Stand Up and Ask One Question: People Bingo as a Low-Tech Icebreaker for Large MBA Classes

Large MBA classes can make early peer interaction difficult: learners self-cluster, hesitate to approach unfamiliar classmates, and participation norms remain weak. This paper presents a low-tech People Bingo icebreaker for the first class meeting (no pre-class preparation; one-off) that builds social connectedness in 10–15 min. It uses three levers: a one-question rule that keeps exchanges brief, a gamified time limit (first to complete the grid), and an explicit movement cue (“You cannot do this from your seat—stand up; your time starts now”). An optional debrief can link the experience to participation norms for managerial communication. In two MBA classes at an Indian business school (combined attendance N = 129), paired anonymous pre/post-ratings ( n = 101) increased for willingness to initiate conversation, belonging, and psychological safety (1–5), with the largest shift in psychological safety. The article provides a facilitator script, debrief prompts, and adaptations, including an online breakout-room option.