Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 03:23 pm

The shift to remote workplaces has made team-building exercises both increasingly challenging and important. Despite workers collaborating from many locations and time zones, cohesive company culture remains essential to functional and successful businesses. At Cider, we have years of experience in organizing online meetings and facilitating collaboration; therefore, we would love to share our favorite online team building exercises. We have created a guide of 13 virtual meeting icebreakers and team-building exercises to improve your team communication and facilitate collaborative efforts. 

Zoom Icebreaker Games 

Raise Your Hand If….

As the meeting coordinator, create a list of statements about people’s experiences, values, and opinions. Read the statements off, allowing the participants to use the Zoom “raise your hand” button to agree with the statement. If time allows, discuss the statement. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the meeting participants while breaking the ice. 

Most Recent Photo 

This simple game requires the participants to share the most recent photo in their camera roll and tell the story behind that photo. 

Two Truths and a Lie 

A virtual spin on the classic icebreaker. Have all the participants write down two truths and a lie about themselves. If the group is large, break out into smaller groups. Have each participant read out their statements, while the other participants try to guess which statement is a lie. 

One word description 

The meeting coordinator picks topics such as “team culture” or “mondays,” Everybody must pick one word that describes how they feel about the issue.

A childhood accomplishment 

Have every team member share what they thought was their most significant accomplishment in their childhood. For example, one person might say, “I performed a hip hop solo dance to Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl” in the middle school talent show.”

Life-Changing Storytime 

 Breakout into smaller groups and have every team member share a story that changed their lives and made them who they are today. 

Unannounced Show and Tell 

Every team member must present one item to the group without getting up. They must explain why the object is meaningful to them (the more exaggerated, the better). 

Virtual Team Building Exercises 

Something in Common 

Breakup the larger group into multiple smaller breakout sessions of about 2-4 people (the more people, the more challenging). Give the participants 5 minutes to come up with five unique things that they have in common. Reconvene after the 5 minutes and have the groups share the things that they all have in common.

Pitch a Product 

Break the group into teams through breakout sessions and give them 5 minutes to come up with a completely ridiculous product and a pitch. Then have teams face each other, allowing the spectators to vote on which product they would fund. 

Pictionary 

Private message a word to the artist. Ask the artist to share their screen using the zoom whiteboard feature and draw that word. Have the participants guess in the chat. The first to guess gets to be the next artist.

Desert Island Game

Break into small groups through using the breakout room feature. Groups are given a scenario in which they are trapped on a deserted island. Present them with seven obscure and unusual items (examples include a stalk of corn, dry shampoo, an Ikea dresser, a pad of paper and a pen, a rope, etc.). Through teamwork and critical thinking, the team must select three of the seven items to maximize survival. After 5 minutes, return to the group meeting and have one representative from each group share the things they chose and justify selecting the items. 

Simulated Problems 

Break the participants into small groups and present them with a tricky business scenario. Ask the teams to draft a plan of action to preserve company credibility and manage the situation. You could create conditions that are relevant to your line of business or unrelated situations that stimulate problem solving and teamwork.