang pupunta kapag walang kailangan sa'yo. Puwedeng pahinga, saya, errands, o wala lang.
-
What fun activity would you like to introduce your friends to?
Anong masayang activity ang gusto mong ipakilala sa friends?
Back of the card
Imagine their first try going wrong in a harmless, funny way.
Isipin na may simpleng sablay sa unang pagsubok nila na puwede ninyong pagtawanan.
-
When joining a conversation, what helps you feel comfortable enough to take part?
Ano ang tumutulong para maging komportable kang sumali sa kuwentuhan?
Back of the card
You can invent a first line you would enjoy hearing when you join.
Puwede kang gumawa ng unang linyang gusto mong marinig kapag nakisali ka.
-
Name one small, specific thing you enjoy more than people expect.
Magbanggit ng isang maliit at specific na bagay na mas enjoy mo kaysa ina-expect ng iba.
Back of the card
Specific joys can be tiny clues about a person. They do not need to make sense to everyone to be real.
Yung specific joys, maliit na clue tungkol sa tao. Hindi kailangan gets ng lahat para maging real.
-
In a group, which role feels most natural to you: listener, storyteller, organizer, or side-comment person?
Sa group, anong role yung natural sa'yo: listener, taga-kuwento, organizer, o taga-side comment?
Back of the card
Group roles can shift, but most of us have a default. It is one way people learn how to read us.
Nagbabago minsan ang role sa group, pero madalas may default tayo. Doon din tayo minsan nababasa ng mga tao.
How to run a virtual icebreaker
Frequently asked questions
What is a good virtual icebreaker?
A chat waterfall: everyone types an answer to a quick question and hits enter at the same time. For smaller groups, a round robin with one-sentence answers works well.
How long should a virtual icebreaker take?
Three to ten minutes, depending on group size. For a regular meeting, five minutes is plenty.
How do you make virtual icebreakers less awkward?
Plan the questions, set a clear order, keep answers short, make cameras optional, and use the chat so nobody has to unmute first.
Bring a better question to the table.
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