Page Updated on March 12, 2023

Ice Breaker activities can be an invaluable way of creating a relaxed and happy atmosphere at the start of a training day.

It makes your life as a corporate trainer easier, because you are, in effect, creating a positive learning environment.

Ice breakers are known to aid faster social bonding and this holds true also in the classroom environment for teaching adults.

The follower and avoider ice breaker game for trainers.
The ‘Follower and Avoider’ icebreaker activity for corporate training days.

Duration and Cost

  • 10 minutes
  • Free

Ice Breaker Exercise

Participants Involvement

This is a great activity both if the delegates in the training session are completely new to each other and if the participants are known to each other (i.e. this is an in-house corporate training program you are providing).

This is a very easy game to play and yet it exponentially provides delegates which a great way to laugh and get acquainted in an easy and relaxed manner.

Purpose of the Ice-Breaker

In this activity, the task is quite simple. Delegates must mentally (they do not need to write it down) focus on one other person in the room whom they will follow and one person they will avoid, for the purpose of this game.

Once the game starts, they then have to try and get as close as they can (without touching them or being unfairly close) to the person they are following and as far as they can from the person they are avoiding, in the room.

Group training activity
A group icebreaker is great to create a positive learning environment.

Every participant will have chosen their own number 1 and 2 and then attempt to try and be as distant as possible from one person and as close as possible at the same time to the other person, whilst everyone simultaneously attempts the same thing. It can be hilarious.

This is a wonderful ice-breaker that gets people laughing and relaxed.

As a trainer, this activity also needs very little preparation and is very easy to organize and to explain to participants.

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Activity Instructions

1. Ask each person to silently select one person that they will follow and one person that they will avoid.

Suggest that they do not choose their best friends if they have any in the room and that they should pick from anyone in the room who is involved in the training.

This selection should be done silently, in that this does not need to be written down and their selection should not be shared with anyone else.

2. Inform the participants that when the game starts, they will try to get as close to the person they are following and as far away from the person they are avoiding, whilst staying in the confines of the training room.

3. Start the game and inform participants that they have 5 minutes to complete the game.

4. Once the 5 minutes have ended, stop the game and ask participants to take their seats.

5. Ask participants for their thoughts on the game and leave a few minutes for discussion on the experience.

You will usually find that it has been a fun activity and one which leaves some participants keen to express and discuss the game and their experience.

Ice Breaker Activity Benefits

This is one of the simplest and easiest ice-breakers to organize and it works in just about any type of training session.

This can also be done as a 3minute activity and thus is a very easy activity to include at short notice if you feel that there is a stagnant atmosphere in terms of participants knowing each other.

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Dr Valeria (Lo Iacono) Symonds