| Game |  Opener |
 Team-building |
| Categories: | Energizer |
Review |
| Communication |
Topical |
Purpose: To break the ice in a group while affirming participants’ uniqueness and their common connections.
Time Required: 10 minutes.
Size of Group: Unlimited, but participants should work in small groups of three to five.
Materials Required: Twelve toothpicks for each participant.
The Exercise in Action: Peg Jacobsen, a partner in HRD Associates in Mequon, WI, divides her groups into subgroups, then gives each participant 12 toothpicks. She asks them to share something about themselves in the group (I have a cat… like to ski…) and give a toothpick to anyone with like interests, and take one from those who don’t share the interest. She reshuffles groups after five minutes.
At the end of the ice breaker, toothpicks are tallied, and Jacobsen makes the point that everyone wins with shared information.