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Icebreaker questions.

Icebreaker questions are short, easy questions that get a group talking at the start of a meeting, class or event. Here are 300 we wrote ourselves, sorted by where you’ll use them, plus a picker that gives you one at random.

Sample

Word cloudTop word cloud pick

Describe your week so far in one word.

Ask this live as a word cloud or poll – free for 100 people.

Icebreaker questions by topic

How to run an icebreaker that works

  1. Pick one question, not a game. A question everyone can answer in under a minute does more than a 20-minute activity nobody asked for.
  2. Make it easy to answer. The best icebreakers have no wrong answer and nothing private to reveal. Our work and student lists leave out health, money, religion, politics, appearance and family status.
  3. Go first. Answer the question yourself before you ask the room. It sets the tone and the length, and shows that a short answer is fine.
  4. Let quiet people answer without speaking. A live word cloud or poll lets everyone answer from a phone at the same time, so you hear from people who would never speak first. More on icebreakers for introverts.
  5. Keep it short and tie it to the meeting. Two or three minutes is enough. Then say one sentence that links the answers to why you are all there, and move on.

Icebreaker questions or an icebreaker quiz

The questions on these pages have no right answer: they get people talking. If you want questions with right answers and a leaderboard, try the icebreaker quiz for any event.

Ask it live

In RiLiFi you put a question on the big screen and people answer from their phones, with nothing to install. Short answers grow into a live word cloud. Questions with set answers become a live poll with a bar chart.

Every question here is tagged Word cloud, Poll or Talk it through, so you can see which ones run live. Talk it through questions are best answered out loud.

To set one up, follow how to open a session with a word cloud.

FAQ

Questions about icebreakers

What makes a good icebreaker question?
One that everyone can answer in under a minute, with no wrong answer and nothing private to share. “Describe your week so far in one word” works with almost any group. Easy either-or questions work well too.
How many icebreaker questions should I use?
One is usually enough for a meeting. For a workshop or a new team, use one at the start and one after the break. Keep each one to two or three minutes.
Are these questions safe for work?
Yes. The work and student lists leave out health, money, religion, politics, appearance and family status. A few questions on the fun and getting-to-know-you pages are more personal and carry a More personal tag. The picker’s Work-safe only switch hides them, and it is on by default.
How does the random icebreaker picker work?
Press Give me an icebreaker. The picker shuffles the questions with the cryptographic random source built into your browser and shows them one at a time, with no repeats until you have seen them all. Choose a topic, then press Full screen to show the question on a projector. It all runs in your browser.
Can I ask these questions live?
Yes. Questions tagged Word cloud or Poll run live in RiLiFi. People join from their phones, and the answers show on the big screen as they come in. The free plan covers 100 people per session.
Can I use these questions with students?
Yes, with students aged 13 and over. The student page is written for secondary school and university classes. RiLiFi is not meant for children under 13.