In the world of remote work, the casual water-cooler conversations that once built team camaraderie have largely vanished. This shift often leaves virtual meetings feeling sterile, disconnected, and transactional. That initial awkward silence before the agenda kicks off is more than just a quiet moment; it's a missed opportunity to foster connection and set a collaborative tone. A well-chosen online ice breaker does far more than just fill that void. It strategically builds psychological safety, encourages participation from quieter team members, and sparks a creative energy that carries through the entire session. Without a dedicated warm-up, teams can struggle to transition from isolated work to effective group problem-solving.
This guide moves beyond generic advice to provide a comprehensive, actionable roundup of 10 proven icebreakers designed for virtual environments. Each activity is categorized for different goals, team sizes, and time constraints, ensuring you can find the perfect fit for any situation. We provide step-by-step facilitation instructions, estimated timings, and specific tips on how to leverage features in meeting platforms like AONMeetings. You’ll learn how to use polling for quick engagement, breakout rooms for deeper discussions, and virtual backgrounds for creative storytelling. To ensure your meetings begin with energy and engagement, explore additional ideas for using these effective icebreakers for company meetings to build a foundation of trust and collaboration. Prepare to transform your routine video calls into dynamic, connected, and genuinely productive team events.
1. Two Truths and a Lie
A classic for a reason, Two Truths and a Lie is an engaging online ice breaker that seamlessly transitions from in-person to virtual settings. It encourages creative thinking and helps team members learn surprising, non-work-related facts about one another, fostering deeper connections and a sense of fun.
The premise is simple: each participant prepares three statements about themselves. Two of these statements must be true, and one must be a believable lie. One by one, individuals share their three statements, and the rest of the group votes or discusses which one they believe is the falsehood.
How to Facilitate
To run this activity smoothly, give participants a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting to write down their statements. This avoids putting people on the spot and leads to more creative and interesting "lies." As each person presents, the group can use your meeting platform's features to guess.
For example, remote-first companies like GitLab often use this during onboarding to help new hires connect with their global teams. The game reveals personal histories, unique hobbies, and funny anecdotes that wouldn't surface in typical work conversations.
Pro Tip: Encourage participants to craft statements that are unusual but plausible. A statement like "I have never eaten a tomato" is more intriguing and harder to guess than "I have a pet elephant."
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Polling Feature: Create a quick poll for each person with their three statements listed as options. Participants can vote anonymously or publicly on which one they think is the lie, making it a fast-paced and interactive online ice breaker.
- Breakout Rooms: For groups larger than 10-12 people, split them into smaller breakout rooms. This ensures everyone gets a chance to share without the activity taking too long.
- Chat & Reactions: Have participants drop their guesses into the chat or use reaction emojis (like a thinking face) to indicate their choice.
2. Speed Networking Rounds
A dynamic and efficient online ice breaker, Speed Networking Rounds adapt the popular "speed dating" format for professional settings. This method is designed to maximize interaction in a short amount of time, allowing participants to connect one-on-one with multiple colleagues, which is often difficult in a large group meeting.
The core idea is to break a large group into pairs and place them in private virtual rooms for short, timed conversations. After a few minutes, participants are automatically shuffled and paired with someone new. This process repeats for several rounds, ensuring everyone gets to meet a variety of people and have focused, personal conversations.
How to Facilitate
To ensure conversations flow easily, provide participants with a set of optional conversation starters or a guiding theme before the rounds begin. For example, remote-first consulting firms often use this format to build rapport between internal teams and new clients, using prompts like "What's the most interesting challenge you've solved recently?"
Virtual conferences, such as those hosted for HR tech professionals, frequently use speed networking as a primary engagement tool to help attendees build their professional networks efficiently. A well-organized session with clear instructions and smooth transitions is key to its success.
Pro Tip: Structure your time carefully. A format of 4-minute conversation rounds with a 1-minute transition period between shuffles works well. This gives enough time for a meaningful chat without letting the energy drop.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Breakout Rooms: Use the automatic breakout room assignment feature to randomly pair participants. Set a timer for each round so the rooms close automatically, bringing everyone back to the main session before you re-shuffle and send them off again.
- Chat & Broadcast: Prepare your conversation prompts ahead of time and use the "Broadcast Message to All" feature to send them to the breakout rooms, keeping the conversations focused and engaging.
- Pre-event Communication: For larger events, send out a list of attendees beforehand. This allows participants to identify people they specifically want to connect with, making the online ice breaker even more valuable.
3. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
A Virtual Scavenger Hunt is an energetic and competitive online ice breaker that gets participants moving and interacting with their physical environment. It breaks the monotony of sitting in front of a screen by encouraging people to quickly find items around their home or office, fostering a lively and playful atmosphere.
The concept is straightforward: the facilitator calls out a series of items or challenges, and participants have a set amount of time to find the object and show it on their webcam. The first person or first few people to return with the correct item earn a point. This game is excellent for injecting energy into a meeting and revealing a more personal side of team members through the objects they share.
How to Facilitate
Prepare a list of items in advance, mixing simple finds with more challenging or interpretive ones. Announce one item at a time and give a clear time limit (e.g., 30-60 seconds per item) for participants to find it and return to their camera. Keep a simple scorecard to track points and declare a winner at the end.
Companies like HubSpot have successfully used scavenger hunts during large all-hands meetings to boost engagement and create shared, fun experiences across a distributed workforce. The activity is highly scalable and works just as well for a small team kickoff as it does for a company-wide event.
Pro Tip: Create themed hunts that align with company values, a specific project, or an upcoming holiday. For global teams, ensure your item list is culturally neutral and includes objects commonly found in households worldwide.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Spotlight Feature: Use the spotlight feature to highlight the first person who returns with the correct item. This makes it easy for everyone to see the "winner" of each round and adds a fun, theatrical element.
- Chat & Timer: Post the item to be found in the chat so everyone can see it clearly. Use a shared timer on-screen or a simple countdown in the chat to keep the pace exciting and fair.
- Virtual Backgrounds: For a digital twist, ask participants to find a specific image online and set it as their virtual background. This is a great alternative if team members are in environments where they cannot move around freely.
4. Emoji or GIF Reaction Shares
Emoji or GIF Reaction Shares is a visually engaging and low-pressure online ice breaker perfect for a quick pulse check or a lighthearted start to a meeting. It leverages the universal language of visuals to help team members express moods, thoughts, and reactions without needing to formulate complex sentences, making it highly inclusive.
The premise is straightforward: a facilitator poses a question or prompt, and participants respond using only an emoji or an animated GIF. These visual responses can then spark curiosity and lead to brief, fun explanations, revealing personality and creating a positive, shared experience.
How to Facilitate
To run this icebreaker, simply post a clear, open-ended prompt in the meeting chat or a communication channel. Questions like, "Which GIF represents your weekend?" or "Use one emoji to describe your current project workload" work well. Give everyone a moment to find and post their visual response.
Companies known for their strong remote culture, like Zapier, often integrate similar visual check-ins into their daily stand-ups or Slack channels. This practice keeps the team connected on a human level, offering a quick snapshot of everyone's headspace in a fun, accessible format.
Pro Tip: Encourage follow-up by asking a few people to briefly explain their choice. A GIF of a cat frantically typing is funny on its own, but the story behind why it was chosen is where real connection happens.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Chat & Reactions: The chat feature is the primary tool for this activity. Participants can easily paste GIFs or use the built-in emoji picker to respond to a prompt in real-time during a video call.
- Polling Feature: Frame a question and offer 3-4 emoji options in a poll. For example, "Which emoji best describes your energy level today? ☕️⚡️😴" This provides a quick, structured way to gauge the room's mood.
- Whiteboard Annotations: For a more creative twist, have participants place their chosen emoji sticker on a specific part of the AONMeetings Whiteboard, perhaps on a spectrum from "Ready to Go!" to "Need More Coffee."
5. Would You Rather Questions
A quick and engaging online ice breaker, Would You Rather Questions spark conversation by presenting participants with a choice between two distinct scenarios. This activity is excellent for revealing personalities, values, and senses of humor in a low-pressure format that encourages everyone to participate.
The concept is straightforward: the facilitator poses a "would you rather" question, and each team member chooses an option and briefly explains their reasoning. Questions can range from the whimsical ("Would you rather have the ability to fly or be invisible?") to the thought-provoking, making it a versatile tool for any virtual meeting.
How to Facilitate
Prepare a list of questions in advance to keep the momentum going. You can start with light-hearted prompts and move to more team-focused or project-related questions if appropriate. The key is to encourage participants to share the "why" behind their choice, as this is where the real connection happens.
Companies like Buffer use this method to kick off virtual team meetings, finding it an effective way to get everyone talking and warmed up. Similarly, teams at Automattic often integrate a quick Would You Rather question into daily standups to add a human element to their remote interactions.
Pro Tip: Keep questions inclusive and steer clear of controversial topics. The goal is to create a positive and comfortable environment. Themed question sets, such as for holidays or project kickoffs, can also make the activity more relevant and fun.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Polling Feature: For larger groups, post the question in a poll. Let everyone vote, then display the results and invite a few people from each side to share their reasoning. This is a great way to manage time with this online ice breaker.
- Chat & Reactions: Have participants type their choice (e.g., "A" or "B") into the chat. The facilitator can then call on a few people to elaborate on why they chose their specific answer.
- Annotate on Whiteboard: Post the two options on opposite sides of a virtual whiteboard. Ask participants to use the stamp or drawing tool to place their name or a mark under their preferred choice for a highly visual representation.
6. Show and Tell (Virtual Version)
This nostalgic online ice breaker brings a personal touch to the virtual workspace by inviting team members to share the stories behind objects in their lives. Show and Tell is powerful because it offers a tangible glimpse into a colleague’s personality, values, and experiences, building empathy and a stronger sense of community beyond job titles and project deadlines.
The concept is straightforward: each person selects an object from their home or workspace that holds personal meaning. During the meeting, participants take turns presenting their item and briefly explaining its significance. This simple act of sharing creates memorable moments and uncovers common interests and unique life stories.
How to Facilitate
Give everyone advance notice to select a meaningful item, which prevents rushed decisions and encourages more thoughtful sharing. Set a clear time limit, typically 2-3 minutes per person, to ensure the activity moves at a good pace and everyone gets a turn. As the facilitator, ask gentle follow-up questions to encourage deeper storytelling.
Companies like Shopify use virtual show-and-tell during large-scale meetings to humanize their remote workforce, while teams at Asana run "Bring Your Artifact" sessions for more intimate team building. The key is to create a safe space, often achieved by having a leader share first to model vulnerability and set a positive tone.
Pro Tip: Consider themed sessions to add a creative twist. For example, you could ask participants to share "an item from a favorite trip," "something that brings you joy," or "an object that represents a personal goal."
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Spotlight Video: Use the spotlight feature to make the speaker's video feed the main focus for all participants. This ensures everyone can clearly see the person and the object they are sharing, creating a more engaging experience.
- Chat & Reactions: Encourage the audience to post appreciative comments or questions in the chat as people share. Using reaction emojis like a heart or clapping hands is a great way to offer silent, supportive feedback.
- Breakout Rooms: For larger teams, divide participants into smaller breakout rooms of 4-5 people. This creates a more intimate setting for sharing and allows for more in-depth conversation than would be possible in a large group format.
7. Trivia Competitions
A little friendly competition is an excellent online ice breaker that energizes a group and encourages teamwork. Trivia competitions translate perfectly to a virtual environment, leveraging platforms that manage questions, scoring, and timers, creating a game-show-like atmosphere that engages participants and tests their knowledge on a variety of fun topics.
The concept is straightforward: participants, either individually or in teams, answer a series of questions across different categories. The goal is to get the most correct answers. This format is not only exciting but also highly adaptable, allowing you to tailor the themes to your team's interests, from industry-specific knowledge to pop culture.
How to Facilitate
To ensure a successful trivia session, prepare your questions in advance using platforms like Kahoot! or Sporcle, or create a custom quiz in a presentation. Announce the event beforehand so team members can look forward to it. During the meeting, clearly explain the rules, time limits per question, and how points will be awarded.
Many organizations, like HubSpot, host regular company-wide trivia competitions to boost morale and connect cross-functional teams. These events often feature questions about company history or inside jokes, which strengthens corporate culture and helps newer employees learn about the organization in a fun, low-pressure way.
Pro Tip: Keep the competition light and fun by offering small, creative prizes for the winners, such as a gift card for coffee, company swag, or simply bragging rights in the next team newsletter.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Screen Sharing & Polls: Share your screen to display the trivia questions from a platform like Kahoot! or a custom slide deck. For a simpler setup, use the AONMeetings polling feature to present multiple-choice questions and instantly gather responses.
- Breakout Rooms: For a more collaborative experience, divide participants into teams and send them to breakout rooms. Give them a minute to discuss each question before submitting a group answer via a designated team captain in the main chat.
- Chat & Timer: Use the chat feature for participants to submit their answers. You can set a visible timer on your shared screen to build excitement and keep the game moving at a brisk pace, making it an effective and dynamic online ice breaker.
8. Breakout Room Discussions with Prompts
For larger groups where whole-group sharing can be intimidating, Breakout Room Discussions with Prompts is a powerful online ice breaker that fosters more intimate and meaningful conversations. It breaks down barriers by creating smaller, psychologically safer spaces for participants to connect on a deeper level, ensuring everyone has a voice.
The concept involves splitting the main virtual meeting into several smaller sub-groups, each with a specific, open-ended question or topic to discuss. This structure encourages more equitable participation and allows team members who might be hesitant to speak in a large forum to contribute their ideas comfortably.
How to Facilitate
Begin by preparing a few thought-provoking, non-work-related prompts. Announce the activity, share the prompts in the chat or on-screen, and then automatically or manually assign participants to breakout rooms of 4-6 people. Give them a clear time limit for their discussion before bringing everyone back to the main session for a brief share-out of key insights.
Many large-scale virtual events and corporate training programs, like those hosted by LinkedIn Learning, rely on this method to boost engagement and networking. The smaller group size allows for genuine dialogue that is simply not possible with dozens of people in one virtual room. For more details on setup, you can learn more about how to use breakout rooms for more productive online meetings.
Pro Tip: Assign a "reporter" in each group whose role is to listen and summarize one key takeaway when the groups reconvene. This adds a light layer of accountability and makes the share-out portion more efficient and focused.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Automatic Room Assignment: Use the automatic assignment feature to quickly and randomly create balanced groups, which is a great way to encourage new connections between colleagues who don't often interact.
- Broadcast Message: Send reminders to all rooms simultaneously using the broadcast feature. Announce when there are 5 minutes, and then 1 minute, remaining to keep discussions on track.
- Pre-assigned Rooms: For structured team-building, pre-assign people to specific rooms before the meeting starts to intentionally mix departments or place specific leaders in each group.
9. Virtual Backgrounds and Story Sharing
This visual and highly personal online ice breaker transforms a standard video call feature into a powerful tool for connection. Instead of generic office scenes or blurry backgrounds, participants choose a meaningful image as their virtual backdrop and share the story behind it, offering a unique window into their lives, passions, and personalities.
The concept is straightforward: each person selects a custom background photo, such as a favorite travel destination, a picture of a beloved pet, or even a piece of their own artwork. During the meeting, each member takes a minute or two to explain their choice, sharing the memory or significance attached to the image.
How to Facilitate
Give your team a heads-up before the meeting, asking them to prepare a custom virtual background and the story they want to share. This allows them to find a suitable photo and think about their narrative. You can dedicate the first 5-10 minutes of the call to this activity, going around the virtual room one by one.
Creative agencies often use this method to kick off client calls, with team members showcasing backgrounds that reflect their creative spirit. This not only breaks the ice but also subtly demonstrates the team's personality and innovative culture, setting a positive tone for the meeting. To learn more about how to set up and use these backdrops effectively, explore our guide on how to use virtual backgrounds to your advantage.
Pro Tip: Set a theme for the backgrounds to focus the storytelling. Themes like "favorite vacation spot," "a place that inspires you," or "your dream destination" can provide a great starting point and create a common thread.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Virtual Backgrounds Feature: Guide participants on how to upload a custom image in their AONMeetings settings before the call. Provide a link to instructions to ensure everyone, regardless of technical skill, can participate.
- Chat & Reactions: As people share their stories, encourage others to use the chat to ask follow-up questions or post reaction emojis. This keeps the audience engaged while one person is speaking.
- Screen Sharing: If a participant has technical issues with their virtual background, allow them to briefly use the screen share feature to show their chosen image while they tell its story.
10. Collaborative Art or Creativity Sessions
Unleashing a team's creative side is a powerful online ice breaker that moves beyond simple conversation into the realm of active collaboration. This activity involves using shared digital canvases or guided creative prompts to produce a collective piece of art, fostering innovation, connection, and a different kind of teamwork.
The goal is to co-create something, whether it's a team mascot, a mural representing company values, or a visual metaphor for a project goal. By working together on a creative task, participants engage both their logical and artistic thinking, revealing new perspectives and strengthening their collaborative problem-solving skills in a low-stakes, enjoyable environment.
How to Facilitate
Begin by choosing a digital tool that suits your group, like a virtual whiteboard. Provide a clear yet open-ended prompt, such as "Draw our team's superpower" or "Create a postcard from our ideal future." Give the team a set time for brainstorming, creation, and a final "gallery walk" where each small group presents their masterpiece.
For instance, many design-thinking firms use platforms like Miro or Mural for warm-up exercises before intense brainstorming sessions. This primes the team for creative thinking and establishes a pattern of building on each other's ideas visually, which is a valuable skill for any innovative team.
Pro Tip: Set a creative and relaxed mood by playing some instrumental background music. Emphasize that artistic skill is irrelevant; the goal is participation and collaborative expression, not a perfect final product.
Making it Work on AONMeetings
- Collaborative Whiteboard: AONMeetings's collaborative online whiteboard is the perfect canvas for this activity. You can prepare the board in advance with prompts or separate areas for different teams to work in.
- Breakout Rooms: For larger groups, divide them into smaller teams and assign each to a breakout room with its own section of the whiteboard. This encourages more hands-on participation from every individual.
- Screen Sharing & Annotation: After the creation phase, have each group's spokesperson share their screen to present their section of the whiteboard. The team can use annotation tools to point out specific contributions and explain their creative choices.
10-Point Comparison of Online Ice Breakers
| Activity | Implementation complexity | Resource requirements | Expected outcomes | Ideal use cases | Key advantages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Truths and a Lie | Very low — simple facilitation | None or basic video/chat | Lighthearted engagement, personal disclosures | Remote onboarding, informal team building | Minimal prep, inclusive, adaptable |
| Speed Networking Rounds | Medium — timed rotations, coordination | Breakout-capable platform, co-hosts, timers | Many new connections, breadth of contacts | Large virtual conferences, professional networking | Efficient connection-building, structured for shy participants |
| Virtual Scavenger Hunt | Medium — list design and scoring logistics | Camera, stable internet, item lists, optional leaderboard | High energy, memorable engagement, movement | Company celebrations, large group engagement, training warm-ups | Energetic, customizable, highly engaging |
| Emoji or GIF Reaction Shares | Very low — chat-based prompts | Chat platform with emoji/GIF support | Quick, visual engagement; async participation | Distributed teams, daily standups, chat communities | Low barrier, async-friendly, reduces language barriers |
| Would You Rather Questions | Very low — prepared prompts | Question bank, optional polls | Quick insights, light discussion, shared humor | Standups, mixed groups, icebreaker moments | Structured, easy to facilitate, inclusive |
| Show and Tell (Virtual Version) | Low–Medium — scheduling and time management | Video platform, participant preparation | Deeper personal connection, storytelling | Small–medium teams, culture building, relationship building | Authentic bonding, memorable narratives |
| Trivia Competitions | Low–Medium — quiz setup and scoring | Quiz platform (Kahoot!/Sporcle), question bank, timers | Competitive engagement, learning, clear winners | Large events, training reinforcement, social nights | Highly engaging, scalable, educational |
| Breakout Room Discussions with Prompts | Medium — group assignment and facilitation | Breakout-enabled platform, co-hosts, prompts | Deeper conversation, increased participation | Large meetings, conferences, training sessions | Amplifies quieter voices, fosters small-group connections |
| Virtual Backgrounds and Story Sharing | Low — background prep and brief sharing | Video platform with background support, image files | Visual expression, personal insight, conversation starters | Creative teams, regular meetings, cultural sessions | Creative, visually engaging, accessible for less verbal participants |
| Collaborative Art or Creativity Sessions | Medium–High — guided facilitation needed | Shared digital canvas (Miro/Mural/Jamboard), facilitator | Creative collaboration, tangible artifacts, team bonding | Innovation workshops, creative teams, brainstorming | Encourages non-linear thinking, produces shareable outcomes |
Making Connection Intentional in Every Meeting
Navigating the landscape of virtual collaboration requires more than just a stable internet connection and a clear agenda. It demands a deliberate effort to foster the human element that can often feel distant through a screen. As we’ve explored, the right online ice breaker is not a trivial add-on; it is a strategic tool for setting the tone, boosting psychological safety, and building the foundational trust that fuels high-performing teams. The activities detailed in this guide, from the quick engagement of an Emoji Reaction Share to the deeper collaboration of a virtual art session, all serve a singular purpose: to make connection an intentional act.
The most significant takeaway is that variety and alignment are paramount. A quick 'Would You Rather' poll is perfect for a large, fast-paced weekly sync, while a structured Breakout Room Discussion is better suited for a project kickoff where deeper understanding is crucial. The key is to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and curate experiences that match your meeting's objective, your team’s personality, and the time you have available.
From Theory to Practice: Your Actionable Next Steps
Mastering the art of the virtual warm-up is an iterative process. It’s not about getting it perfect on the first try, but about building a habit of prioritizing connection. Here’s how you can start implementing these ideas immediately:
- Audit Your Calendar: Look at your upcoming meetings for the next week. Identify one or two where an online ice breaker would be most impactful. Is it a recurring team meeting that’s feeling stale? A cross-departmental call where attendees don’t know each other well?
- Start Small and Simple: Don’t feel pressured to facilitate a complex team-building exercise right away. Choose a low-stakes, high-energy option like 'Virtual Background Story Sharing' or a 'GIF Reaction' prompt. These require minimal preparation but can instantly shift the meeting's energy.
- Leverage Your Platform's Tools: Before your next meeting, take five minutes to explore the features of your video conferencing software. Practice launching a poll, setting up breakout rooms, or enabling the whiteboard in AONMeetings. Familiarity with the technology will make your facilitation smooth and confident.
- Gather Feedback: After trying a new activity, ask your team what they thought. A simple "Did you enjoy that?" or "What should we try next time?" can provide valuable insight and make the process more collaborative.
The Lasting Impact of a Few Connected Minutes
The cumulative effect of these small, intentional moments is profound. An effective online ice breaker does more than just warm up a call; it breaks down hierarchical barriers, encourages quieter team members to speak up, and creates shared experiences that build a sense of belonging. This foundation of trust and rapport extends far beyond the meeting itself, leading to more creative problem-solving, open communication, and a more resilient and cohesive team culture. The principle of making connection intentional is a powerful one that applies across all aspects of our lives. This same focus on creating shared experiences is what transforms a simple evening at home into a memorable bonding moment, much like when exploring creative date night ideas at home to strengthen personal relationships.
Ultimately, your goal as a facilitator is to transform virtual meetings from transactional obligations into opportunities for genuine human connection. By thoughtfully selecting and executing the right activity, you send a clear message to your team: your presence is valued, your voice is important, and our connection as a group matters. Start today, and watch how a few dedicated minutes can redefine your team's entire virtual experience.
Ready to make every virtual interaction more engaging and connected? AONMeetings provides the intuitive tools you need, from seamless breakout rooms and interactive whiteboards to instant polling, to bring any online ice breaker to life. Discover how our platform can help you build a stronger, more connected team by visiting AONMeetings today.
