Ice Breaker Ideas for Customer Service Training

Ice breakers are an important part of customer service training. A good ice breaker idea is designed to get the group focused on training and not on an issue left back at their desk or at home. Ice breakers will help the group feel more comfortable interacting. They will aid in teaching customer service skills such as listening, patience and the importance of a positive attitude. Ice breaker ideas for customer service training can be fun and energizing.

True, True, False: This icebreaker is a great way to get the group talking and interacting. It will also teach them the importance of listening to, and observing, a client for clues as to what they are really saying. Have everyone in the group say three things about themselves. Two are true and one is not. The rest of the group guesses which one is the lie.

You Don't Really Know Me: Ask each person to give a brief overview of her history with the company or industry. Then ask each person to state a little-known fact about themselves. This icebreaker gets the group talking and listening. It works well with mixed levels of employees as it humanizes the higher-ups and makes them seem more approachable to the rest of the group.

Customer Service: The participants describe a memorable customer service moment they have experienced in their own lives. This can be a positive or negative experience. For the negative experiences, the group can then brainstorm ideas of how things could have been handled differently to make the experience a positive one.

Who Am I?: This icebreaker idea gets people talking, asking probing questions, and deciphering responses. Tape a card with the name of someone famous, or an important member of your company, to the back of some participants. They must ask questions of other people in the group and attempt to decipher whose name is written on the card. Be careful to use names that everyone will know.

Puzzle: Hand out pieces of a puzzle to the group. Everyone must find a person with a piece that matches their puzzle piece. Eventually the whole group will complete the puzzle. Aim for puzzles with a small amount of large pieces or this activity could be too long. This idea will get the group talking and interacting. It will also show how everyone is interdependent on each other to get a job completed.