Ice breaker questions – some of us love them, the rest of us loathe them.

They typically bear no relevance to the topic at hand, and if it’s even mildly personal, I’m too busy scrambling for something interesting to say instead of listening to what my colleagues are saying.

But I can see why trainers use them: they metaphorically break the ice.

We’ve all learned the hard way that regardless of whether our session is onsite or virtual, the attendees who don’t say anything in the beginning won’t have said anything at the end. By getting everyone talking from the get-go, we break down the fear barrier and promote their active participation.

So I propose an alternative. Instead of dispensing with the ice breaker altogether, change the nature of the ask…

What do you want to get out of this session?

This question achieves the best of both worlds: it gets the attendees talking and it gets their heads in the game.

More specifically…

1. It forces the attendees to think.

I’m forever surprised when seasoned professionals struggle to join the dots between generic subject matter and their own roles.

Generic content isn’t inherently useless; it just needs to connect to the real world. Answering the question makes that connection.

2. It facilitates social learning.

The folks who struggle to join the dots might never do so on their own.

Hearing the answers voiced by their peers, particularly those in similar roles, helps the penny drop.

3. It empowers the attendees to set expectations.

Training is an investment in time and effort on the part of the attendees, so naturally they seek a worthwhile return.

By identifying what they expect from the session, the trainer can tweak the coverage accordingly.

4. It empowers the trainer to set expectations.

Until technology advances to the point at which we can offer Neo-style uploads directly to the brain, the learning process will remain a journey.

By identifying any expectations among the attendees that are beyond the scope of the session, the trainer can reinforce the message that it’s one step closer to mastery.