Doc Holloway wrote:
>I'd like to hear from some of the introverts in this group about how they
>feel about icebreakers...I know that, though I'm only marginally
>introverted, I find them a pain in the butt that generally only pleases a
>few of the people who are breaking the ice.
OK, I'll bite. I'm an introverted facilitator, and I tend to avoid
icebreakers. I've seen other facilitators use them and it seems to me
that it takes a certain kind of person to do them well. In the first
meeting of a group I generally go around the table and ask people to
introduce themselves and tell why they're in the group, but I don't do
this often. There are always a few people who feel this is an opportunity
to philosophize, and that kills the value of the exercise.
I've learned to use the content of the meeting as the focus for
participants to check in with each other. I begin every meeting with a
check-in of some sort, and I try to make it a question that gets the
participants to shift their attention to the meeting. It's a transitional
exercise that has great value, and the best check-ins are often those that
give the members a chance to put away what they were doing (mentally) and
pick up the new task.
I do have some games and other fun stuff in my tool kit, but mostly I
leave them to the more skilled folks.
Dave
--David E. Birren Project Manager and Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (608) 267-2442 "Teach your tongue to say 'I do not know' and you will progress." -- Maimonides
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