Breaking through Icebreakers

As facilitators we have many tips and tricks in our toolkit. But of them all, “icebreakers” tend to get the most apprehensive reaction (myself included). Typical perceptions of icebreakers may be that they are a waste of time, too abstract, too fluffy. Also, given the creative nature of icebreakers, people can feel uncomfortable in putting themselves out there through whatever the chosen activity is.