We know that having engaging conversations is one of the best ways to to get to know one another and build close, healthy relationships. But getting the chit-chat going with people that you haven’t met before or don’t know much about personally can feel a little… awkward, no matter how outgoing you are. Awkward moments are a part of life, but there is a solution to eliminating them from work-related socializing, and it’s simple – icebreakers.
Icebreakers are short questions used as prompts to get conversations going and help us get to know each other more closely. When used at the beginning of a meeting, they can loosen people up and get everyone comfortable speaking, before getting into the serious stuff. In the context of networking or team building, they really are the best way to get to know someone new or on a deeper level. Have you asked all of the people you work with what all of the places they have ever lived are? Do you know what their favorite comfort food is? In any case, icebreakers are fun and people generally enjoy them!
If you’re looking for an easy and effective way to connect people, hoping not to witness another awkward virtual meeting silence again, or are tired of coming up with creative questions all on your own, keep reading for a variety of fun icebreakers.
We created a list of more than 100 icebreakers and conversation starters to fit your every need or scenario. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are more thought-provoking than others, but each of them was written with the purpose of getting conversations going that will help people to get to know each other better.
100+ icebreaker questions to get you thinking and talking
1. Who was your favorite childhood teacher and why?
2. If you won the lottery, what would you do with it?
3. What is your favorite animal and why?
4. Do you have any skills for the zombie apocalypse?
5. Where’s the best vacation spot you’ve ever been to?
6. Describe yourself in 3 words or less.
7. What’s at the top of your bucket list?
8. If you could have dinner with 1 person, who would it be?
9. What’s your drink of choice?
10. The world would be a better place with more…..
11. What’s your spirit animal?
12. What’s your go-to karaoke song?
13. How do you blow off steam after a stressful situation?
14. If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
15. What is the best movie you watched recently?
16. What is the best book you have read recently?
17. What’s the theme song to your life?
18. Are you an early bird or a night owl?
19. What was the best Christmas present you ever received?
20. Any hidden talents?
21. What’s your love language?
22. Do you play any instruments?
23. What is something you learned about yourself in the past week/month/year?
24. Coffee or tea?
25. What’s one of your proudest moments?
26. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
27. When you die, what do you want to be remembered for?
28. What is your favorite item you’ve bought this year?
29. Name your last impulse purchase.
30. Are you reading anything interesting right now?
31. What’s the strangest thing in your refrigerator?
32. What’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had?
33. If you had a random day off alone, what would you do with it?
34. What is your absolute dream job?
35. What is the last thing you learned?
36. What’s one of your favorite childhood memories?
37. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
38. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
39. Tell us about your worst haircut ever.
40. What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?
41. What’s your favorite place on earth?
42. If you had to describe your current mood as a weather forecast, what would it be?
43. What’s your favorite cartoon?
44. What’s the last TV show you binge watched?
45. What’s the best joke you can tell?
46. If you could magically be fluent in a foreign language, which one would you choose?
47. If you could choose one mythical creature to be real, which one would it be?
48. What qualities do you value most in a team leader?
49. What is a weakness that you have had to overcome in your current role?
50. Any highlights from your last Spotify Wrapped?
51. What is one thing you want to do when you retire?
52. What is your favorite childhood camp memory?
53. What was your very first job? And what did you learn from it?
54. What Harry Potter house would you be sorted into?
55. Do you think there are more wheels or doors in the world?
56. What is the best concert you’ve ever seen?
57. How was your high school prom experience?
58. How important is it to you to find joy in the work you do?
59. What television show are you currently binging?
60. What is one notable characteristic or quirk that you inherited from a parent?
61. If you had to pick one season to last year round, which one would it be?
62. What is your favorite meal of the day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
63. Do you enjoy watching reality TV? Why or why not?
64. Would you rather have a personal robot or a magic carpet?
65. How many states have you been to?
66. How many places have you lived in?
67. What’s your favorite family tradition?
68. What’s a fact about you no one would guess?
69. What was the first/last concert you attended?
70. What’s your desert island book/album?
71. What law would you introduce as president?
72. Which year would you visit in a time machine?
73. What was the name of your first pet?
74. What is your favorite sport to watch? What is your favorite sport to play?
75. On your ideal vacation, are you on the beach, in the mountains, or in a city?
76. Do you have any tattoos? If so, any meanings you want to share?
77. What website or app doesn’t exist, but you really wish it did?
78. If you had to dye your hair, what color would you dye it?
79. What color is your aura?
80. What pets did you have growing up?
81. What are some of your guilty pleasures?
82. How would you describe your personal style?
83. What was your favorite class in school?
84. Who is your celebrity crush?
85. What’s your perfect three-course meal?
86. If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do?
87. What’s your favorite pizza topping?
88. If you could fly, where would you go?
89. What’s your favorite sound?
90. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
91. What are your current hobbies?
92. What’s your most treasured possession?
93. What makes you laugh the hardest?
94. What are you good at?
95. If you could live in a TV show, what would it be?
96. Do you believe in ghosts?
97. What’s your favorite comfort food?
98. Would you rather go to a house party or a bar?
99. What is one thing that annoys you the most?
100. Where would you go if you were invisible?
101. What’s your go-to Starbucks order?
102. What was the last thing you were really excited about?
103. What’s your best “my coworkers are crazy” story?
104. What is your favorite emoji?
75 Virtual Team Building Activities
Looking for more inspiration to help your remote team grow closer? We’ve compiled 75 of the top virtual team building activities for you to try. Some are short and sweet, like the icebreakers listed above. Others require a budget and some extra planning. But they are all designed to help your team get to know each other better, so you can build stronger relationships.
How to Implement Icebreakers
Before choosing the icebreaker questions you are going to use to kickoff your meeting, networking event, or social, think about your goals for implementing them. What do you hope to accomplish by facilitating these conversations?
You’ll want to choose the best icebreakers for your specific group and with your specific goals in mind. Consider the dynamics of your audience – how well people know each other, how comfortable people are, and of course, how much time you have.
Once you have your goals determined and have identified the dynamic of your group, you can have some fun choosing your icebreaker questions. Start off with an interesting one to get people excited to start sharing and listening. Be sure to have a few extra icebreaker questions ready to go, even if you don’t plan on using them. Your group may get through answering questions more quickly than you anticipated, or you may end up wanting to include one at the closing of your event.
Scoot: Realistic Networking, Virtually
If you’re looking to foster stronger relationships in your virtual meetings and events, it is helpful to use a platform that was designed for this, like the Scoot platform. Our platform is optimized for engaging virtual meetings that encourage participation and connection between attendees.
Get to know people by freely moving around a virtual space and striking up spontaneous conversations, just like you would in real life. You can even customize your room with any background theme you want, and one of our 20 music playlists to set the tone for your event.
One of the best parts about using Scoot for getting-to-know-you activities, is that it has a built-in ‘Start an Icebreaker’ tool. The host can simply click a button and pick an icebreaker topic they like, or type in their own. The host will then have an opportunity to introduce the icebreaker question in a Toast and display it to the entire room to get everyone conversing.
Try using Scoot for your next virtual meeting or event where you want to facilitate connection and increase engagement. To learn more, request a demo or contact our team.
