Ready to kick those boring Zoom meetings to the curb? I know I am! Did you know a whopping 69% of us are using Zoom for remote meetings nowadays? That’s a lot of awkward silence and multitasking behind screens.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! As the resident office fun-coordinator, I’ve got 10 fun ways to start a meeting on Zoom to start off on an energetic, engaging note. From quick icebreakers to team-building games, these opening acts are guaranteed to grab everyone’s attention and boost morale. Nobody’s zoning out on my watch!
So clear your calendar and get ready to be the Vanna White of virtual meetings. Let’s shake things up!
10 Fun Ways to Start a Meeting on Zoom
- Virtual Background Challenge
- Pet Introductions
- Virtual Coffee Break
- Mini Meditation Session
- Fancy Dress Code
- Show and Tell
- Quick Workout Challenge
- Trivia Quiz
- Pop Culture Polls
- Meme Sharing
Read More: 28 Creative Team Building Over Zoom Ideas
1. Virtual Background Challenge
Kicking off meetings can sometimes feel awkward – those first few minutes of silence as everyone files in virtually. But I’ve got the perfect icebreaker to liven things up right out of the gate: the Virtual Background Challenge!
Think back to the last Zoom call you were on. I bet at least a few people had some pretty snazzy virtual backgrounds going on, like tropical beaches, big city skylines, or even the mountains of Mars. Well, this time we’re going to turn that into an all-out spectacle!
A few days before the meeting, send out a cheeky little invitation challenging everyone to find the most outrageous, outlandish virtual backdrop they possibly can. Throw out a fun theme like “paradise destinations” or “sci-fi worlds” if you want to stir their creativity. The wackier, the better!
Then when meet-up time comes, have folks join the Zoom room a couple minutes early. As the ringleader, give them a warm welcome and any quick reminders on how to set up their bonkers new background. When everyone’s all squared away, it’s showtime baby!
Go around and have each hilarious background artist share their screen for a virtual catwalk. I’m talking dramatic pauses, cheesy modeling poses, the whole nine yards. You can even hold an audience vote to crown the most legendary background with a silly prize like bragging rights or a giftcard.
With an energizing kick-off like this, your team is gonna be revved up and ready to focus for the rest of the meeting.
2. Pet Introductions
Oh man, this next virtual team building activity is gonna be an absolute crowd-pleaser – Pet Introductions! It’s the perfect way to break the ice and inject some furry fun into your team meeting.
Here’s how it goes down: A few days out, you’ll want to give your virtual team members a heads up that they should have their beloved pets camera-ready for the upcoming call. Yup, we’re bringing the whole squad – dogs, cats, bunnies, lizards, you name it!
When it’s go time, have everybody join the Zoom room a couple minutes early per usual. As the ringleader, you’ll kick things off by introducing your own little critter and letting them get acquainted with the crew. Throw in some hilarious pet baby talk if you’re feeling zany!
Then it’s round-robin time – each team member can take their turn swapping to video, putting their fuzzy (or scaley) friend front-and-center, and giving them a proper introduction to the group. What’s their name? How old are they? What kind of quirky habits do they have? Let those pet parent personalities shine!
The real magic happens when the pets inevitably start showing off mid-introduction. Fido starts barking at the mailman, Whiskers is chasing that laser pointer dream, etc. Just roll with those hilarious interruptions and let the team feed off that giddiness!
Not only will Pet Introductions have your team bonding over their cute critter companions, but it’ll segue beautifully into bringing that same energetic, positive vibe to your actual team meeting agenda. Just don’t be surprised if the pets upstage their humans by meeting’s end!
So wrangle up those furry coworkers and get ready for the ultimate virtual team building experience. With Pet Introductions, putting faces to names has never been this adorable.
Read More: 200 Icebreaker Questions for Team Meeting + How to Create Your Own
3. Virtual Coffee Break
Kicking off meetings can sometimes feel like a total snoozefest. But I’ve got the perfect way to wake everybody up and get those creative juices flowing – the Virtual Coffee Break!
A couple days before the big team meetup, shoot out a little reminder for everyone to have their most treasured mug or tumbler on stand-by. I’m talking about the totally unique cup they just can’t get enough of. Could be a souvenir from vacation, their kid’s arts and crafts project, or just a kooky novelty piece that always cracks them up. Whatever feels personalized and puts a smile on their face!
When it’s go time, have the whole crew hop on the Zoom call early, brews in hand, ready to digitally clink cups. Take a quick lap around and let each person show off their beloved vessel in all its glory. Maybe even encourage folks to spotlight their fun zoom backgrounds too for some extra pizazz!
But here’s where the real magic happens – as teammates start dishing out the wild origin stories behind their mugs or unboxing their crazy custom coffee orders. You might just learn that your coworker has been harboring a secret oat milk latte addiction this whole time!
With an icebreaker this delightfully frothy, your team is guaranteed to be vibing and bonding over their beloved cups by the time the actual meeting agenda kicks off. It might just become your crew’s new pre-Zoom ritual to look forward to every single time. Although Diana’s handcrafted ceramic tumbler from that fancy arts district studio is bound to spark some serious mug envy!
So preheat those mugs and get ready to kick things off with a Virtual Coffee Break that’s equal parts energizing and totally hilarious. Bottoms up!
4. Mini Meditation Session
Need to hit that reset button before diving into the day’s video calls? I’ve got one of the most chill fun ways to start a Zoom meeting that’ll have your whole team feeling rejuvenated – the Mini Meditation Session!
A couple days out, loop everyone in on the plan to kickstart your upcoming meetup with a few minutes of guided meditation and deep breathing. It’s the perfect palate cleanser to shake off any lingering stress or frazzled energy before the team really digs into the agenda.
When it’s almost go time, send out a friendly reminder for people to join the Zoom room a few minutes early. Have them settle into a quiet, distraction-free space where they can really be present. Maybe even suggest lighting a calming candle or putting on some ambient music to set the vibe.
As teammates start filtering in, YOU’LL lead everyone through a simple series of deep inhales and exhales to get centered. With relaxing vocal cues, guide them to focus just on their breathing while letting all other thoughts go. Take it up a notch with some gentle body scans or visualization exercises if you’re feeling extra zen.
Within a few short minutes, you’ll have succeeded in bringing the whole team’s energy to a calm, focused state that’s prime for productive meeting mode. Just don’t be surprised if you hear a few zone-out snores once you snap everyone out of that refreshing meditation!
The Mini Meditation Session works wonders for hitting the reset button, getting everyone focused, and transitioning into energizing team mode. Plus, it’s a low-lift way to promote overall well-being and work-life balance within your crew. Who knows, it could just become your team’s new pre-Zoom ritual!
So take a pause from the usual frantic morning hustle and treat your teammates to this ultra chill, fun way to start a Zoom meeting. You’ll be amazed at how recharged and ready to collaborate everyone will feel!
Read More: Top 5 Best Webcams for Zoom Meetings – From Budget-Friendly to High-Res Quality
5. Fancy Dress Code
Need a surefire way to punch up the energy for your next team meeting? Try instituting a Fancy Dress Code – it’s guaranteed to be one of the most hilarious fun ways to start a Zoom meeting!
A few days out, give your crew a lil’ heads up that they better start raiding their closets, because your upcoming video call is going full-on formal. We’re talking suits, ties, evening gowns, the whole nine yards! You can even pick a fun theme to really get those creative juices flowing – like “Black Tie Gala” or “Buckingham Palace Garden Party.”
When it’s time to assemble, you’ll start getting those first few Zoom arrivals decked out in their finest threads. As the cheerful host, greet each fancy teammate with a dramatic muah air kiss and ushering them to their virtual seat. Once everyone has made their grand entrance, do a runway-style name call and have people strike a pose for the group!
The true entertainment comes from watching typically-casual attendees try to uphold their prim and proper looks despite any hilarious disruptions. Doris the accountant’s cat starts batting at her pearls, Brett’s kids burst into the background in princess costumes – it’s a recipe for pure comedic genius that’ll have your team doubled over in laughter.
Once you’ve had your fill of fancy fun, seamlessly pivot into the serious business at hand, reenergized and bonded through the sheer power of team fashion. Who knows, the Fancy Dress Code could just become your crew’s new pre-Zoom ritual!
So send out that swanky dress code advisory, because you’re just days away from the most glamorously hilarious way to kick off a team meeting. Just be sure to have dental records on file in case anybody chokes on their monocle from laughing too hard!
6. Show and Tell
Ohh man, get ready for a hilarious blast from the past with this next Zoom meeting kick-off idea – Show and Tell! It’s perhaps the most nostalgic and purely entertaining fun way to start a video call.
A few days before your team meetup, shoot out an announcement that it’s time to break out their most prized possession, quirky novelty item, or treasured memento for a rousing round of Show and Tell. Maybe it’s that autographed baseball from the ’98 World Series, a goofy costume piece they can’t get enough of, or their great-grandma’s antique china collection. Whatever wacky item gives them all the warm fuzzies!
Once everybody’s dialed into the Zoom room, it’s showtime! Go around and have each brave soul share their screen and present their coveted show-and-tell item to the squad. They gotta give the full spirited rundown – what it is, how they acquired it, why they love it so dang much. Encourage embellished backstories and humorous tangents for maximum entertainment value.
You’re bound to learn some wild factoids about your teammates and their peculiar passions. Who knew Sharon was such an avid birdhouse collector? Or that Alex still has his first shoebox drum kit from childhood? The possibilities for hilarious insight are endless!
By the time everybody has had their moment in the show-and-tell spotlight, your team’s cheeks will be sore from smiling so hard. Not only will you have succeeded in fostering deeper bonding through exchanging treasured artifacts, but that giddy energy will seamlessly translate into a productive meeting mindset. Just expect one or two team members to be clamoring for an encore presentation by the end!
So dust off those prized possessions and get ready for the most delightfully nostalgic Show and Tell sesh this side of 3rd grade. You’ll chuckle, you’ll bond, you’ll literally maybe cry laughing at Grandpa Gordy’s bizarre denture collection. Now that’s how you kick off a lively team meeting!
7. Quick Workout Challenge
We’re about to take these Zoom calls from zero to 100 real quick! If you’re looking for an invigorating way to kick off your next video conferencing sesh, you gotta try out the Quick Workout Challenge. It’s the perfect pre-meeting ritual to get those endorphins pumping from your remote work setup!
Here’s how to get that heart rate climbing: A couple days before go-time, surprise your crew with an email blast announcing the upcoming sweat mission. Give them a lil’ heads up to dress for movement and have some space cleared – flexibility is definitely required for this invigorating warm-up!
When folks start filtering into the Zoom room, that’s your cue to immediately burst into an energizing sequence of bodyweight exercises. I’m talking jumping jacks, high knees, air squats – you name it! As the fearless fitness instructor, call out each dynamic move in your most hype-beast voice. The sillier you can be with your workout banter, the better.
The true entertainment will come from watching your typically buttoned-up coworkers get those faces flushed and endorphins surging. And you best believe once the whole team is loosened up and vibing, it’s time to start zapping folks at random for improvised fitness challenges. “Sarah, drop and give me 10 push-ups!” or “Marcus, hold that wall sit ’til the next move!” It’ll have the whole crew cracking up between reps.
Within just a few short minutes of this high-energy hijinks, you’ll have everybody feeling awakened, alert, and ready to focus. Just be ready for half the team to nominate you as the official company fitness guru once cooldown finally hits!
So don’t be afraid to coach your team through silly warm-up sets of nose-wiggles and windmills. Or maybe today’s Quick Workout Challenge is following along to that zany ’80s Jazzercise video you found. However you want to get those endorphins surging, this pre-Zoom ritual is guaranteed to be one of the most invigorating (and hilarious) ways to start your meeting!
8. Trivia Quiz
Feeling that ol’ Zoom fatigue start to set in lately? Well, I’ve got one of the most engaging fun Zoom meeting ideas that’ll snap you right outta that video conferencing slump – the Trivia Quiz challenge!
Here’s how to get your whole team fired up for your next virtual meeting: A few days out, shoot a lil’ tease about the upcoming battle of wits. Let folks know they better start cramming on totally random factoids, because a live trivia showdown is headed their way soon. You can even reveal a fun theme to help guide their study efforts – like pop culture, periodic table elements, you name it.
When it’s quiz time, have teammates join the Zoom room a couple minutes early to allow for playful trash-talking. As the quizmaster, you’ll lead everyone through three or four rounds of rapid-fire trivia questions pulled from your category of choice. Pair up colleagues into teams if you want to foster even more camaraderie and spirited competition.
Keep things zesty by encouraging team celebrations after correct answers – I’m talking fist pumps, victory laps around the living room, sparkly canned applause sound effects, the whole shebang. If a humdinger of a question totally stumps everyone, be ready to deliver outrageous false answers with a straight face before rectifying.
By the end of your trivia gauntlet, you’ll have your teammates energized, bonded through some healthy competition, and maybe even having learned a new fun fact or two! Just don’t be surprised if people demand a championship rematch as soon as the real meeting ends.
So freshen up on those mind-blowing Anthropoid Ape Stats and get ready to put your crew’s smarts to the test, because the Trivia Quiz is hands-down one of the most engaging fun Zoom meeting ideas to obliterate any lingering video call fatigue. Study up, show up, and may the smartest team triumph!
9. Pop Culture Polls
Ready for a wildly entertaining way to kick off your next virtual meeting? Because we’re about to get the whole squad buzzing with the Pop Culture Polls!
A couple days out, stir up some fun anticipation by teasing your crew about an upcoming live polling extravaganza. Give them a little hint that they better start bingeing on the latest TV shows, movies, music videos – anything coursing through the pop culture zeitgeist. Maybe even pick a specific arena to focus their research efforts, like reality dating shows or Marvel films.
Once it’s showtime, have teammates join the Zoom room with their remotes in hand and ready to furiously mash some buttons. As the illustrious host, you’ll parade through a rapid-fire series of pulse-on-pop-culture questions, using Zoom’s built-in polling feature to let everyone cast their votes in real time. Was it Colton or Nick who scored the final rose? What were the Infinity Stones again? This is the litmus test!
Be sure to keep that competitive spirit alive by cheerleading for people to defend their stances. If you start seeing the poll results radically split, put a couple vocal defenders on the spot to dig their heels in with justifications. It’ll have everyone cackling at the sheer absurdity of how intense the debates get.
By the time you’ve cycled through a handful of roll-call questions, your team will have gotten their raucous fix of friendly rivalry and maybe even learned a random factoid about modern entertainment they’ve been missing. Just don’t be surprised if people refuse to disperse until one final pop culture poll crowns an undisputed champ!
Whether you’re polling on #WhoBitBeyonce or determining the most controversial Curry order, these interactive Pop Culture Polls are a guaranteed way to electrify your crew and shake off any Zoom fatigue before the real meeting begins. Let the cult-classic quoting commence!
10. Meme Sharing
Get ready for some straight-up LOLs, because we’re about to kick off this Zoom meeting with a classic internet pastime – Meme Sharing!
A few days before your virtual team huddle, stir up the squad by announcing the upcoming meme-apalooza. Give everyone a little heads up to start scouring the web and hoarding the spiciest, most relatable memes they can find. They’re gonna need a true arsenal of eye-watering internet gold to come out on top.
When it’s go time, have folks trickle into the Zoom room and immediately start dropping their favorite memes in the group chat. As the meme-master of ceremonies, you’ll want to set the stage by sharing your screen and presenting each viral offering in dramatic fashion – bad photoshops, irreverent sayings, disturbingly accurate reaction pics, you name it.
The key is fostering an environment of no-holds-barred roast-age, where teammates can truly let their cynical senses of humor run wild. If Gary from accounting posts a cringey “How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?” meme, immediately give him the business. When Carol bravely shares her “Dank Memes for Lean Teens” Google search history, the whole squad better be in stitches.
But amidst the meme-related jeers and playful jabs, you’ll start to notice your team bonding over their equally warped senses of humor. Everybody will be giddy, loose, and ready to seamlessly transition into meeting mode with that same lively camaraderie.
Just be ready for at least one reluctant joker who “doesn’t get” the whole meme phenomenon. In which case, you have no choice but to ordain them with a humbling walk of internet shame, forcing them to slowly peruse the Meme History Museum until they wise up.
So start searching those dank depths of the internet, because you’re just days away from presiding over one of the most riotously funny virtual Meme Sharing sessions around. Who’s got the spiciest content worthy of going viral with the team?
Conclusion
Feeling that pre-meeting lull and Zoom fatigue start to set in? We’ve covered 10 ways on how to make Zoom meetings fun, guaranteed to snap your team out of that video conferencing slump and make Zoom meetings fun.
Whether you kick things off with some healthy competition through the Virtual Background Challenge or Trivia Quiz, channel those playful nostalgic vibes during Show and Tell, or get endorphins pumping with an invigorating Workout Challenge, there’s something for everyone.
Injecting that energetic burst through silly icebreakers like Pet Introductions, Virtual Coffee Breaks, and Meme Sharing allows your crew to loosen up, bond over their quirkiness, and tackle the actual meeting agenda with a refreshed, collaborative mindset.
And for when your team just needs to reset and recenter before diving in, activities like the Mini Meditation Session or Fancy Dress Code provide the perfect palate cleansers before getting down to business.
No matter which of the 10 fun ways to start a meeting on Zoom, you’re sure to obliterate any lingering video call fatigue and have everyone present, engaged, and vibing from start to finish. So preheat those silly ideas and get ready to put your unique stamp on one of these electrifying virtual meetup kickoffs!
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