It is a great way to have presenters improvise and is a nice simple addition to add an extra layer to your event or meeting.

So we decided to spice our presentations up with a simple assignment: we would both have to work in the code word ‘ice cream’ in our slides without anyone in the audience noticing it (so it had to feel seemless). It was the start of the secret ice cream.

- The secret ice cream. Presenters / attendants have to work in a pre-agreed code word into their presentation in a limited amount of preparation time.
- Guess the secret ice cream. The audience knows presenters/attendants will be working in different secret words and have to guess the secret word(s).
- Secret ice cream roulette. The different participants will each write 3-5 secret words on a piece of paper and give it to another presenter.
In your invitation towards the presenters make sure to emphasize this is a creativity/improvisation exercise that has to be taken seriously.
- Brief the participants the night before the presentations (or the hour before if you really want to put the pressure on). Allow participants some time to work the secret words seamlessly into their presentations.
- After the presentations, either award the person who worked in the word the best or have the audience decide on the best performer or have the audience guess the secret words (depending on the secret ice cream variation you used).
- Although A4 sizes slides might work in small groups, A3 (or bigger) truly make a difference and are way easier to read.
- Best to hang the slides on the wall before the meeting to avoid wasting time hanging slides in the meeting.
