• Icebreakers encourage co-workers to work together.team work image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
  
  Icebreakers and other team-building activities allow participants to become more familiar with others in the group, build unity within groups and teach skills that can improve the group's efficiency. Icebreakers can be used at the start of a meeting, particularly when they help participants introduce themselves. They can also be used as a break in the middle of work to relieve tensions and reduce stress.
  
  

Two Truths and a Lie

• In this team-building activity, all participants write down two true statements about themselves and one lie. The participants then go around the circle reading their three statements, as the rest of the group guesses which of the statements is the lie. This activity prompts participants to share facts about themselves and become more familiar with each other, even if they were already acquaintances.
  
  

Scavenger Hunt

• Participants in this team-building activity are broken up into groups of five. A scavenger list is then provided to all groups, containing items that participants might have on them, such as sunglasses, lipstick, white shoe laces, etc. The first group to find all items on its list wins. This exercise encourages teamwork in a fast-paced, competitive format.
  
  

Bumper Stickers

• In this activity, every participant creates a slogan for his philosophy on life. The slogan must be short enough to fit on a bumper sticker. Everyone then shares their bumper sticker slogans with the rest of the group. Because this activity allows participants to be creative and humorous, it is beneficial to use when participants may be tired or frustrated, as humor may relieve some tension.
  
  

Mad Libs

• In this team-building exercise, each participant writes down an action verb, an adjective and a noun on three separate pieces of paper. There should be three boxes in the center of the room, labeled "Verb," "Adjective," and "Noun." Participants then draw a piece of paper from each of the boxes. The participant must then create a sentence and speak the sentence aloud to the group. This helps the group think in short, concise terms that can improve group communication.
  
  

Marooned

• In Marooned, participants are broken up into groups of ten people each. Each group must then negotiate among themselves to create a list of three things they would want with them on a deserted island. Because there is a limited number of items relative to the number of people in the group, participants must be persuasive to ensure that their preferred items make it on the list.