What makes a good icebreaker question?

One with a concrete answer that does not demand a performance. 'Tell us a fun fact about yourself' asks the least comfortable person in the room to be interesting on demand, which is why it always dies.

How many icebreaker questions should I use?

One for a small group, since everyone answering takes longer than you expect. For a larger meeting, one question answered by two or three people beats a round-robin that eats twenty minutes.

Are these suitable for a work meeting?

Yes. They avoid anything personal, political or intrusive, so nobody has to decide how much to disclose in front of colleagues.

Can I use them for a class or a party?

Yes — they work in any group where people do not know each other well. Sharing them in advance also helps, since some people answer much better with a minute to think.

Will I get the same question twice?

Not within a set. Each round is drawn without repeats, so a set of ten gives ten different questions.

Icebreaker Questions

Questions a real group will answer without wincing — for meetings, classes and parties.

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About the Icebreaker Questions

These are chosen to be answerable by someone who does not want to be there. The usual icebreakers fail because they demand a performance — 'tell us a fun fact about yourself' puts the burden of being interesting on the person least comfortable in the room.

A question with a concrete answer gets a real one. 'What is the best thing you have bought for under twenty pounds' is answerable by anyone in about four seconds, and the answers are genuinely interesting in a way that a rehearsed fun fact never is.

Each set is drawn without repeats, so a round never asks the same question twice. Copy the set into a meeting invite so people can think before they arrive.

How it works

Generate a set of questions.
Read them out, or copy them into the invite.
Regenerate for a different set.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a good icebreaker question?: One with a concrete answer that does not demand a performance. 'Tell us a fun fact about yourself' asks the least comfortable person in the room to be interesting on demand, which is why it always dies.
How many icebreaker questions should I use?: One for a small group, since everyone answering takes longer than you expect. For a larger meeting, one question answered by two or three people beats a round-robin that eats twenty minutes.
Are these suitable for a work meeting?: Yes. They avoid anything personal, political or intrusive, so nobody has to decide how much to disclose in front of colleagues.
Can I use them for a class or a party?: Yes — they work in any group where people do not know each other well. Sharing them in advance also helps, since some people answer much better with a minute to think.
Will I get the same question twice?: Not within a set. Each round is drawn without repeats, so a set of ten gives ten different questions.

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