Icebreakers and rapport-building activities for teens: Sometimes the best way to start talking is to start with something else.

Best for: Getting acquainted, learning preferences and keeping things light.

Start with a few quick choices:

• Would you rather be able to pause time or rewind it?
• Would you rather win a difficult game or absolutely dominate an easy one?
• Would you rather be the best player on an average team or an average player on the best team?
• Would you rather have your own theme song or your own laugh track?

Here’s the twist: after a few rounds, invite the teen to write one for you. You might learn how they think, what makes them laugh or what they find interesting.

You don’t have to analyze every answer. Sometimes you’re simply getting to know each other.

Best for: Teens who enjoy surprises, humor or a little unpredictability.

Gather a handful of questions ranging from silly to thoughtful. Let the teen pick a number, choose a card or draw one at random. Try prompts like:

• What’s something you’re weirdly good at?
• If your life had a loading screen, what tip would it show?
• What’s a completely unimportant opinion you’d defend forever?
• If a houseplant could give you life advice, what would it say?

Let them skip a question, swap one or challenge you to answer first. The unpredictability makes it feel less like an interview and more like a shared experience.

Best for: Teens who would rather do something than answer questions.

Try a quick memory game, matching challenge, word game or strategy game. You don’t need to make it about emotions, goals or personal growth. Just play.

“Okay, rematch, or are we calling that your official victory?”

Notice what happens naturally. Does the teen joke around? Get competitive? Explain a strategy? Ask for another round? Those moments can show you a side of their personality that direct questions rarely reach.

Best for: Teens who think with their hands, or anyone who’d rather build than talk.

Some of the best openers happen on the table, not the screen. Try:

• A stacking or balance game, like Jenga or Suspend
• The tallest tower you can build from paper cups or cards in two minutes
• A paper airplane distance challenge, then a redesign and a rematch
• A shared drawing where you take turns adding one line at a time

A wobble, a near miss or a do-over can tell you a lot about patience, pressure and how someone handles a setback, without a single question. Meeting online? Two Minute Doodle or a screen-shared drawing challenge works the same way.

Best for: Learning about interests, preferences and personality.

Give a category and ask for a top three:

• Three foods you’d happily eat every week
• Three things that make a boring day better
• Three apps you’d keep if you could only have three
• Your top three walk-out songs

For an extra twist, ask them to rank their picks, share yours when it fits, and let them disagree with you. Sometimes the best part is defending a completely ridiculous ranking.

Best for: Teens who need movement, momentum or a break from conversation.

Pick a short challenge to try together:

• Name as many animals as you can in 60 seconds
• Build the longest word chain you can
• Draw something using only five lines
• Name five things that fit a strange category, like “things that are sticky”

Keep it light and adjust to the client’s abilities and preferences. The goal is a shared experience, not a performance.