ICEBREAKER PLAY

Using What's Your Verse? as an icebreaker activity is a super exciting idea for us. We at WYV? have done so many bad icebreaker activities that the thought of doing another icebreaker ever again was painful, until now! We'd love to be part of icebreakers using the cards in this game. And, there are so many ways you can use What's Your Verse? as an ice breaker so don't let these instructions limit you. The more you use the cards the more ideas you will have to tailor the ice breaker experience that works best for you. Here is just a great place to start.

The objective of the icebreaker activity is the same as in Gameplay - each participant is trying to put together the best four-lyric verse they can create from the What's Your Verse? cards. Each player will begin with four What's Your Verse? cards. The activity proceeds with players trading lyric cards with other players while they work to build their four-lyric verse. Once the allotted time for meeting others and trading cards has expired, players take turns singing, well, at least dramatically reading, their verse. Here are some key details to consider as you design your icebreaker activity:

There are two ways of trading that you can choose:

• Open Trading - players offer each other a lyric card by sharing the specific lyric they are willing to trade and the players can consider whether they would like to make the trade.

• Chance Trading - players offer to trade with each other without knowing what lyric they will receive in return. The option to not trade is important to allow for a person, who has settled on their four-lyric verse, to not have to give up a card, but you still want them to interact with the other players.

You need to establish a set of ground rules for how players will meet each other and interact before they can offer to trade cards. For example, imagine an icebreaker with freshmen college students.

1. Each player must introduce themselves with their name and what city they are from.

2. Each player must ask the other player one question about high school and one question about college. For example:

   1. About high school - What extracurriculars did you participate in while in high school? What was your favorite class? Favorite teacher? What will you miss most about high school? What did you and your friends do on a Friday night? Etc.

   2. About college - What dorm do you live in? What's your major? What are you most excited about this first year? What are you most worried about this first year? Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend back home? How do you feel about community bathrooms/showers? Etc.

3. After answering these questions players can offer to trade cards.

Consider the appropriate amount of time for this activity. You will want to allow for time at the end so people can share their verses. Depending on the size of the group, you may want to break into smaller groups (at least 4-6 people) for the verse sharing as this is full of fun and laughs.

Using the Commercial Break cards as an icebreaker is all about getting to know each other through sharing about something that we all love - music! And, it does so in a fun and playful way. You can create an icebreaker in many ways with these cards, so don't let these rules limit your creativity.

First, consider how much time you have for your activity. The Commercial Break cards are great because they can be used for short activities as well as longer ones. Depending on the number of people in your group, you will want to give guidance on how long the individual interactions should take place, you might want to consider setting a timer to keep the action moving; for example, every two minutes the timer will go off and everyone has to switch to another conversation.

Once you have a plan for how much time for the activity and the individual conversations, give each player three "Commercial Break" cards. You need to establish a set of ground rules for how players will meet each other and interact before they share their Commercial Break card for discussion. For example, imagine an icebreaker with colleagues from all parts of a large organization.

1. Each player must introduce themselves and share with their partner 1) how long they have worked at the company, 2) what division they are a member of, and 3) what their role is in that division.

2. After this brief introduction, each person uses one of their three Commercial Break cards to begin a quick and fun conversation.

3. Participants will trade the Commercial Break cards that they use before moving to the next conversation.

Consider leaving some time at the end to allow for participants to share interesting, fun, silly information they learned through their conversations. This brings the activity to the whole group and gives a chance for everyone to laugh together.