Icebreaker acts for welcome parties that rapidly bring people closer: surefire, easy crowd-pleasers
Entertainment and performances are essential for welcome parties.
Sometimes the hosts perform, and sometimes the newcomers do—both patterns exist.
Either way, it’s nerve-wracking, and choosing what to do can be tough.
In this article, we’ll introduce performances recommended for people in any position.
We’ve picked a wide range: activities that help everyone open up, ideas that let others get to know you, and funny bits.
However, be sure to avoid acts that are too long and bore participants, or anything vulgar!
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Icebreakers for a welcome party that instantly bring people closer: surefire, easy crowd-pleasers (31–40)
Shiritori self-introduction
This is a self-introduction game that uses shiritori rules—perfect when there are many people meeting for the first time.
The example is a group dating scenario, but it would also liven up welcome parties at companies, classes, or club activities.
If you set the mood well, it will serve as an effective icebreaker.
The Perfect Match Game
This Perfect Match game is played by setting a number and taking turns asking questions where the answer is a number, aiming to hit that number exactly.
It’s a game that really requires communication, so at events like welcome parties where people are meeting for the first time, your conversational skills might be put to the test! Let’s nail the exact number and get the excitement going!
Press-conference-style welcome party entertainment
This is a completely new, original performance bit.
When it comes to entertainment for welcome parties or formal occasions, people tend to stick to well-known acts like impressions that everyone can easily understand.
But this one is simply a press-conference-style routine where you passionately talk about something trivial.
If you polish it and perform it seriously, it’s guaranteed to bring the house down! All you need are a suit and a microphone—plus some practice and courage!
tutting
Tutting, a dance done using only your hands, is easy to learn once you get the hang of it and is great for practicing not only solo but also in large groups.
Combine various moves and match them to music, and it looks really cool.
It’s a performance that’s sure to draw attention.
Hige Dance
It’s that “Hige Dance” that Ken Shimura and Cha Kato used to perform on TV.
Many younger people might not know it.
To the familiar music, they comically do things like speed-eating watermelon while dancing or throwing fruit and catching it on a sword, like a street performance.
Ice-breaker performances for welcome parties that bring everyone closer at once: 10 fail-safe crowd-pleasers (41–50)
Earphone Loud Telephone Game
The more people who join, the more exciting it gets—the ‘Blasting Earphones Telephone Game’ is perfect for a welcome party because it really heats things up! Participants put on earphones, blast music at high volume, and get ready.
The first person passes the prompt to the person next to them, and that person, relying on lip movements and gestures, interprets it and passes it on to the next person, and so on.
If the final person’s answer matches the original prompt, it’s a success.
Watching the prompt morph as it’s passed along is hilarious, and the whole venue will be filled with laughter.
Cheerleading
Have you heard of the “Cheerimans,” formed from Team B of Waseda University’s cheerleading squad? As the name suggests, it’s a team of suit-wearing salarymen performing cheer routines.
In fact, they’re so skilled they’ve even appeared on overseas audition shows.
How about practicing by imitating their performances and showcasing it at a welcome party? Even if big stunts are tough, sharp dance moves and synchronized routines can surprise and move the audience.
You might even inspire people to say, “I want to join next year’s welcome party too!”