Learning about new cultures with Slido

Photo by Ian Macharia

Virtual meetings on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet can be very intimidating, especially if you do not know the other participants well. Icebreakers are an ideal way of starting meetings, removing the awkward silence that usually dominates as participants settle in. These small interactive activities lighten the mood, drive the discussions, and energize the participants. Apps such as Slido exist for just this purpose.

Teams made up of culturally diverse individuals can reap more benefits by using some of the features of Slido to get to understand each other better. Some features, such as polls, word clouds, and quizzes, can be used by global teams to learn about each other’s cultures. Here are some ideas you can use in your next virtual meeting to become a more culturally-intelligent team.

Where are you joining from?

Photo by Juliana Kozoski

This is a simple and effective way of getting to know each other if your teammates are scattered around the world.

At the beginning of your conference call, run a word cloud with the question: “Where are you joining from?” You can also ask the team additional questions about the places they are in to make the call more insightful. Great examples of these questions are:

· What is the local currency there?

· What is the local/ national language spoken?

· What is the greatest tourist attraction there?

· What is your most memorable moment at that place?

· Which exported product brings in the most foreign exchange?

· What is the country famous for?

These are great ways for participants to learn a little about their places of origin.

Would you rather…?

This is a game whereby participants are asked questions that have two hypothetical answers to choose from. This is a guaranteed icebreaker that will spark a lively discussion at the start of your meeting.

Using Slido, create a poll with a question and provide two options for the participants to answer. For the added effect of cultural understanding, the questions should contain aspects of culture that will get the conversation going.

Here are some would-you-rather questions you could try:

Would you rather live in the Arctic or the Sahara Desert?

Would you rather wear a tuxedo or your national attire?

Would you rather attend the summer Olympics or the winter Olympics?

Would you rather watch a cricket game or a rugby game?

Would you rather lose your passport or smartphone?

Team trivia quiz

Photo by Sean Benesh

You can use virtual quizzes during meetings to better understand your colleagues’ cultures. Try a fun quiz with questions about your team. Collect fascinating facts about each team member’s culture, then let other colleagues guess away. For example, you can have a quiz about each other’s national holidays or religious festivities. Collect information about the dates these holidays are celebrated, what foods are eaten around that time, and how the festivities are observed. This will help all members of the team learn more about each other while having fun about it.

Struggle sharing

They say that a problem shared is a problem half solved. Team members can share the cultural challenges they face. For example, in some parts of the world, an intern is expected to be seen and not heard, while in other countries everyone is expected to contribute. These two cultures are more than likely to collide in a global environment.

When team members have a space and an opportunity to speak openly about the types of mindsets and backgrounds from which they come, understanding and acceptance will prevail. It makes for a great team bonding experience.

You can use an open text poll on Slido to encourage your team to share their struggles in Slido for this activity.

Conclusion

There are endless possibilities in the ways you can use Slido to make your online meetings more captivating as you learn more about your team. Feel free to explore the app for more ideas and be adventurous enough to try new things!