201 Icebreakers : Group Mixers, Warm-Ups, Energizers, and Playful Activities

Rating:
Summary: Group Warm-up Exercise Testing/Assessment Instruments
Review: Can any one help me locate a Testing or Assessment instrument that I can use to validate the usefulness of Ice-breakers or Group Warm-up Exercises? I am a Ph.D. student at Walden Un. presenting a research paper on the usefulness of Ice-breakers through Experiential Learning. I would be most greatful for any help I can get. Derrick W. Copper

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: It was disappointing to find so few ideas for a group of 100 business people who don't know each other. Most of the activities are far too personal for such a group, involving sharing personal information or touching. In addition, many of the activities have no "closure": they simply end, leaving us to wonder, what was the purpose of THAT? Many of the activities would be fine for very informal gatherings where being silly (marching in a parade, charades, making a human octopus) and getting personal are appropriate. But business people--even my lighthearted group--expect some degree of professionalism and purpose associated with such activities.

Rating:
Summary: Great for Residence Life staff
Review: There are few books on icebreakers/teambuilders that I've found to be useful with college students ( I work in Student Affairs). This book, however, offered many activities that were useful not only for just 'breaking the ice' but also for applying them to the many educational workshops we do in this field. There was also a very helpful section called "Icebreakers for the Non-Icebreaker types" that was both interesting and practical. Because I work with such a diverse range of students, I struggle to find icebreakers that are not geared solely to the extroverted-types. This collection gives a number of activities that are beneficial to teambuilding while respecting the different learning/interaction styles we see in our students. Out of the 201 offered in the book, I have found at least 180 of them that I will use as integral parts of the next staff training. This book also offers activities for groups ranging from 8 participants (good for small staffs) to 400 participants (good for all-hall activities)!