Quick Chats, free and nothing to download
Quick Chats is the simplest speed-networking activity for a group who don't know each other: people chat in pairs for a few minutes about a question and, when time's up, everyone rotates to talk with someone new. The game builds the pairs with a rotation system so nobody repeats a partner until they've talked with everyone, and with an odd number of people it makes one trio, so nobody is left out. On a single phone, the organizer shows the pairs, puts up the question and runs the timer, with a heads-up before the end and an alarm when time's up. Each on your own phone, with a room, every phone shows who you're talking with, the question and the time left, and anyone who arrives late joins in the next round. There are two kinds of questions: warm-up ones about hobbies, travel or food, and getting to know you ones about experiences, goals and small achievements, all fine for work or the classroom.
Tips and variations
- Three minutes per chat works well: enough time to go from the question to a real conversation without anyone running out of things to say.
- Start with the warm-up questions and move on to the getting to know you ones once the group has loosened up.
- On a video call, open one breakout room per group and come back to the main room when the alarm goes off.