Time
10-15 minutes
Audience
Teens and adults
Description
This icebreaker can be a fun way to start group activities. It uses Taco Bell ® hot sauce packets, which have quirky quotes on each packet (supposedly things that the hot sauce might say if it could talk). Participants will take turns drawing out a packet and pretending that the quote is a pick-up line they would use when meeting someone of the opposite sex. (Word of caution: some of the packets can be a bit racy (unintentionally)….you might want to hand-pick the packets you want to use.)
Materials
- A handful of Taco Bell hot sauce packets for each small group (of about 4-8 people)
- Alternately, you could print out the photos of the packets that are available on the Lesson and Material Downloads page at www.teachingthem.com. The file name is “Taco Sauce Pickup Lines – Packet Photos (ICEBREAKER).”
- Bowls (optional)
Preparation
· Get the taco sauce packets or print the file, and cut out the different packets so that each one is on a separate slip of paper.
· Put the packets or the slips of paper into bowls (one per group).
Procedure
Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):
- “Does everyone here know what a pickup line is?” (If someone doesn’t, explain that pickup lines are things that a guy or a girl might say to someone of the opposite sex that they are interested in when they first meet them.)
- “Has anyone here ever heard a really bad pickup line?” (Let several people share their bad pickup lines with the rest of the group.)
- “Let’s do an icebreaker where we can practice some really bad pickup lines with each other.”
- “I’m going to divide you into small groups first.” (Divide participants into groups of 4-8 each, and give each group a bowl of sauce packets or paper slips. Try to get an even mix of guys and girls in each group.)
- “Okay, pick someone in your group to go first.” (Allow them to pick the person who goes first.)
- “That person should reach into the bowl and draw out a packet.”
- “Then, he or she has to turn to someone in the group of the opposite sex and pretend to meet them for the first time using the pickup line on the packet.”
- “Ham it up, and have fun with it!”
- “Then, the turn rotates clockwise to the next person.”
- “Keep going until you are out of packets.” (Let them begin. When they are done, you can ask them what their favorite pickup lines were from the icebreaker. If you would like to use this as a teachable moment, you can ask the following Debrief Questions.)
Debrief Questions
- How did you feel whenever you were given one of the pickup lines? …whenever you were the ones delivering them?
- Why don’t you think pickup lines usually work?
- What do you think is a better way to get to know someone new?
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