How to use them
- One question, everyone at once. Ask it, then have everyone type an answer in the chat and press enter together. It is faster than going round, and quieter people get the same airtime.
- Two minutes, not twenty. An icebreaker opens a meeting; it is not the agenda.
- Let people pass. “Pass” is always a fine answer.
All 100 questions
Quick and light
One-word or one-line answers. Good for a big call or a Monday.
- What is one word for how your week is going?
- What was the last thing that made you laugh?
- Tea, coffee, or neither?
- What is your go-to snack while working?
- What is the best thing you have eaten this month?
- Sunrise or sunset?
- What app on your phone do you use most that is not for work?
- What is a small thing that made your week better?
- What song have you had stuck in your head lately?
- What is the most-used emoji on your keyboard?
- Early bird or night owl?
- What is the last thing you learned how to do?
- What is on your desk right now that probably should not be?
- What is your favourite season, and why?
- What is a film you could watch again and again?
- Mountains or beach?
- What is the last good book, podcast or show you finished?
- What would you order at a restaurant you have never been to?
- What is one thing you are looking forward to this week?
- If today had a theme song, what would it be?
Would you rather
Two options, no wrong answer, and the minority always wants to explain.
- Would you rather have a four-day week or finish at 3pm every day?
- Would you rather only be able to whisper or only be able to shout?
- Would you rather be able to speak every language or play every instrument?
- Would you rather explore space or the deep ocean?
- Would you rather have a rewind button or a pause button for your life?
- Would you rather give up music or films for a year?
- Would you rather always be ten minutes early or ten minutes late?
- Would you rather have every meeting be an email, or every email be a meeting?
- Would you rather work from a beach or a mountain cabin for a month?
- Would you rather be able to talk to animals or read any book in a minute?
- Would you rather live without your phone or without your laptop for a week?
- Would you rather have unlimited free travel or unlimited free food?
- Would you rather be the funniest person in the room or the smartest?
- Would you rather never wait in a queue again or never be stuck in traffic again?
- Would you rather know the plot of every film before you see it, or never be able to finish one?
- Would you rather have a personal chef or a personal driver?
- Would you rather be famous for something you invented or something you wrote?
- Would you rather only eat sweet food or only eat savoury food from now on?
- Would you rather live in a city or the countryside?
- Would you rather have a desk with a perfect view or the perfect chair?
Get to know you
A little more personal, still easy to answer in front of anyone.
- What is a hobby you would love to get into?
- What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
- What is a skill you have that would surprise people here?
- Where is somewhere you would love to visit, and why?
- What was your first job?
- What did you want to be when you were younger?
- What is something you are really good at that has nothing to do with work?
- What is the most interesting place you have lived or visited?
- What is a food you could eat every day?
- What is a food you used to dislike but now enjoy?
- What is a small tradition you enjoy?
- What is the best gift you have ever given someone?
- What is a book or film that changed how you see something?
- What is something you are proud of from the last year?
- Who is someone you admire, and why?
- What is your favourite way to spend a free afternoon?
- What is a place you always enjoy going back to?
- What is the most useful thing you own?
- What is something on your list to try this year?
- What would your perfect weekend look like?
Work and team
For retros, kick-offs and team days. About how people like to work.
- What is one thing that helps you do your best work?
- What is the best meeting you have ever been in, and what made it good?
- What is a tool or shortcut you could not work without?
- What is a small win from this week that nobody saw?
- What part of your job would surprise someone outside the team?
- If you could automate one task forever, what would it be?
- What is one thing you would like to learn from someone on this team?
- What does a good day at work look like for you?
- What is the best feedback you have ever received?
- Focus music, silence, or background noise?
- What is something this team does well that we should keep doing?
- What is one thing that would make our meetings better?
- What is the most useful thing you learned in your first month here?
- What is a project you have worked on that you are proud of?
- If our team had a mascot, what would it be?
- What is your best tip for staying focused?
- What is a work habit you have picked up from a colleague?
- What is a skill you would like to build in the next six months?
- What should every new starter here know on day one?
- What is the best thing about working remotely, or in the office?
Hypothetical
Imaginative questions for when there is time for a story.
- If you could have any superpower for one day, what would you do with it?
- If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?
- If you opened a shop, what would it sell?
- If you had to teach a class on anything, what would it be?
- If you could instantly master one skill, what would you choose?
- If you could live in any period of history for a week, when would it be?
- If you were a kitchen utensil, which one would you be?
- If you could add one public holiday, what would it celebrate?
- If you could swap jobs with anyone for a day, who would it be?
- If your life had a title like a film, what would it be called?
- If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be?
- If you could be really good at one sport overnight, which one?
- If you were stranded on an island, which three things would you bring?
- If you could visit any fictional world, where would you go?
- If you could invent a new flavour of crisps, what would it be?
- If you could press a button to learn any language, which one would you choose?
- If you could design your ideal office, what is the one thing it would have?
- If animals could talk, which would be the most annoying?
- If you could relive one day just for fun, which would it be?
- If you had a robot assistant for a week, what would you have it do first?
Want a game instead of a question?
The same idea works as a five-minute game where everyone answers on their own phone and the results reveal together: Hot Takes for opinion splits, Two Truths & a Lie for getting to know a team, or Majority Rules for larger groups. There are more ideas in icebreaker games for work meetings.
Frequently asked questions
- What makes a good icebreaker question for work?
- One that anyone can answer in a sentence, in front of anyone, without having to share something private. Favourite foods, small wins and would-you-rather questions work; questions about family, money, health or beliefs do not.
- How do I use icebreaker questions in a virtual meeting?
- Ask one question at the start, give everyone thirty seconds, and have people type answers in the chat at the same time rather than going round one by one. With a large group, a single question with simultaneous answers takes two minutes; a go-round takes twenty.
- Are these questions free to use?
- Yes. Use them in meetings, workshops, onboarding or team days. No account or sign-up is needed.