The ice breaking in the new group will help you gain the trust of your seniors. It’s very important when the trainer starts work with new group. There are the most important reason why the trainer should ice this kind of activity.  The role of ice-breaking:

• Learn the names
• To let know people one another, quickly, better
• To boost energy before meeting, activity
• To create better team work
• To be more open
• To have good fun, good mood.

The good exercise let know the participants more about others persons in the group. Usually people have the problems to describe themselves. This way, they can do it easier. The trainer should think which kind of the ice- breaking used. It’s depend of the age and number of the participants. 

The exercise “Things” is the best for smaller group consist of 4-15 people. In the bigger group can be boring and the people need longer time to do it. 

The things, which we choose to to the exercise should be ordinary, which we use it everyday.  We should choose more than 4-8 pictures (in smaller group 4 will be enough). 

The pictures should show ordinary things, because this way is easier for the participants identify with it and describe themselves. 

It’s important that the picture show only thing (not for example street with people).

The trainer should remember that he can use different kind of pictures, but it should be compatible with the age and sex of the participants.

A few people can choose the same picture, it doesn’t matter, because every presentation will be a little bit different. This way we can show, that everybody is original and unique. 

 We need screen to show the pictures or we can use paper pictures. 

On the beginning it’s very good to explain the rules of the exercise and show the example. 

It should help the participants be more active and creative.

The example:

Choose the thing – it can be a pot.

Think about it about 5 minutes, how to describe the thing like your person, you can make notice

Tell another about yourself- „I’m a pot. I’m electric pot, because I’m fun of new technology. I like stay alone on the table, because I don’t like company. I more often feel half empty, than half, because I’m the pessimist…”

When the trainer explain the exercise and show the example, invite the participant and show them the pictures. This is example which we use in the work with seniors:

To evaluate the exercise, the trainer ask the participants about their impression and what they learn about others, but if the trainer observe that the participants are shame and have problems to talk about themselves, it’s better to resign of the evaluation and start the activities. 

Sources:

http://www.ilsc.com/blog/2014/08/5-reasons-use-ice-breakers-warm-exercises-esl-classroom/