Whether you are a trainer, or a delegate, at some stage of your career, you will have been on your way to a training session and started to feel those familiar pangs of anxiety. For many, stepping into a training room can be a tough experience. Often, your mind can be racing, and whole worlds of self-talk can be swirling around your head. As trainers, our first goal as we walk into each session is to put ourselves and our learners at ease. Reassuring and calming our learners provides the bedrock to enable them to make the most of the training session. Consequently, this is where our free training icebreakers come into their own.
Icebreakers are a super way to help your delegates get to know each other, as well as you, as their trainer. A great icebreaker helps your learners to understand and feel that they are amongst equals in the training room; a sure-fire way to whittle away those early anxieties. Additionally, icebreakers encourage conversation and get the blood flowing and learning minds firing – what is not to like about that?
As trainers, we get one shot at kicking off our training sessions. Dropping in the right icebreaker gets you off to a flyer or a flop. So, what makes a great icebreaker? Well, that depends! The best icebreaker for you will be the one that leads nicely into your training content. By doing so, your learners are already starting to focus on the subject matter you will be delivering. We’d recommend that if you are using an icebreaker as a lead into a subject area, then you need to spend a little time ensuring this connection is clear. You can then flow straight into the learning topic when you have completed your icebreaker.
In practice, it isn’t always possible to create this tight connection between icebreaker and training content. We recommend not getting too hung up about any learning objectives from icebreakers. It’s more critical that your training games align with your training content. It isn’t always necessary for there to be a distinct connection between an icebreaker and the next topic on your schedule. You might just want to fire out an icebreaker focused on welcoming your learners to the session. That is fine. Ultimately, it’s about judging what is right for you, your training, and the delegates.
So, next time you enter your training room and you notice a few delegates playing with their phones, or fidgeting in their seats, break out one of Training Central’s free icebreakers and get their attention straight back in the room.
Free Icebreaker Topics
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