Purpose: To creatively introduce one another before a session and make a learning point as well.

 Time Required: 20 minutes.

 Size of Group: Unlimited.

 Materials Required: Baby photos of participants, sent to the trainer in advance of the session.

 The Exercise in Action: Using participants’ baby photos can help break the ice and drive home some learning points, according to Lisa Monopoli of National Car Rental System. She has participants send a baby photo to her prior to the seminar. She numbers and displays the baby pictures, and has participants match them up by voting on who’s who. When the votes are tallied, everyone has a good laugh, she says. Monopoli says this activity is especially effective for seminars that include a combination of work peers of different professional levels.

Monopoli says that aside from being fun, the opener helps make two learning points:

•   When conducting a class with participants who are of different professional levels, the activity helps break the ice by pointing out that we all started out on the same level (at about six to nine pounds).

•   When conducting courses where change is the focus, it helps to demonstrate how much change each of us has already been through and that change is inevitable.