Hobbies And Interests
Pick an Animal
This activity should be a relief from traditional icebreakers because it doesn’t require that people talk about themselves directly, at least not at first. Give the group members three minutes to think of an animal that best reflects some aspect of their personalities. Each person should share the animal, explain how it reflects his personality and state his name. This activity helps individuals in the group discover how other people view themselves and gives people an opportunity to share their creativity.
Predictions
Start this activity by discussing how much and how accurately you can judge someone by her appearance. Randomly assign each person a partner. The partners should look at one another but not speak. Then have each person in the partnership guess the answers to these types of questions: What does my partner like to do on a Saturday night? What is my partner's favorite food? What is my partner's favorite movie? Is my partner single/married/dating someone? Have each partner share and explain his answers with his partner, and then have the partner reveal if the guesses were correct or not. This activity encourages group members to see past one another's exteriors and get to know each other in a more personal way.
Fear in a Hat
This activity asks people in the group to experience a slight degree of vulnerability in discussing their fears anonymously. This vulnerability should be exposed in a safe, supportive environment in which participants may see that others share the same fears and anxieties. Give each person in the group a sheet of paper. Have each person write down something that she is afraid of currently. Fold up each sheet of paper and toss them all in the hat and shuffle them. Hand out a piece of paper to each person at random and ask him to read it out loud. Have other members of the group share whether they have experienced the same fear. This activity fosters understanding and empathy between group members.