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170 Icebreaker Questions To Get People Talking

170 Icebreaker Questions To Get People Talking

Has your mind ever gone blank when talking to someone new? You either ask something boring or say nothing at all. Or maybe you’ve talked about the weather and made small talk and now you’re drawing a blank on what to say next. If this sounds like you, don’t panic! We are here for you with a list of great icebreaker questions!

Asking questions is a great way to get people talking. A few good ice breaker questions can even help ease social anxiety or nervousness when meeting new people in both big and small groups. We’ve got 170 ice breaker questions you can use to kick-start a conversation.

Different social settings require different types of ice breaker questions. We’ve got questions ranging from goofy and lighthearted to serious and deep. Never run out of things to talk about with these questions! Choose a question that fits the mood and let the conversation flow from there.

man with glasses looking puzzled

Icebreaker Questions – General About You

Here are some general icebreaker questions that are great for when getting to know someone new or starting up a conversation with an acquaintance. These “get-to-know-you” questions are perfect for initial conversations that are not too in-depth but are way more interesting and long-lasting than asking about the weather! Many of these will work as icebreaker questions for kids too! If you’re struggling to think of what to say, try asking about their day followed by one of these questions to get the conversation flowing!

Icebreaker Questions – General Conversation Starters

  1. What do you do for fun?
  2. What is one thing that can instantly put a smile on your face?
  3. What helps you relieve stress?
  4. What is your go-to guilty pleasure?
  5. Where were you born and where did you grow up?
  6. Would you consider yourself more of an introvert or an extrovert?
  7. Are you more productive at night or in the morning?
  8. What topic could you give a 20-minute presentation on without any preparation?
  9. Do you remember your dreams?
  10. If you were given a day off tomorrow, what would you do?

Icebreaker Questions – Getting to Know Each Other

  1. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
  2. Think back to the worst job you’ve had. What about it made it the worst job for you?
  3. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
  4. If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?
  5. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
  6. Are you a morning person or a night person?
  7. What is your biggest pet peeve?
  8. If we were to walk into your dream house, what would it look like and where is your dream house located?
  9. Do you have any hidden talents?
  10. What is on your bucket list?
teen girl thinking

Icebreaker Questions – Favorites

  1. What is your favorite color?
  2. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
  3. What is your favorite holiday?
  4. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
  5. Where is your favorite place to nap in the house?
  6. What is your favorite way to spend time outdoors? 
  7. What is your favorite dish? 
  8. What is your favorite cuisine? 
  9. What is your favorite dessert? 
  10. What is your favorite fruit? 

Icebreaker Questions – Hobbies

  1. What are your favorite hobbies to do with friends?
  2. If you could learn any new hobby, what would it be?
  3. If you had unlimited money, what hobby would you splurge on?
  4. What are your hobbies and how did you get into them? 
  5. Do you collect anything and how did you get into it?
  6. Do you have a hobby that most people would be surprised to know about?  If so, what is it?
  7. Have you ever made anything and given it as a gift to someone?
  8. What is a hobby that you have always wanted to try but haven’t yet and why don’t you want to try it?
  9. Which hobbies do you enjoy doing alone?
  10. If you had unlimited time, what hobby would you pursue?

Icebreaker Questions – This or That

When early in conversations with new acquaintances, deep questions can be intimidating. Simple questions are the best icebreaker questions to start with. Here are some fun icebreaker questions in a this or that format that are a great way to ease into a conversation. And who knows, once everyone’s comfortable, it may lead to deeper discussions.

woman with arms up looking unsure

Icebreaker Questions – Preferences

  1. Do you prefer Coke or Pepsi?
  2. Do you prefer wine or beer?
  3. Do you prefer sweet or savory?
  4. Do you prefer football or basketball?
  5. Do you prefer hard tacos or soft tacos?
  6. Do you prefer the mountains or the ocean?
  7. Do you prefer cooking or baking?
  8. Do you prefer doing the dishes or doing laundry?
  9. Do you prefer popcorn or nachos?
  10. Do you prefer cats or dogs?

Icebreaker Questions – Would You Rather Be

  1. Would you rather be healthy or wealthy?
  2. Would you rather be stuck in an elevator or on a broken ski lift?
  3. Would you rather be a professional actor or a professional singer?
  4. Would you rather be stuck on an island alone or with someone who talks non-stop?
  5. Would you rather be a kid your whole life or an adult your whole life?
  6. Would you rather be stuck in 2-hour traffic or pay a $50 toll?
  7. Would you rather be fluent in 5 languages or be great at playing 5 instruments?
  8. Would you rather be able to read minds or be able to see the future?
  9. Would you rather be able to control minds or fly?
  10. Would you rather be a master chef or a world-class photographer?
man with one arm crossed and the other on his face thinking

Icebreaker Questions – Would You Rather Have

  1. Would you rather have a smartphone or a car?
  2. Would you rather have perfect vision or perfect pitch?
  3. Would you rather have heat/air-conditioning or Internet access?
  4. Would you rather have an unlimited pass to any museum or unlimited pass to any amusement park?
  5. Would you rather have noisy neighbors or nosy neighbors?
  6. Would you rather have a self-driving car or a completely automated home?
  7. Would you rather have more time or more money in life?
  8. Would you rather have ten kids or no kids at all?
  9. Would you rather have a chef or a maid?
  10. Would you rather have a private boat or a private plane?

Icebreaker Questions – Food & Travel

Let’s get real, who doesn’t love food and travel? If you’re looking for some fun icebreaker questions related to food or where to travel next, these are good icebreaker questions to start a conversation with!

Icebreaker Questions – Food

several assorted, vibrant colored foods such as shrimp and salsas on a table
  1. What does your perfect breakfast look like? 
  2. What food do you love that a lot of people might find a little odd? 
  3. What would your perfect burger or sandwich have in it? 
  4. What is your go-to comfort food?
  5. What is the most bizarre food you have ever eaten? 
  6. What toppings are on your perfect pizza?
  7. What food as a child did you despise that you now love?
  8. What’s your favorite food?
  9. What is the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?
  10. If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Icebreaker Questions – Travel

woman with a red dress and white hat on holding a map in the street
  1. If you could instantly transport yourself to anywhere in the world, where would you go first?
  2. What type of souvenirs do you like to buy when traveling?
  3. What is your favorite vacation memory or trip?
  4. Would you rather spend a week at the beach or a week exploring a new city?
  5. If you could choose to live in any country, what country would you live in and why?
  6. If money was no object, where would your dream vacation take you?
  7. Which destination was the most overrated?
  8. What are the top 3 destinations on your bucket list?
  9. Do you prefer flying or driving when going on a vacation?
  10. When traveling, what is the one thing you absolutely have to do?

When striking up a conversation, it can be helpful to know what everyone is interested in so you have something to talk about. We’ve got questions for popular topics including music, movies, and sports!

Icebreaker Questions – Entertainment

man watching netflix
  1. What movie(s) can you watch over and over again?
  2. What TV show would you say is the most binge-worthy?
  3. If you could live in any movie, which would it be?
  4. What is your favorite movie and why?
  5. What is your favorite quote from a movie?
  6. What fictional character do you most wish was real and why?
  7. If you could spend the day with a famous person, who would that famous person be?
  8. Who is your favorite actor/actress and why?
  9. What types of movie(s) do you like watching?
  10. Which movie do you wish had a sequel?

Icebreaker Questions – Music

assorted musical instruments
  1. What’s the most embarrassing song on your playlist?
  2. What song would make you get on the dance floor?
  3. Who is your favorite artist and why?
  4. What type of music could you listen to all day? 
  5. What was the first CD/album you bought with your own money?
  6. What band do you wish was still together today?
  7. If you had to sing karaoke, what would your song be?
  8. What is your least favorite type of music?
  9. If a song played every time you entered the room, what would your entrance theme song be?
  10. Which song would you be happy to never hear again?

Icebreaker Questions – Sports

two football teams facing each other
  1. Do you have a lucky charm or superstition before watching a sports game?
  2. Which sports team fans annoy you the most?
  3. Have you ever wanted to be a professional athlete? If so, what sport?
  4. If you could build your perfect fantasy football team, who would you want on your team?
  5. What sports did you play when growing up?
  6. What is your favorite sport to watch?
  7. What is your favorite professional sports team?  
  8. What is your favorite sport to play? 
  9. What is your favorite Olympic sport to watch? 
  10. Which sport do you find the most boring to watch?

Icebreaker Questions – Animals

cute dog with blue collar
  1. Are you an animal person?
  2. Did you have a pet growing up?
  3. If money was no object, what type of pet would you own and why?
  4. What is the most unusual pet you have ever seen?
  5. Are you a dog person or a cat person?
  6. Which would you enjoy going to more: a zoo or an aquarium?
  7. If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why?
  8. If given an opportunity to see any animal in real life, which would you choose and why?
  9. What is your favorite animal and why?
  10. If you’ve been to the zoo, what is the coolest animal you saw?

Icebreaker Questions – Nature

  1. Are you an outdoor or indoor person?
  2. What is your favorite season and why?
  3. If you were given a week to spend in the wilderness, what would you do with your time?
  4. What is your favorite natural wonder in the world and why?
  5. Would you rather live somewhere with four seasons or mild weather all year round?
  6. Do you have a green thumb? 
  7. If you were a National Geographic photographer, which nature assignment would you choose?
  8. Do you prefer mountains, forests, or oceans?
  9. Do you have a favorite flower or type of tree?
  10. What is the most beautiful thing in nature that you have ever seen?

Icebreaker Questions – Stimulating Deeper Conversation

Now that you’re a little deeper in conversation and everyone is feeling more comfortable opening up, here are some questions that may help you learn more about each other. Choose from a variety of hypothetical questions for fictional scenarios as well as questions about each other’s childhood and past. Happy conversing!

Icebreaker Questions – What If’s

woman with hand on her chin thinking
  1. If you were given a million dollars, what would you buy first?
  2. If you were to write a book about yourself, what would the title be and why?
  3. If you had to give up one of the following three things, which would you give up? Wine, chocolate, or cheese.
  4. If your house was on fire and you could only take one thing, what would you take with you?  (Do not include a person, a pet, your phone and wallet.)
  5. If a genie gives you three wishes, what would you ask for?
  6. If you were given $1,000 to spend only on yourself, what would you spend it on? 
  7. If you had a million dollars to give to charity, what charity or type of charity would you give it to?
  8. If a genie could make you famous, would you want to be?
  9. If you could choose any age to be for the rest of your life, what age would you choose?
  10. If you were given a crystal ball, what event or time in the future would you like to see?

Icebreaker Questions – Hypotheticals

young boy with a cape and sunglasses with a fist in the air towards the sky
  1. If you could be any supernatural creature, what do you wish you could be?
  2. If you were in a zombie apocalypse, how would you survive?
  3. If you were stuck on a desert island, who would you want to have with you?
  4. If you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of advice, what would you tell yourself?
  5. If there was a magic genie, what would the genie say is the most popular wish?
  6. If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?
  7. If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?
  8. If it were possible to travel back in time and relive one day over again for the rest of your life, which day would you choose?
  9. If you landed on earth from a planet that didn’t have any knowledge of Earth, how would you convince people that your planet was real?
  10. If you could be a superhero, what would your superpower be?  

Icebreaker Questions – Childhood

three kids with arms around each other sitting
  1. Is there an item that you still have from your childhood?
  2. What fashion trend was popular when you were younger that you wish was still popular?
  3. What are some of your favorite holiday traditions that you did growing up?
  4. What was your favorite TV show when you were growing up?
  5. Was there anything your parents did that you said you wouldn’t do that you catch yourself doing?
  6. What is the worst haircut you had as a kid?
  7. What’s the most embarrassing thing your parents did?
  8. What is your most cherished childhood memory?
  9. What song did you listen to growing up that looking back, you realize wasn’t the best song to listen to at that age?
  10. Did you have an imaginary friend when you were younger? If so, what was your imaginary friend’s name?

Icebreaker – Team Building at Work

three coworkers sitting at a table together smiling

At work, icebreakers are a great team building activity that can help you get to know your coworkers better. They are also a great way to start a meeting and engage with one another prior to diving into a specific meeting topic.

If you’re hosting an icebreaker at work, or even a virtual team building meeting, list it on the agenda so everyone knows ahead of time. This will give them the chance to mentally prepare to engage in this way which will lead to a higher success rate and hopefully be more fun too!

When choosing icebreaker questions for work, be sure to select ones that are appropriate for the whole group. A great place to start would be list of icebreaker questions from the general about you section.

Icebreaker – Games

Whether it be at work or with friends and family, icebreaker questions don’t have to just be conversation starters. It can turn into a fun game that can last hours! Games allow the opportunity for everyone to join in on the fun and can really help break the ice with new friends, new coworkers, or even family members you’ve not spent time with recently! If you’re looking for an official game set to keep at the office, this funny icebreaker game set is another fun way to see where the conversation leads!

For additional games you can play to spice up your next virtual meeting or party, check out these ideas.

Final Thoughts

We hope these icebreaker questions will increase your comfort level when sparking up a new conversation. Whether it be with a new acquaintance, or maybe even your family and friends, there are endless possibilities of things to talk about. So next time someone asks how was your weekend, we guarantee there won’t be any awkward silence this time around! Looking for more fun? Check out these virtual party game ideas.

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