Breaking the ice is an expression used to make two people who are quiet or shy break the silence and start a conversation about any topic.
The expression “breaking the ice” can be used for both business relationships, relationships, job interviews and so on.
Breaking the ice has the objective of making a conversation start between two or more people, creating empathy and starting a dialogue.
In a business relationship, such as in a meeting, for example, breaking the ice is when one of the parties starts a conversation on any topic, so that after there is already a certain atmosphere of intimacy, you can start the subjects professionals.
At times, a date can be very tedious, especially when it's a couple's date in potential, and generally, there's a climate where both are shy and don't know how to get started know.
At that point, one of the parties starts a subject on a general theme, and that's when the “icebreaker” has just taken place.
In English, “break the ice” translates to break the ice.
Origin of the expression "break the ice"
Some people believe that the origin of this expression is related to the artifact that navigators used on the tip of ships to break giant blocks of ice (icebergs), during travel.
Therefore, the expression “break the ice” is used when making an analogy of icebergs (solid and cold) with moments of silence (embarrassing and tense).