Looking for a decent ice breaker for a large 12-16 person working group?

Hey. :)

Craft a joke that's relevant to the situation. Touch on the core essence of why everyone is attending, or make light of something that's happening in current news, preferably in a context that relates to your subject matter.

As a backup you can alway open with asking people why they're attending and what they're hoping to get out of the workshop.

Hope that was helpful.

The first question I would ask is what is the purpose of the meeting? The first level result of the ice breaker is to of course support people to relax, become present and connect to each other in a new way. So the first response you got is a fine way to do this.

Another fun one that goes over well is two truths and a lie. Everyone thinks of two things they have done that no one knows about that ACTUALLY happened. The third can be a lie that match the two truths. The goal is to have everyone go around and tell their three things and others have to guess what is the lie. For each round (if you have 12 people there would be six rounds). Both parties in the pair tell their three things. If you guess the lie you get a point, if you baffle someone (they don't guess your lie) you get a point. You keep score and the person who has the most points wins a small prize. Its a lot of fun and gets lots of laughs.

Also, if you list the purpose of the meeting, I might have other suggestions. I also like to build a ice breaker that gets to the first purpose but also relates to the topic of the meeting.

Lots of options. Depends on how personal you want to get (the more personal no matter what the situation, the better).

Opening sample questions:
-What was the best day of last week, and why?
-Describe your “average” day. What are your rituals/routines?
-Complete this statement: My favourite time of the day is...
-Complete this statement: "I lose track of time when..."
-If you had to move and could only take 3 things with you, what would they be?
-Describe the most unpleasant job you ever had to do
-What have you done in the past 3 months that makes you feel proud?
-What would you consider a defining moment in your life?
-etc...

or

-Top Business Achievement (brag)
-Top Personal Achievement (brag)

Also, you can ask "In regards to this meeting, what does success look like to you?". Once you have their desired outcomes out in the open, you can create a discussion and revisit them at the end of the meeting.

I would go to http://collaborationking.com/ and get the answer on that site, filled with icebreakers, games and ideas to make meetings deliver

Good Ice breakers that you can opt can be the likes of First/Worst Job, Salt and Pepper, Fun Questions and even Trading Cards can be a great help!
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath