In a recent work meeting, a colleague shared an exciting story about taking her 17-year-old son to his first concert, featuring Kim Deal at the Brooklyn Paramount. This sparked a conversation among everyone in the meeting to reveal the first band they saw live. My colleague’s story intrigued me, as it showcases a unique personal anecdote. This revelation about our first concert experiences is fascinating, as it gives insight into our teenage tastes in music and potentially reveals aspects of our upbringing if our parents took us.
The notion that first concerts should be an item of personal trivia fascinates me more than any other piece of small talk. It offers a glimpse into one’s music preferences during their adolescence and, if accompanied by a parent, provides a peek into aspects of their childhood. For instance, someone whose parents took them to see Steely Dan at the age of six grows up with a unique cultural memory.
People often enjoy sharing stories about their first concerts; it’s like a treasure chest of questions that invites them to share a well-rehearsed personal story. With these questions, they can control how much of their taste in music they want to reveal, ranging from “See, I’ve always been cool” to “God, I was such a nerd.” It’s the quintessential example of a corporate icebreaker activity – getting to know you in a professional setting.
In reality, icebreakers, despite their cheesiness, can serve as a delightful shortcut to foster a kind of measured intimacy. In a past job where I led weekly staff meetings, I started each one with an icebreaker. This was especially useful since a portion of the team worked remotely, making it challenging to establish a connection without a corny but effective break the ice activity. Our team soon enjoyed participating in these sessions, finding them to be a fun game that brought us closer and reminded us we were interesting human beings beyond our work roles.
Looking back at the icebreaker questions from our weekly meetings, some of which I’d created and others drawn from sources like Rob Walker’s newsletter “The Art of Noticing,” they were thought-provoking and offered insights our closest colleagues might not even know. Examples include “What’s the first thing you bought with your own money?” “What were you doing at age 23?” “What’s something you’re great at but hate doing?” and “What are the most common things people say when you tell them your hometown?”
While these types of questions might seem forced or artificial in regular conversations, they could be interesting to ask家 members at dinner, or a group of friends who you think you know everything about, or even a spouse. They offer a more efficient way to connect than the slow and often uninspired get-to-know-you questions.
So, while icebreakers may seem like a contrived form of bonding, they can lead to surprisingly refreshing and revealing conversations if used thoughtfully. Why not just ask open-ended and intriguing questions to spark meaningful interactions?
[Music, movie, and real estate event advisories follow.]
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/briefing/breaking-through.html
