Dear Vara,
Monotony in the beginning of a training session is a result of any or many of the following:
1. Unresponsive audience
2. Non-acquaintance with the audience
3. Lower conviction level on how the session is going to help the receivers (Will it really?)
4. Taking training sessions as a job (i.e., no personal thought process to it)
From my personal experience, the following could be useful:
1. Stop looking for any icebreakers specifically. Start enjoying the process as a whole.
2. At the start of the session, get introduced to all in a friendly yet professional manner (i.e., keep the differentiating thin line).
3. In case it's the continuity of the session, say from day 1 to day 2 or likewise, at the start, talk to all the individuals about their day. For example:
Trainer: "So Ramesh, did you have your breakfast?"
Ramesh: "Yes, Mr. X."
Trainer: "What did you have?"
Ramesh: "Aloo parathe and lassi."
Trainer: "Wow! I simply love lassi. (To everyone) You know when I was in Chandigarh, all my colleagues would go for a glass of lassi in the afternoons. Has anybody been to Chandigarh? (Wait for responses) There, you must have seen, lassi is like ice cream, and the locals drink four glasses or even more in one go. Okay, let's get back to the task. What did we do yesterday..."
4. Remember the basics of communication. Invite the audience to voice their opinions. Don't curtail the interaction to meet the target finishing deadline. You have to manage both.
5. Stop viewing it as a duty. Make it a part of your passion. Do not forget to provide your inputs to the content in the form of examples (if possible, interesting real-time ones) and wit.
6. Believe in what you are training people on. Before and after the sessions, take some time to put yourself in their shoes and figure out how XYZ will help. Keep your mind open to track sudden examples that life presents.
Remember, if you ignore them, life is something else, otherwise they are the biggest teachers.
Cheers and Regards,
Satyabrata Tripathy