Sick of awkward networking sessions? Up your networking game with these five fun and purposeful event icebreakers at your next corporate or casual event. Get the ultimate toolkit to crafting engaging events for your community at http://ptix.co/2dbHNKv. Follow us for more event management #eventideas and #eventhacks.

1. 5 creative
networking ideas to
break the ice at
events

2. Networking at events can be
awkward, but need not be.

3. Help attendees to feel at ease,
break out of their comfort zone,
and get to know more about
others at your event beyond
“What do you do?”.

4. Facilitate one of these five
creative (and we promise, fun)
networking ideas below!

5. ASSEMBLE A
DREAMTEAM
1

6. Let’s transform your attendees
into groups with superpowers!

7. Print out some photos and cut
them into the number of people
per group.

8. When your attendees check-in at
the event, give them a fragment
of the image and a timeframe to
find the members of their team.

9. Once they’ve found each
other, get them talking!

10. If you expect a diversity of skills
and life experience at the event,
one suggestion is to give them a
scenario to chat about.

11. For example, an emergency, a
task, a reality TV show setup, and
figure out how each of them can
participate in the situation
according to their strengths.

12. SWAP
NAMETAGS
2

13. STEP ONE: Give everyone who
shows up a name tag that isn’t
theirs and a burning question to
ask that person.
Tip: Don’t make the questions too invasive!

14. STEP TWO: Let them make
conversation at the event to
identify the person whose name is
on the name tag.

15. Take it up a notch by matching
these pairs according to their
interests and objectives.
Find out what your attendees want from your event
Create custom forms easily on Peatix! >

16. EXPERIMENT
WITH
BINGOCARDS
3

17. Fill up the bingo card squares with
various life milestones and
adventures – feel free to make
them funny!

18. www.melsbrushes.co.uk/unusual-bingo-card-designs
IDEA:
Customized
Bingo cards
can help your
guests start
conversations!

19. Get attendees to find amongst
themselves people who would fit
the bill of what’s described in a
bingo card square.

20. The first person to complete a row
of five either diagonally, vertically
or horizontally wins bragging rights!

21. HOLD
SPEED
MEETINGS
4

22. This twist on speed dating is the
perfect way for everyone in the
room to know each other better in
a short amount of time.

23. Get attendees to arrange
themselves into two rows of seven,
each row facing the other.

24. Provide them with a list of three
questions they can ask beyond
“What do you do?” to break the ice.

25. For example, “What’s your guilty
pleasure?” which can raise answers
like sleep, binge watching Netflix,
ice cream and so on.

26. Hit it with the music, and whenever
the music plays, attendees are to
ask the person opposite them the
three questions.

27. When the music stops, the first
person on one of the two rows
moves to stand beside the last
person of that row whilst the
entire row shifts up to face a new
person on the opposite row.

28. Keep playing and stopping the
music till everyone’s met all seven
people in the opposite row.

29. WALL OF
HIGHFIVES
5

30. Everyone loves doodling, leaving
notes, and giving out
recommendations of what they
know best.

31. So combine these ideas together
by sticking post-its to your walls
and encourage attendees to
scribble their recommendations
on them!

32. OUR SUGGESTIONS:
Five Horror Movies, Five Favourite
Coffee Spots, Five TV Shows, Five
Inspiring Books, Five Twitter
Accounts… or anything related to
the theme of your event!

33. Photo © www.facebook.com/gitnbasia
MAKE IT EASY TO JOIN IN!

34. Create categories for attendees
to write in, and have them sign off
their list of fives with their Twitter
or Instagram handle so you can
continue the conversation on
social media post-event.

35. Got your own event management
tools and tips to share with fellow
event organizers?
Tell us in the comments below!

36. DOWNLOAD
FREE EBOOK
This 30-page ebook is packed with tips and
tools to help you plan and market your event
like a pro in no time.

37. Suling Wong
Produced by
Claire Ding
Original article by
Liyana Dizzy

38. Share this if you liked it!
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
5 creative networking ideas to break the ice at events