What do we have in common?
Have you heard of the “six degrees of separation” or the “small world” phenomenon? This icebreaker puts it to the test! This is an activity that encourages people to reflect and share aspects of their present, past and even future to find common ground with others.
How to
- Split everyone into groups of 2 or 3.
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Give each group something to write on – it can be physical paper and pens or individual Miro boards.
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Instruct participants to brainstorm things they have in common within their group. Let them know there are no easy cop-outs allowed, like “we both have hands.”
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When the group finds something they have in common, they can write it on the paper.
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Continue until you have found at least 3–10 commonalities.
What we like about it
It’s an opportunity to get personal and think outside the “work” box. This activity never fails to demonstrate that, no matter how vast your differences may be on the outside, all humans share some common denominators and experiences!
Tips
- Want to make this activity a competition? Set a timer for 10 minutes and see which group can find the most commonalities at the end of the time.
- Want to encourage even more fun and creativity? Turn this activity into a Pictionary-like competition by nominating someone in each group to draw one of their commonalities without using any words. While they’re drawing, the other group(s) try to guess the picture. The person that guesses the correct answer can now take a turn at drawing one of their commonalities.
