Hi Tammy,
I like the old "Stand Up, Sit Down" icebreaker for diversity. You generate
as many forms of diversity as you can think of. Instruct participants to
stand when they hear a category that they identify with. Everyone still
sitting applauds for the people standing, then they sit down and you proceed
to read the next category. It's a nice way to show how everyone has
many--often unexpected and unknown--facets of diversity and to do this in an
affirming manner (encourage hearty applause, cheering, etc).
Here are some categories I've used (with undergrads; you might want a
somewhat different list for execs):
. extroverts
. introverts
. have little or no interest in professional sports
. from the South
. from the Midwest
. from a working-class background
. left-handed
. born in another country besides the U.S.
. only child
. agnostic or atheist
. cigarette smoker
. your parents are divorced or separated
. have a learning disability
. bad at spelling
. family members of alcoholics
. neither of your parents attended college
. your religious faith is the most important thing in your life
. your parents are from different racial groups
. vegetarian
. shy
. you were ever bullied in school
. gay, lesbian, or have a close friend or family member who is
. grew up in a rural area
. conservative
. liberal
. you do not have a good sense of humor
. parents speak a language other than English at home
. anxious about public speaking
. bad at sports (i.e., unathletic)
. you like to take charge of situations
. you do not like classical music
Good luck!
Monique
Monique Valcour
Assistant Professor, Department of Organization Studies
Carroll School of Management, Boston College
426A Fulton Hall, 140 Commonwealth Ave.
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Phone: 617-552-3099
Fax: 617-552-4230
E-mail:
valcour@bc.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: Gender & Diversity in Organizations Division Listserv
[mailto:
GDO-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] On Behalf Of Tammy MacLean
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 3:01 PM
To:
GDO-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: ice breaker suggestion?
Hi. I'm teaching an Executive MBA diversity course that begins this
Saturday and runs for 5 weeks. I've got 20 students that know each
other fairly well as they've been taking classes together for a couple
of semesters, but I don't know them at all. I'm trying to come up with
an ice-breaker that would be appropriate, given that they already know
each other to a degree (even though I don't know them) and given that
they are executives. I'm not a huge fan of the "bring an artifact
related to your ethnicity" icebreaker. Does anyone have any other
suggestions?
--
Tammy MacLean, PhD
Associate Professor of Management
Suffolk University
8 Ashburton Place
Boston MA 02108
617-573-8659