Icebreakers and Activities at BestSelf Unlocked 2018

Last updated: January 19, 2023

Ever since promoting Tasia to the CEO role of Museum Hack, people have been asking me: What exactly do you DO now?

I’m still figuring that out! I love business conferences and workshops (kinda hate them, too) and have been attending many.

So when my friend Cathryn Lavery from Best Self Co asked me to help host their BestSelf Unlocked 2018 customer event in New York City, I SAID YES.

100 attendees gathered in Times Square to talk about productivity and self-improvement.

I worked with the event organizers to host a few awesome activities to encourage no-bullshit networking.

My Keynote Speech

To start the day, the event organizers asked me to do one main thing: raise the energy level in the room!

I made an abbreviated presentation of my popular TEDx talk about starting my company Museum Hack. This speech is endearing, humorous, fast-paced, and fun.

I love speaking at events to inspire and motivate. Many companies hire me to do this!

Random Speaking Notes

• BestSelf had me as the FIRST speaker of the day. This was the FIRST time I’ve ever had that spot. I liked it, and the organizers liked it, because I am a high-energy speaker. It helped to set the mood and drive engagement for the day.
• The abbreviated version of my speech only focused on how Museum Hack got started. I think it worked well because many people in this audience are interested in starting their own businesses.

Speed Icebreakers Activity

Next, we did one of my favorite things to encourage dialogue and networking: Speed Icebreakers!

Conferences are a great place to meet new people. Speed Icebreakers are an activity gets a lot of people out of their seats, actively engaged, and talking to new people.

How to do Speed Icebreakers for a large group:

1. Get a big list of Icebreaker questions,
2. Instruct attendees to stand up, move to an open space, and get a partner
3. Introduce yourself to your partner
4. Facilitator (me) asks first icebreaker question, for example: If you were to play an Olympic sport, what would be it be?
5. Facilitator times 30, 60, or 90 seconds of crowd discussion
6. At end of time, signal to SWITCH partners
7. Repeat with a new Icebreaker.

At this event, we did four different Icebreaker questions with four different partners. It took about 10 minutes total. The ROI was huge: the activity was an energy boost and got people mingling during a critical time.

For more information about icebreakers and exactly how to do them, see this article I wrote: The Ultimate Guide on How to Do Icebreakers.

Human Bingo Activity

Human Bingo was a game I first did with the Museum Hack team at the Word Of Mouth Marketing Summit in 2015.

This is an activity that is absolutely a great way to mingle crowds. Email me for how to set it up for your conference and why it is awesome.

Printed Materials for Human Bingo

The BestSelf team did an excellent job of writing the Human Bingo questions and designing the card.

Here’s what it looked like. You can save or print this file for your own use, too.

Summary of Human Bingo: It’s a great activity to provide your attendees with an excuse to meet a lot of people at the start of the day. Email me if you want help setting it up at your next event.

Lightning Talks Activity

For the last activity that I helped with, we asked people to make a short 1-minute speech based on the prompt of, “What’s one thing you discovered about yourself that you didn’t appreciate before?”

Event organizers: Try this activity! It requires a solid facilitator, but has the potential for a big pay-off.

This is an idea I’ve been experimenting with – Lightning Talks – at my cocktail parties. The BestSelf founders adapted the prompt to better fit their audience. Then I introduced the concept, helped model the format, then coached and supported attendees for rehearsals before their speeches. For some, it was their first chance to do public speaking in front of such a large audience.

Lightning Talks were a big success because they created a bond with attendees, raised the energy level after lunch, and allowed some attendees to have a breakthrough or highlight moment. The total time for this activity was about 10 minutes. Special thank you to Dax, Kyle, Martin, Stephanie, Eathan, Cherryl, and Ian who volunteered and delivered awesome lightning talks.

Conclusion

My activities and hosting helped this already-awesome event be EVEN MORE AWESOME.

Special THANK YOU to Cathryn of BestSelf for inviting me to participate.

BestSelf Unlocked Event Graphics

BestSelf Unlocked 2018 Speakers

The founders Cathryn and Allen spoke, as well as Rob Scott, Matt Walker, and myself. We also had a guided meditation from an instructor at MNDFL.

More Information

• BestSelf Unlocked Event Home Page
• BestSelf Home Page
• Hire Nick Gray As Your Keynote Speaker!
• My Recent Keynote Speaking Stuff

Comments

• Kaye Fedilo: 
  Fact: Self-confidence is CRUCIAL for any kind of successThe problem? Most of the systems out there have it all wrongMost focus on what’s OUTSIDE or on your external circumstancesNo wonder most people FAIL to be great salespeople or confident lovers…How can they succeed when they depend on things and circumstances THEY CANNOT CONTROLForget what you’ve heard or watched on Youtube

  Real UNBEATABLE self-confidence doesn’t work from the OUTSIDE in

  Nope, there’s no such thing as a ‘perfect time’

  The ‘right situation’ rarely, if ever, comes along

  YOU have to make the move – even if you don’t feel like it or even if it is ‘not the right time’

  I know this first hand, I’ve tried all sorts of self-help packages and programs

  Nothing worked since I’m always looking for things to HAPPEN TO ME so I can make a move

  When I read about the MENTAL POSITIVITY movement, my life began to change

  No joke – I got a better job. I am getting paid more. I am getting respected.

  I post this not to brag. Instead, I’m sharing my story with you because I know exactly how many people are going through

  They go from one self-help or self-improvement blog post or book or course after another… AND NOTHING SEEMS TO CHANGE!

  I was in the same boat until I discovered the MOVEMENT

  To get a basic intro on this, do a search for books in the early 20th century by Norman Vincent Peale and others

  If you want to read the same info but in modern, plain no nonsense English check out Lisa Marie Sanders Positive Mental Attitude

  Take control over the only ONE THING you CAN control

  MENTAL POSITIVITY MOVEMENT. It’s changed my life. I’m sure it will change yours as well.