Goal Setting Icebreakers for Teens

Setting goals for yourself, especially as a teenager, can be a challenging and intimidating task. Helping them to warm up to the idea by breaking the ice can help build confidence. Increased feelings of comfort and confidence can lead to a greater abundance of ideas. When a teenager feels comfortable in a situation they are more apt to speak up and offer ideas for personal goals.

Have all the teens pair up into groups of two. Give the pairs five minutes each to interview each other, so allot 10 minutes total for this part of the task. After the 10 minutes are over, have the teens each present what they found out about their partner to the group. Being able to share some facts about themselves to the group, and being able to do so through another person’s presentation, will help the teen feel more comfortable with the group as a whole. Now that the entire group knows a little about the teen and her life, she may feel more comfortable expressing her life goals.

Make a list of questions and attribute each question to a certain color. Make the questions goal-related, such as “What career do you want to have?” “What kind of family would you like to have?” or “Name one thing on your bucket list.” Do not reveal the questions to the group. Distribute a handful of jelly beans to each teenager and instruct them to eat all but one color. After everyone has eaten, go around the room and ask each teen to answer whatever question their remaining jelly beans relate to.

Have each teenager compose three goals on a slip of paper, one real and two fake. Each teenager will present their three goals to the group, after which the group will vote on which goal is the real one. This allows the teens the opportunity to present their goals in a fun and even comical manner. After the voting is complete, the teenager can present which goal was the real one and even elaborate on the goal if they desire.