Top 10 Conversation-Openers for Adults

Many conversation-opening techniques you may come across online are appropriate for students, teenagers, and work teams. However, you may occasionally have to work with people unwilling to engage in activities they view as "childish" or unsuitable for their age group, particularly in a corporate environment.

Advantages of Conversation-Opening Techniques in Meetings

Establishing a conversation can be a little intimidating and a bit corny. However, it is highly beneficial for creating a solid work community, and the following are the main reasons why:

• This informal method of introduction puts new employees at ease and is a great activity to introduce them.
• Conversation-opening techniques for meetings are entertaining and can occasionally break up the schedule ice.
• Teams can unwind and get to know one another more quickly and easily when they use these techniques.
• Regardless of their backgrounds, teams are energized, motivated, and encouraged to interact by conversation-opening questions.

Many of the activities we mention here are appropriate for team members who are still getting to know one another or who have not yet met. Below is a list of 10 conversation-opening techniques that are appropriate for adults:

1. Gossip Time

• Goal: Introducing team members to unique and fascinating aspects of one another.
• Participants: 5 to 10 individuals.
• Duration: 20 to 60 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Medium.
• Needed Materials: A pen and a little piece of paper for every participant.

We recommend using this technique with team members who know and trust each other.

According to recent studies, trust is directly related to positive team performance. As a result, we emphasize how crucial it is for organizational cultures to prioritize trust. This activity encourages team members to learn interesting facts about one another, building mutual respect and personal bonds. This activity is suitable for both large and small groups.

Steps

• Request that one team member stand outside the room.
• Each team member should write one positive or complimentary thing about the person who came out on the paper.
• Pick a few cards randomly and read them aloud. Then, the outside person must guess who wrote the "gossip" about them.
• Select a different person to stand outside and repeat the above if their guess is correct. If not, continue reading until they guess it.
• Play on until everyone has had a turn to exit the room.

2. Human Billboards

• Goal: Encouraging participants to interact and establish personal connections.
• Participants: 10 individuals or less.
• Duration: 15 to 20 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Medium.
• Needed Materials: A large sheet of paper for each participant, scissors, colored markers, and pins.

Participants can express themselves and communicate personally through this wonderful activity. Furthermore, it energizes them and helps them relax. Using this as a team-building exercise in new groups or with teams that need to be better acquainted is suggested.

Steps

• Give a sheet of paper and some colored markers to each person.
• Give each participant six minutes to describe themselves on the piece of paper that will present the "Billboard" using words, drawings, or symbols.
• After six minutes, ask each person to display their paper or pin it to their clothes.
• Permit people to interact and inquire about one another's billboards. This way, they get to know one another.

3. My N.A.M.E

• Goal: Introducing each other and sharing some interesting information that might spark discussions later
• Participants: 5 to 10 individuals.
• Duration: 8 to 10 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Easy.
• Needed Materials: None.

This is an easy activity that requires no planning. Therefore, use it with brand-new teams when members don't know each other's names yet.

Steps

• Give each person a few minutes to think of interesting adjectives whose initial letters correspond to the letters of their names.
• Ask each person to share their name and the qualities that each letter stands for.

Example

Hello, I'm James. The letter J stands for "Journey" because I enjoy traveling and having adventures, and the letter A stands for "Amsterdam," which is my favorite city. The letter M stands for "movies" because I enjoy watching movies every evening, while the letter E stands for "e-sports" because I occasionally enjoy watching e-sports matches. Finally, the letter S stands for "sport" since I work out five times a week.

4. Neighbors

• Goal: Introducing the participants to each other’s names.
• Participants: 20 individuals or more.
• Duration: 30 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Easy.
• Needed Materials: None.

This activity is similar to the previous "My N.A.M.E" activity, so we also suggest using it with brand-new teams.

Steps

• Request that everyone get to their feet and form a circle, with one person in the center.
• Give each team three to five minutes to memorize the names of the people standing next to them (their neighbors) on both sides.
• Next, the person at the center will point to a random individual in the circle and say either "the left neighbor" or "the right neighbor."
• The person pointed out must say the full name of their intended neighbor, and if they make a mistake, they have to switch places with the person in the center of the circle.
• Proceed with the activity until all participants can recall one another's names.

5. A Penny For Your Thoughts

• Goal: Introduce participants to one another and promote conversation among them.
• Participants: 5 to 15 individuals.
• Duration: 15 to 30 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Easy.
• Needed Materials: A new coin for each participant, with an easy-to-read inscription on it and minted no more than 20 years ago.

This is an excellent adult activity because it can be applied to teams whose members are not well acquainted. Additionally, it is a brief activity that reveals personal information and promotes the later development of relationships.

Steps

• Give each participant a coin (you can joke that it's a prize for coming).
• Ask everyone to give their name, age, and hometown.
• Finally, ask them to share a noteworthy or fascinating event that occurred in the year the coin was minted.

6. Rather Than

• Goal: Informing participants about their preferences.
• Participants: 5 to 12 individuals.
• Duration: 3 to 8 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Easy.
• Needed Materials: None.

This technique works well for new teams because it's a straightforward introduction activity showing individual preferences. Also, it's helpful that this game assesses intelligence as well. Research has demonstrated that memory games enhance learning, so incorporating memory games into training sessions will help new employees retain more information.

Steps

• Make sure everyone is seated so they can see one another. We suggest forming a circle.
• Start by telling the participants about something you would like to do_For example, running 10 km.
• Subsequently, the individual seated to your left repeats what you said and adds something they want to do—for example, running 10 km and eating ice cream.
• Then, the person seated to their left repeats what they just said while adding something new that they would like to do—for example, running 10 km, eating ice cream, and skydiving.
• The game continues until everyone has added a new addition to the list.

7. Ready, Set, Reorganize

• Goal: Introducing participants to new and interesting information about each other.
• Participants: 16 to 26 individuals.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Difficult.
• Needed Materials: None.

This is a fantastic way to motivate everyone to move around. We suggest applying it during a training session or meeting to activate participants.

Steps

• Divide the group into two teams and position them so that the two teams are facing each other in two lines.
• Select a name, such as the first name of a participant.
• Participants must arrange themselves alphabetically by name as quickly as possible.
• The first team to finish is the winning one.
• Play the game again under different names as often as you'd like.

Examples of categories include height, the number of countries a person has visited in their lifetime, their birthdays (arranged chronologically), their birthplaces (arranged alphabetically or geographically), and so on.

8. Similarities & Differences

• Goal: Promoting interpersonal communication and acquaint participants with their points of difference and similarities.
• Participants: 20 to 30 individuals.
• Duration: 10 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Easy.
• Needed Materials: Pen and a piece of paper for each participant.

Everyone enjoys being different, but we also like to recognize our similarities, and this approach helps participants learn both things about their coworkers.

Steps

• Give a pen and a piece of paper to every participant.
• Ask each person to write "name," "similarity," and "difference" at the top of three columns on their paper.
• Let them interact and converse for a while, attempting to determine their similarities and differences with one another.
• The person who added the most names to their table will win when the timer goes off.

9. Sweet Stories

• Goal: Introducing and establishing mutual trust amongst participants.
• Participants: 5 to 20 individuals.
• Duration: 10 to 20 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Easy.
• Needed Materials: A box of colorful candy pieces.

This approach helps participants get to know one another better while also establishing mutual trust. Additionally, it's a fun game that your team members undoubtedly have never played before.

Steps

• Each team member gets a piece of candy.
• Each of them shares a story related to their candy color.
• At the end, participants can eat the candy.

Examples of Candy Colors

• Blue: A story of an employer you admire and why.
• Green: A cause to feel proud belonging to your organization.
• Orange: An embarrassing workplace incident.
• Red: Your greatest professional achievements.
• Yellow: A humorous story that happened to you at work.
• Violet: Recall a time when you made a mistake at work and learned from it.

10. Identity Circles

• Goal: Team members share and understand their values with each other.
• Participants: 8 to 50 individuals.
• Duration: 30 to 60 minutes.
• Difficulty Level: Hard.
• Materials: 10 small pieces of paper for each participant.

This activity encourages team members to share things they would not have mentioned normally, which fosters greater friendship among them and paves the way for future discussions.

Steps

• After dividing the participants into two teams, instruct them to stand and form two circles—an inner circle and an outer circle.
• Individuals in both circles should be facing each other, with those in the outer circle facing those in the inner circle and vice versa.
• Bring each inner circle member together with an outer circle member.
• Give each person ten little pieces of paper and instruct them to write a value on each.
• Ask each pair to share with the other why they selected those values and how they prioritize them.
• When they're done, they should tear up the piece of paper that represents their weakest value.
• The participants are now to move around the circle to form new pairs. After that, they will have five minutes to explain to one another their values, the reasons behind their choosing of those values, and how they would feel in their absence.
• Continue doing this until each participant has only one piece of paper, representing their most significant value.

In Conclusion

We sincerely hope you enjoyed our list of introductory adult games.