23 Fun Virtual Team Meeting Ideas For Groups

You found our list of the best virtual team meeting ideas for groups.

Virtual team meeting ideas are online games, exercises, and challenges for remote workers via Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts. Examples of fun virtual team meeting ideas include dance parties, workouts, and scavenger hunts.

In a remote work setting, workers tend to experience a feeling of isolation due to the emotional distance from their colleagues. Virtual team meeting ideas bring remote teams together, help teams achieve a stronger bond, and create a collaborative work environment that mimics an in-office setting.

These suggestions are online versions of team meeting ideas and can include video call games and games for team meetings. You can use these activities for virtual team events like virtual morning meetings, all-hands calls, and remote retreats.

This article includes:

• virtual staff meeting ideas for team building
• Zoom meeting themes
• activities for online meetings
• virtual meeting breakout ideas
• virtual meeting celebration ideas
• virtual team huddle ideas

Here are the ideas.

Virtual team meeting ideas

From virtual coffee dates, online escape rooms, and the time zone game, here are activities for online meetings that will increase your team’s productivity and eliminate the isolation of remote working.

1. Highs and lows

The highs and lows game is one of the most fabulous virtual team huddle ideas. Every employee has energy and attitude highs and lows. To begin a virtual meeting on a good note, start with this activity.

For this exercise:

1. Every player can briefly share events from the past day or week. You can limit the points to work-related issues or let participants share events outside their work scope.
2. Ask each participant to share a challenge and a win. Challenges can include difficult clients to issues with refunds, for example. Wins can be successes in their work projects or new milestones with their children.
3. Lead the entire team in congratulating each teammate for the highs, even trivial ones, and encourage them for their lows.

For best results, limit sharing time. Two to three minutes is ideal for each turn.

2. Show and tell

You may have participated in show and tell activities in elementary school. You can borrow this idea from your school days for a fun virtual team meeting. This activity will brighten the Zoom room and pave the way for the workers to know each other better.

In this activity, employees will show or speak about an object or concept that interests them or has sentimental value.

Examples ideas:

• Pets
• Recent hobbies
• Desk setup– To make the exercise more interesting, do it unannounced. Some team members only have laptops and pens within reach, and it is hilarious to watch folks try to pass off pens as their favorite objects.

While the most common show and tell activity revolves around objects, focusing on non-objects is also an excellent way to learn more about other workers’ interests. For example, ask participants to name their favorite holiday destination and explain why they love the spot.

Check out more get to know you activities.

3. Personality tests

I have taken tons of personality assessments alone and with different teams. These evaluations  helped me know my teammates better. Workers have different personalities, and these characteristics can clash, especially in a multi-diverse workspace.

From the 16 personality tests, test color quizzes, emotional intelligence tests to character strengths survey, there is a test that suits every team. If you only have a few minutes to spare, then the compass point quiz is an excellent idea.

If you are looking for personality tests to undertake with your team, here is our detailed list of personality tests.

4. Virtual dance party

A short virtual dance party is a great way to boost endorphins. In one of my past jobs, we scheduled a virtual dance party every Friday afternoon or at the onset of a long holiday. The shy employees would always surprise us with their dancing prowess.

This activity requires little preparation. As a team leader, you can select an upbeat song. You can also let workers choose the song or dancing style for the next team member. Letting the employees dance to a random song makes for a hilarious idea.

Virtual dance parties are suitable during the afternoon slump when workers struggle to concentrate. This exercise is also one of the easiest virtual meeting celebration ideas. To make the activity more interesting, give extra points to team members if kids, roommates, spouses, and pets join the onscreen dance-off.

Here are other fun virtual team building activities.

5. The time zone game

This game is a fun idea for teams working in different time zones.

If you only have a few minutes to spare, then ask a team member the time in their time zone. Other participants should guess the city. Even if your team occupies the same region, you can have fun guessing time zones by naming random cities and asking players to type the current time in the chat within 15 seconds, without looking online or on a smartphone.

If you want to make the game more interesting, then ask the players to state fun facts about the city based on the time provided.

6. Photo sharing

The photo-sharing virtual team meeting idea is a fun and simple way to motivate the team. In this exercise, encourage every team member to share a picture that relates to the day’s theme.

For example, ask the team members to share a photo of themselves at prom, their pet, the last meal they ate, or the view outside their home office. To make the exercise more interactive, ask players to send in photos before the meeting, make a slideshow, share your screen, and ask participants to guess which teammate owns each photo.

For more image-related fun, check out this list of photo scavenger hunts.

7. Two truths one lie

If you have never played this game, then you are truly missing out! In this icebreaker, players share two truths and one lie. The team members will then guess which statements are true and which one is false.

If you want to move from the mundane two truth one lie game, then set a theme each time you play the game. For instance, if you are in the product marketing sector, then let the team state two truths and one lie about the products. Or, players can recall and make up facts about history.

Here are more question games to play with teams.

8. PowerPoint party

A PowerPoint party is a great way to get the workers engaged. In this game, all participants make a short PowerPoint presentation. You can cap the exercise to three to five minutes. If you want the team to prepare for the activity, then communicate the theme before the meeting.

I once hosted a PowerPoint party with a conspiracy theory theme. Some of the conspiracy theories presented were educational and funny at the same time. You can also center the party on different food, fashion, or conservation themes.

9. Virtual coffee date

Introducing new members to a team virtually can be hectic. When introductions are not done with care, new members may struggle to blend in with the team.

This activity entails setting a virtual coffee date where employees share a cup of coffee and a snack on a Zoom call. To maximize interactions, help participants have a coffee date with different coworkers each round. In addition, you can go the extra mile and purchase the coffee and pastry for the participating members as an incentive.

This activity is one of the best virtual meeting breakout ideas for morning meetings.

Check out this guide to remote coffee breaks.

10. Book club

If you want to cultivate a reading culture, then virtual book club virtual meetings are a good idea. If your team already loves reading, then enthusiasm will be high, and participation will come naturally.

For this activity, let the team vote for a monthly read. Then, at the end of the period, discuss the book via an online conferencing platform.

You can make the meeting more interesting by asking participants to share opinions and takeaways and can prepare discussion questions to keep the conversation flowing. You can even encourage healthy debate.

11. Virtual workout

Online workouts are one of my favorite virtual meeting breakout ideas! If your team is low-energy and unmotivated, then a virtual team workout is a great way to start the day. You do not have to engage in complicated workouts. Even simple stretches will get the endorphins flowing.

Depending on the workout types, let the team know whether to dress in athletic clothing or have equipment on hand. For instance, I typically tell my team to bring a yoga mat. You can make this activity interesting by giving team members turns leading the workouts. Guides should also explain the importance of the chosen exercise.

Planking is one of the simplest workouts to get started on a fun virtual meetup.

Here is a list of online team workout classes.

12. Team lunch

This team lunch virtual team meeting idea is the perfect way to share a meal with the entire team and catch up on the day’s activities.

For this activity, send participants credits to a food delivery service or offer to reimburse the cost of takeout. If your team is multi-diverse, then the meal choices may surprise you. This online gathering is another way to help the group learn more about members’ cultures, hometowns, and traditions.

While I enjoy the team lunch, I especially love a cooking night. We hosted this activity on a Friday evening where everyone cooked their meal of choice. The conversations and bonding from this activity made it among the top-list zoom meeting themes for the team members.

Check out this guide to doing remote team lunches, and here is a list of online group cooking classes.

13. Cocktail classes

In this exercise, team members learn to make cocktails. To prepare for this event, send every participant a cocktail-making kit, or send a shopping list of ingredients. You can have a professional mixologist come in to guide the team.

Participants who do not take alcoholic beverages can make a mocktail. You can encourage creativity in the cocktail presentation by having well-thought-out incentives for the most creative display.

Here are lists of virtual mixology classes and more virtual happy hour ideas.

14. Virtual scavenger hunt

Virtual scavenger hunts are fun and easy to organize. These games are a great way to get remote workers up and moving and can be an effective energizer activity during long online meetings.

For this activity, players collect items from around the house. The first person to return onscreen with the requested object wins the round.

Virtual scavenger ideas are limitless. For instance, you can ask the team to find items such as fresh fruits or a mug with funny or creative artwork. Players can also take pictures of items in their surroundings, such as a flying bird, find a hot object, or share a possession that brings joy.

Check out this virtual scavenger hunt guide.

15. Virtual gift exchange

Virtual gift exchanges are among my favorite virtual team meeting ideas. Offices often play this game around the holidays or to celebrate the company’s milestones.

In this activity, team members will gift each other presents. To prepare, pair the participants with gift mates. Participants can swap gifts in pairs, or you can mix the matchings. To keep the activity fair and less stressful, set a spending limit for gifts.

Then, schedule a date for the virtual meet-up and let the players exchange gifts.

Here is a guide to virtual secret Santa swaps and remote white elephant exchanges.

16. Talent shows

Most folks have a talent, and some special skills are hilarious. A virtual talent show is a fun way to showcase the team’s talent and learn about the participants’ capabilities. You can encourage your team to show off unconventional talents, for instance, juggling or singing in Pig Latin.

To hold an online talent show, do signups for slots, then spotlight each performer during their segment.

You can make this more interesting by having the players who have similar talents compete. For instance, if six people state that their talent is singing, then you can host a reality-show-style singing competition with judges and eliminations.

Here is a guide to doing online talent shows.

17. Ice breaker questions

Ice breaker questions remain one of the most classic virtual staff meeting ideas for team building.

Here are some starter questions:

• What animal are you most scared of, and why?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What is your favorite product in the company, and why?
• What is the last music you steamed?

Ice breaker questions are fun and pave the way for participants to learn about one another.

Here are other ice breaker questions that you can enjoy with your team.

18. Who said what

This quiz breaker is a virtual team meeting idea that helps teams engage and connect in a fun way. To prepare for the who said what game, list a few questions and ask a few participants to respond. Once the game starts, read out the question and the answer. The participants should then name the person who answered the question.

For example: Ask Joan whether she prefers waffles or pancakes. Let’s assume she prefers waffles. In the conference call, have a waffle vs. pancake quiz followed by the answer. The team should name the person who answered the question- in this case, it is Joan.

19. Virtual escape room

Virtual escape room games require teams to go through a series of digital rooms, solve puzzles, and unravel mysterious events such as murders. The goal of the exercise is to complete the challenges and escape the room within a set time.

There are a variety of virtual online games that you can try.

You should pick out a virtual escape room game that is challenging, with a mix of fun and suspense. Be sure to match the game’s difficulty to your team’s skill level.

Check out virtual escape room ideas for work.

20. Online charades or catchphrase

If you are looking for fun virtual meeting breakout ideas, then online charades or catchphrase is a must-try! This light-hearted yet fun activity is a great way to push workers out of their comfort zone and foster team bonding.

To start the game, split the group in half, forming two separate teams. Then, you can choose a theme for the participants, such as films and animals. Once everyone joins the conference call, let players take turns acting out a specific scene, object, or movement while spotlighted.

The first person to guess the prompts earns their team a point.

Here is a Charades prompt generator.

21. Read my lips

Read my lips is one of the most fun virtual team meeting ideas. The game instills critical thinking skills while also relieving stress.

Here is how to play:

1. Choose one player to spotlight.
2. Instruct the chosen player to mute their microphone so that the other team members cannot hear them. However, the player’s faces should be visible, and they should hear the other participants. Also, participants will not communicate via phone until the exercise lapses.
3. Instruct player one to read a phrase or a short sentence. For example, a simple phrase is “I just had a croissant,” while a complex saying is “The Arnolfini Portrait.”
4. Every participant has one minute to guess what the player said.

After the one minute elapses, share all guesses before revealing the answer. These guesses are often hilarious.

22. Never have I ever

Never have I ever is a fun virtual team meeting game. To prepare for this game, list a few prompts.

For example, Never have I ever:

• Visited an animal orphanage
• Ridden a horse
• Owned a pet
• Danced in front of a large group of people
• Eaten an insect

Players who have done the deed will virtually raise a hand, lower one finger, or keep their camera on. Participants should keep score of how many named acts they have done. At the end of the game, the player who has done most or least of the listed behaviors gets a reward.

Here are work-friendly Never have I ever ideas.

23. Virtual masterclass

Virtual masterclasses allow workers to learn a new skill outside the classroom. First, instruct employees to pick an area that interests them and one they are passionate about. Then, assign participants a meeting to teach other team members the chosen subject. Your team will learn new skills such as beginner hiking, baking, gardening, and DIY projects.

Conclusion

Virtual team meeting ideas are some of the best ways that you can use to foster connection with remote workers. These games create the opportunity for improved communication, dialogue, and friendship in a fun way among adults. The result is remote workers who feel connected, cared for, and motivated.

Most of these activities for online meetings are flexible and only require a fraction of an hour. If you want to have motivated and happy employees, then having at least one virtual meeting activity weekly will do magic.

For more tips, check out this guide to online meeting etiquette and this list of ways to make Zoom meetings fun.