To hate icebreakers

[virgocatlover]

I hate when someone at work decides it's a good idea to have 'icebreakers'.

'Tell us something no one knows about you'
'Tell us three unique things about yourself'
'Tell us about your perfect day'

Etc etc

I hate it. I'm a private person and don't want to engage in this. It may not be a big deal to some people but I find it bloody awful.

Totally agree. The only thing they achieve is making everyone feel uncomfortable. I actually remember phoning in sick one day as I knew we were going to be asked to do it. I haven't been asked to do it for a long time, but I'd have to confidence now to just say 'no, I'd rather not thank you'

I hate it too.

I refuse to share anything remotely private with my work colleagues.

For these kinds of tasks, I always just stick to work-related topics for these questions and never stray into anything personal.
I was pulled up on this in the past because I made a few tasks very weird and awkward.

Yup hate that. Yesterday someone at a work event asked me what my best recent meal was - I had no idea 😂😂

And once I did share something about me that no one knew, that I actually thought was quite cool and interesting - definitely unique - not one person commented or asked me about it after so I felt really embarrassed.

I used to hate stuff like this but now I am almost 50 I just don't care.
Either make up some answers or just answer them - be proud of your personality and who you are.

I just make stuff up.

EVERYONE hates icebreakers! I really dont know why trainers insist on using them as they cause so much stress (ironically).

The worse one was you have to catch a ball and say an interesting fact about yourself. My interesting fact is that I cannot catch a ball to save my life, and I was practically hyperventilating with anxiety

When I was a teenager we had a new, overly keen youth leader at a club i attended who liked this sort of thing.. One day he asked the group what's the worst thing that's happened this week? One of the more confident, don't give a shit girls replied, deadly seriously
'I've found a lump near my clitoris, I think it could be VD, so i am going to have to get that checked out'
He never did it again. Problem solved... Not sure i recommend it though...

Just say ‘I’m the most boring person in the world, and I have no secrets, unusual skills, unique qualities, or favourite foods, and my idea of a perfect day is sitting looking at the wall’?

Some colleagues once ran an icebreaker type thing where the team lead apparently stood at the front and did articulate. Got everyone shouting out answers and laughing apparently

I've once been involved in a ball under ball over pit of hell.

Never again ! I will steal the articulate idea !

@TheGoddessFrigg in the past that ball catching thing would have definitely given me anxiety like the way you describe.
But this is what I mean by learning not to care.
You can't catch a ball.....so what?
You just laugh it off. Say "no one chuck it at me - I can't catch" and if someone does you say "told ya" as the ball rolls away.
You don't need to be anxious 💐

I just lie. I have three things up my sleeve that I use on rotation!
I'm not sure why they do it as there are much better things I think to make people more comfortable. I have done one where it was a game (a little like the articulate example above) and whilst people groan at first, everyone has real good fun in the end.
But yes, I agree. I think those "say something interesting" intros are awful.

Yeah, the ball catching I would absolutely make that my interesting fact. It's relatively unusual, it's insignificant, and it's funny because it's relevant.

If stuck for one I always say come up with something you've never done/owned etc that most people have. You can follow up with a brief explanation that gives a small, but insignificant insight into you.

I like this girl very much.

My issue with the "just make something up" approach is that it doesn't actually address the underlying issue - the expectation that we make our personal and private lives available to people at work. It's kind of irrelevant whether the information is made up or not, the point is still that we're expected to share the information.

I just don’t engage….just tell whoever is facilitating that this is not ‘my thing’ …. No one has questioned me further as yet

And this is why I never use them...or if I'm in a situation where it is insisted upon I go for the blandest, easiest thing..."tell us what your favourite chocolate bar / ice cream flavour / cake is"...that gets everyone talking, its easy to lie / make something up on the spot and rarely any judgement attached and you can easily say "I don't really like sweet stuff I'd prefer xxx"

I hate the bog standard ones. My old line manager used to do ‘what’s your favourite biscuit?’ which used to make me cringe.

I do really silly ones that get everyone laughing, which I’ve noticed other managers have started to nick.

Of course you're not unreasonable. I quite like them though, especially the silly games. Different personality types obviously like different things- I'm very low-key outgoing and extremely competitive. But then should your comfort come first? They're not necessary after all and if they make you feel worse than they make me feel great they're not helping.

What I don't understand.....unless the only thing you do in your private life is eat kittens and practice s+m why is such a big deal to tell people about what in life you enjoy/do?

In our away days - we had many where I worked ie public sector, lol

I loathed the so-called iced breakers!!

Hate them. Rarely have to do them but might think up something elaborate like I was in prison once for embezzling 10 trillion pounds

I can’t see the point of so-called “icebreakers”. Do they make you feel more relaxed? No. Do they ‘break the ice’? (What ice?) No.
Just get on with the course or whatever, who cares if someone breeds dogs or someone is a wizz at ice skating or can balance a spoon on their nose, I certainly don’t.

I saw this the other day. 😆

Make it up. They don’t need to know your REAL perfect day if you don’t want them to.

@Callipygion I actually think it could be good though because you might meet people who have the same interests as you and become friends with them (or end up marrying them 😂).
On a lot of the sahp vs going to work threads the argument for working is often so people can have "grown up conversations".
I frequently wonder what exactly these conversations are about if everyone thinks their private life is private and must never be spoken of.