Make your sandwich is an icebreaker/ideation exercise that fires up the creative thinking. It is fun and personal as you get to present yourself in a unique way. Make your sandwich is quite literally about building up a visual sandwich of your personality, where you can outline the characteristics, things you like or dislike about yourself. The power is in your hands and only you get to choose ingredients. The purpose of this exercise, introduced by Jon Steinback, is to practise the divergent thinking, get to know each other and have fun!
Tools: Paper and pens
Participants: Solo or groups of any size
Time: 5 minutes + extra for presenting
How to:
Take a pen and a piece of paper. This exercise is about personal traits, so no need to team up.
Spend 5 minutes building up your sandwich. It can contain anything you like – from real food to house objects – anything that describes your personality. The sandwich should be visual, therefore you will need to draw, but you can add words on a side or make a scheme as well.
Finally, give a name to your sandwich.
After 5 minutes, present the outcome to your neighbor explaining what ingredients and why did you choose.
Tips and tricks:
Let your mind free and make the wildest sandwich ever – there should be no limits or judgement in this exercise! Stick to the time limit and prioritise the ingredients – choose personal traits that describes your personality the most.
These are the exercises we tested and loved the most. Each of them has a specific purpose, whether it is for getting to know each other, to do an icebreaker, to kickstart the ideation process or simply to warm up. Trying them might not bring the next business idea, but it will definitely strengthen your creativity and ideation skills, as well as put you and the participants in a more relaxed, playful mood. We encourage you to give them a try before the next ideation session, during the workshop or an event and see what effect they bring!