My Icebreaker for Team Building and Problem Solving

Keychains used to create a new product

I remember in high school we did this activity where we were given an object and had to create a commercial advertising it. I decided to expand on this idea at MPTC. Every student in my Team Building and Problem Solving class takes a turn facilitating an icebreaker or team building activity for each class session.

For my icebreaker, I split the class into three groups. Each group was given an object and they were to come up with a new product and advertise that product. I put supplemental supplies, like markers, tape, and scissors, on a table in the front of the room. I created a planning document for them to fill out that asked questions like:

• Brainstorm your ideas and choose one idea from your list. What does your product do?
• What is your product called?
• Why should people buy your product?

After their planning document was completed, they were asked to come up with a 60 second TV or radio commercial advertising their product.

Retro Leg Proctor for your pets

The first group had a bag of keychain rings. Their product was called something like Circle of Memories Photo Holder. They linked three of the rings together and manipulated them so they would stand up. They slid photos from their wallets into the slots.

The second group had small, narrow paper bags. Their product was booties for dogs to cover their feet. They used markers to create designs on their product.

The third group had wire hangers. I believe their product was called Hanging Décor. They took advantage of the supplemental supplies as well as their own paper to create decorations that could be hung for things like birthday parties.

After we were done with the icebreaker, we discussed the purpose of this activity. The purpose of the planning document was to get the groups to come up with more than one idea and really think about what the product could be and how they were going to market it before jumping right into making the commercial.

Hanging Decor by Christy, Faith, & Cayla

Another purpose of this activity was to get people to think outside the box. They were given common objects and asked to repurpose them into a new product. When you’re working on a problem, sometimes you need to think about things in a new way and not take for granted that something is just what it is and has no other purpose.

The purpose of providing them additional supplies was so they could alter their product to meet their vision. I was happy to see that the group with hangers was using some of their own supplemental material and not just assume that all they had to work with was the hangers. They asked if others had string. When they couldn’t find any string, they used masking tape for the job.

The commercials they presented at the end of the activity were used to explain their ideas to an audience. They had come up with a new purpose to common objects and now they needed to explain it in a way so that others could see their vision. This is also a helpful skill to use on a team. If you’re able to see a problem or solution in a different way than other people, you need to be able to explain it to others.

I was pretty impressed with all the list of ideas the groups brainstormed. I think they liked this activity, too, and I was surprised what I learned about problem solving and teams just by watching them.


What is your favorite icebreaker or team building activity?