Exercise

Calling out names

Format: 
Group exercise, Icebreaker
Time: 
15min
Required materials: 
None
Summary: 

This is a fun, upbeat icebreaker to shift group energy and build connections that involves shouting out the name of the person next to you in a circle.

Key explanation points:

  • Ask participants to stand in a circle, look to their left, and ask that person their name.
  • Explain that the name of the person on your left is the name you will use in the exercise.
  • Next, ask everyone to gently bend over and clap quietly, repeating that one person’s name to the left.
  • Slowly, ask everyone to lift their bodies up, and to make their clapping and voice louder and louder until they are shouting out the person’s name next to them.

Facilitation notes:

Facilitators should take the group through the exercise once, so that everyone understands, then repeat it once, or as many times as the group wishes.

Alternative option:

  • Facilitators could have one participant stand in the middle in turn, and have the group call out their name as described above. This would take longer than 15 minutes.
  • Participants could call out the name of the person to their left in the first round, then switch to the person to their right in the second round.