Animating or the art of creating an atmosphere

Whether you're hosting a class, a work or family gathering, or an afternoon with kids or over drinks, the recipe for a good atmosphere is often the same.

How do you bring a group of strangers together?

When people don't know each other, there can be a distrust, a standoffishness that proves awkward when it comes to entertaining, playing, or socializing, especially if there's no alcohol to loosen up the most reserved a bit. Fortunately, the community of creativity professionals has developed many exercises called "icebreakers" to deal with this situation, in good humor. 

Some suggestions among hundreds:

The cross-presentation: in pairs, each one takes 3 minutes to introduce themselves to the other. At the end of the 6 minutes, it is the listener who introduces their pair to the rest of the assembly. This is a good way to create a bond at the same time as listening.

The Crocodile River: materialize two parallel lines on the ground, about 2.5 m apart, symbolizing the banks. Everyone is gathered on one side, but the objective is common: to bring everyone safely to the other side. The constraint to not be devoured is to never use the same means to cross and one must not put the or feet in the water...

This encourages creativity, laughter, cooperation and even physical contact. Good for setting the stage for the rest of the activities. Other icebreaker activities are suggested at the bottom of this article.

Creating the right climate

Communicators are particularly aware of this: creating the ideal conditions for an intervention is the key to success. just look at the maneuvers deployed, some of which are genius, to attract or divert attention.

Here are some elements drawn from my experience in teaching and creative facilitation, usable in all situations requiring group management, whether the members know each other or not.

First, an atmosphere of listening and positive attitude must be installed, otherwise the game of pétanque or volleyball is likely to end in a pugilism. The stakes can thus be lowered to privilege the convivial aspect to the detriment of the search for victory. This will happily avoid the recriminations of bad losers and the attitudes of cheaters eager for success.

Then, the rules must be well given from the start: no one is surprised along the way, the rules are the same for everyone and this even gives the possibility of making a reminder of the rule without fearing questionable maneuvers of the smart guys.

Also, encouraging everyone and not letting sarcasm and mockery get the better of you is the guarantee of amusing, if gently provocative, exchanges and good relations without rancor.

Finally, congratulate the winners and value the efforts of the losers, who are invited to take their revenge at the event of their choice

Once the climate has been created and the good mood has been established, there is nothing left to do but to share enjoyable moments, for all ages and everywhere.

References

Activities Icebreaker  - Primary Age
https://alextes.weebly.com/activiteacutes-brise-glace.html

Icebreaker Activity Directory - Collective Entrepreneurship Educational Innovation Network (CEIN)
https://sites.csfoy.ca/fileadmin/documents/socio/repertoire_dactivites_brise-glaceVF.pdf

The icebreaker activity in distance education - Julie Verdy, Van Bach Khanh Doan, Gr goire Aribaut - Université de Montréal
https://cpu.umontreal.ca/fileadmin/cpu/documents/enseigner_distance/Activite_brise-glace_form_distance_CPU_2020.pdf