Icebreaker questions help people get to know each other.
This is our list of friendly questions, that can help people one on one, and in groups, and in work teams.
- Top 10 icebreaker questions
- Imagine you can …?
- What is your favorite …?
- Imagine you are a …?
- Skill icebreaker questions
- Topic icebreaker questions
- SMART icebreaker questions
- Deep dive work icebreaker questions
- Community icebreaker questions
- Interviewee icebreaker questions
- Community icebreaker questions
- Icebreaker prompts
- Insight icebreaker questions
- Share something
Who inspires you and why?
What energizes you and why?
What motivates you to improve?
What are you currently enjoying in your life?
What is a good piece of advice you've received and why?
What is something that you want to try and why?
What is one good thing about your week so far?
What is a way you like to do something nice for someone?
What’s something that you value and why?
What do you feel grateful for and why?
Imagine you can host a talk show. Who do you have as a guest?
Imagine you can create a new holiday. What will you create?
Imagine you can go on a free vacation. What would you like to do?
Imagine you can donate a lot of money to a cause. What will it be?
Imagine you can have one semi-super-power. What is it?
Imagine you can speak at a graduation. What do you emphasize?
Imagine you can teach a group of children. Which topic will you teach?
Imagine you can tell your younger self one thing. What will it be?
Imagine you can get everyone in the world to wear one outfit for one day. What outfit?
Imagine you can instantly learn one language. Which do you choose and why?
Imagine you can teleport anywhere. Where do you go first?
Imagine you can time travel. When is your next destination?
What is your favorite book genre?
What is your favorite music genre?
What is your favorite movie genre?
What is your favorite kind of food?
What is your favorite kind of drink?
What is your favorite animal?
What is your favorite instrument?
What is your favorite place?
What is your favorite flavor?
Imagine you are a book. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are a song. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are a movie. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are a food. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are a drink. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are an animal. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are an instrument. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are a place. Which would you be and why?
Imagine you are a flavor. Which would you be and why?
If you could pick up a certain skill instantly, what would it be?
What’s a skill you learned when you were young that you still use today?
What is something that's noteworthy for you when you're learning a new skill?
If you could choose one skill for schools to teach to kids, what would it be?
What skill would you like your friends or family or coworkers to know more about?
What's something surprising or unusual about a skill that you know?
What's one thing you tend to like about TOPIC?
What's one thing you tend to like less about TOPIC?
How could TOPIC be better? Brainstorm at least three ideas.
What could potentially help people understand TOPIC better?
What's something that might seem confusing about TOPIC?
What's the polar opposite of TOPIC?
What did people do before TOPIC?
SMART for us means Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, Timely. For more see smart-criteria
Specific: How could TOPIC change if it were narrower versus broader?
Measurable: How could TOPIC be more quantitative versus more qualitative?
Actionable: How could TOPIC increase actionabilty versus decreas actionability?
Relevant: Where is TOPIC more relevant versus less relevant?
Timely: When is TOPIC more timely versus less timely?
What talent or potential do you have that is not fully realized during your work?
What single activity, if you could do it every day, would most improve your work?
What’s something that you believed earlier in your career but now think about differently?
Who has inspired your work and how?
What’s one of your favorite work accomplishments?
What’s something that's confusing about your work?
What’s a valuable piece of career advice you’ve been given?
What do you think is something important for a workplace to have?
What's something you admire in work colleagues?
If you could open an office anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
What are you reading, or watching, or listening to, that's at least a bit about your work?
How do you like to work and why?
How do you like to start your days?
What is a good example of a community and why?
What is a good way to give back to a community?
Who is someone in your community that makes a difference?
What is an early memory of yours about a community?
What's something that you believe can improve a community?
What's something fun a community leader do to help its partipants?
What’s a highlight of your week so far?
What do you think your company needs?
What’s a question you would ask if you were me?
If you could do this interview as anyone else, who would it be and why?
What would the boss ask me if they were here right now?
What challenge have you been trying to solve lately?
Who’s someone you really admire at this company and why?
What can I do to impress you today?
What do you think of this community?
What do you want to know about this community?
What do you want this community to know about you?
What do you think of the other community?
What do you want to know about the other community?
What do you want the other community to know about you?
How can these communities interact with each other?
I could give a talk about …
I wish someone had told me …
Lately I've been getting better at …
If I could write a book, the title could be …
Something I recommend often is …
Something I feel is generous is …
Something I appreciate in others is …
A challenge I've overcome is …
A conversation that I would like to have is …
I admire people who …
If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would be …
I like to advocate for …
A time I changed my mind is …
I change my mind more easily when …
I hope to be remembered for …
I would like to change …
I recently thanked …
An experience that shaped who I am …
A person who inspires me is
A lesson I've learned is …
A kind thing someone has done for me is …
My conversational style is …
Someone who taught me a lot is …
I prefer to meet new people …
I would give everything I have to be able to …
A dream I have is …
The Balance Careers has these questions and more.
If you woke up tomorrow as an animal, what animal would you choose to be and why? Then discuss traits that different animals possess and the traits that different people possess.
If you could live anywhere on this planet and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose to live? Then discuss types of experiences people value.
What favorite color are you and how does being that color make you feel? Then discuss qualitative experience, such as how people may perceive qualities and emotions.
If you could choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why? Then discuss types of experiences that people can have at different ages and abilities, and how that can change over lifetimes.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want to have with you, and why? Then discuss the types of things that people value, and the different ways things can be valued.
What's your favorite item that you already have, and why? Then discuss different people having different preferences, and potentially also product design and personal recommendations.
What's an item that you don't have already, would you most like to obtain? Then discuss desire, optional substitutes, and potentially product development, product design, and product marketing.
If you were to create a slogan, what would the slogan be? Then discuss the thought processes that goes into this question because the processes are similar when developing other kinds of creative communications.
If you could choose one hobby that right now seems out of your reach, what hobby would you take up and why? Then discuss the types of things valued by people and potentially by different demographics.
Quickly think of one word that describes the topic at hand, and share the word with the group. Then discuss the ways people can categorize ideas, summarize them, and communicate them.
These icebreaker prompts are from "Where Should We Begin?" is a game of stories by Esther Perel.
Share something joyful.
Share something from your younger point of view.
Share something close to your heart.
Share something that gets you worked up.
Share something that's changed your worldview.
Share something out of character.
Share something provocative.
Share something life-changing.
Share something gutsy.
Share something funny.
