An icebreaker question can be asked and used to lower social barriers, increase comfort levels, and promote social engagement. Fun Icebreaker questions, games, and activities are easy ways to get to know people, lighten the mood, and remove awkwardness. The most effective icebreakers have the capacity to forge closer connections, promote more fruitful brainstorming sessions, and foster an inclusive environment.
However, icebreakers shouldn’t last for too long, especially during meetings, as this will cut into the time allotted for the meeting itself. The average duration of icebreakers is 5 to 20 minutes. It should last long enough to give everyone time to unwind and feel at ease before moving on to more significant matters and discussions.
Below are a curated list of 60 Fun Icebreaker Questions that are sure to set the pace rolling for any event or situation.
Fun Icebreaker Questions
You can often find yourself in an awkward situation where a simple hello is not enough to cut through the veil of uncomfortable silence. Whether with your crush, friends, family, colleagues, or even your lover, there are times when only fun icebreaker questions can come to your rescue.
Below is a wholesome list of fun, interesting, and hilarious icebreaker questions that can get you through any kind of awkward silence and spark cool conversations.
1. What famous person are you usually mistaken for?
This icebreaker question is very sweet and is sure to set the ball rolling. Asking a person what famous person they are usually mistaken for will immensely boost their spirits and break the ice.
2. Would you rather be a predator or a prey?
This is an interesting would you rather icebreaker question that will give you an insight on the respondent’s personality.
3. If you could change three things about the world, what would they be?
This philosophical, fun icebreaker question is a good way to set the tone for an intelligent conversation.
4. What is the best advice you have ever given someone?
Most people get asked what advice they have ever gotten, it will be fun to ask them the best advice they have ever given to another person.
5. Name 4 expensive things you have bought this year?
This is a good one to try if you want to be a little nosy with an icebreaker question. Asking a person to name 4 expensive things they have bought is a fun way to figure out their financial habits.
6. Have you ever seen a ghost?
What better way to break the ice than a good ol’ creepy question? Asking a friend or family member if they have ever seen a ghost is one of the best fun icebreaker questions out there.
7. Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
This is one of the best fun icebreaker questions. Your respondent could get the answer right if they watch SpongeBob SquarePants, or curiosity is bound to get the best of them.
8. What planet do you wish you could travel to?
It is not unusual for people to want to live on another planet. Find out which of the other planets in our solar system your respondent would love to travel to.
9. Do You believe in a multiverse?
The concept of a multiverse has been made popular by comics, especially Marvel, and although it is fiction, there is a possibility that a multiverse exists? This is a very interesting icebreaker question.
10. What do you wish to be when you grow up?
This is a hilarious question. It is one of the best fun icebreaker questions out there because you are asking an adult what they want to be when they grow up.
11. How many grains of sand are there in the world?
There is no accurate answer to this question, but there is no harm in asking and breaking the ice of awkward silence.
12. What is the taste of water?
Water has no taste, but then again, there is a reason everyone can differentiate water from other drinks, even with a blindfold and just a drop on their tongue. Surely, water must have some sort of taste.
13. What did you want to be when you were 5?
Who remembers what they wanted to be when they were five years old? This is a fun icebreaker question that is sure to bring nostalgic feelings.
14. What is the strangest thing you have ever tasted?
A perfect Icebreaker question for a foodie. Find out the strangest thing your respondent has ever had to taste.
15. Broke but healthy or trillionaire and unhealthy?
Find out what is more important to them. A penniless life but in good health or an extremely wealthy life but in ill health.
Fun Icebreaker Games
What could be more interesting than icebreaker questions? Icebreaker games!
Take your icebreaking skills up a notch with the following fun icebreaker games that will set the grounds for interesting conversations and loads of fun. The following icebreaker games can be played by couples at after-parties, sleepovers, getaways, team bonding meetings, e.t.c
16. Truth or Dare
The game of truth or dare will never go out of style, and it can be played anywhere, even amongst co-workers. Truth or dare games are one of the best icebreaker games you can find because not only are they simple and easy to play, they are also very fun.
Set the rules of the game. Example: A player must choose a dare after they have chosen two truths or use a bottle to spin and choose a player when there are multiple players.
17. Two lies and a truth
Two lies and a truth is a great icebreaker game that can be played amongst friends, family, or even new acquaintances. To play this game, have everyone say three things about themselves, and only one of those things should be the truth, and then have the others guess which of the three things is the truth and which are lies.
18. Never have I ever
This game is usually a drinking game, but it can be a fine of a bit of money, a funny dance, or just simply rising hands. Once the game begins, everyone takes turns saying “never have I ever followed by an occurrence or an action” the people who have done the thing are to do a funny dance, raise their hands, drop a fine or sip from a drink.
This game, although a very good icebreaker, is a great way to learn about others.
19. The Hot Seat
This is pretty simple but can be an intense icebreaker game. If you are with friends or family and it seems boring, you can play the hot seat game to get things heated enough and melt the ice! The hot seat can also be played virtually and over text.
Pick one person at a time and have everyone else throw questions at them; they must answer the question. However, the questions should not be too personal except it is permissible.
20. Charades
The game of Charade is a very fun icebreaker that involves a lot of guessing and acting. Split the players into two teams and have someone from each team describe something just by acting out the thing while the rest of the players guess what is being described. The team with the most correct answers wins the game.
21. Three truths and a lie
This game is just like two lies and one truth, but this time, instead of saying three things and only one is the truth, players get to say four things, and only one of those things is a lie and see who guesses the lie correctly.
22. Riddle me…
Riddles are one of the oldest games and they come in handy as a fun icebreaker game anytime. Set a nice prize for whoever gets the most correct answers. Riddles are also great icebreaker questions for kids.
23. The alphabet game
This is one of the best icebreaker games you can play, and it is best played in a group. Gather everyone around in a circle, and there must be a game master. The game master starts by saying, for example: “Countries that start with letter B,” and every player must take turns in quickly responding and calling out the name of a country that starts with the letter B in a clockwise manner.
The player that fails to quickly call out an answer thrice when it gets to their turn is out of the game. This is done until the last person standing is declared the winner.
24. The Straight Face
This is a great icebreaker game for a group of friends or relatives. Pick one person to sit in front of the group and have every other person say very funny jokes while the person sitting in the front of the group keeps a straight face and tries not to laugh or even smile. The person who spends the most time maintaining a straight face wins.
25. Tongue twisters
Not only are tongue twisters great ways to master pronunciations, but they are also one of the most fun icebreaker games. Curate a list of very twisty tongue-twisting words and have each player say them many times and as fast as they can. The person with the best tongue-twisting skill wins.
Fun Icebreaker Questions For Work
Teamwork is crucial in modern organizational life, regardless of culture. An Employee Engagement Report from 2017 states that only 24% of employees experience a sense of community at their workplace. In other words, three out of every four workers at a typical company feel marginally alone.
Based on these statistics, it could be time for you to try out icebreaker games at work to improve teamwork. Here are some entertaining, team building, and thoughtful icebreaker questions to ask your co-workers or employees (especially new hires) for positive impact.
26. When do we get paid?
This is one of the cheesiest fun icebreaker questions for work. If you are a new hire and you are wondering how to start a conversation with your co-workers, you can simply ask one of them, “when do we get paid?”
27. How would you describe your job to a 4-year-old?
Find out how smart your co-worker is and how well they understand their job by asking them to describe what they do to a 4-year-old. This is one fun icebreaker question you should try asking your Colleagues at work.
28. How much was your first-ever paycheck?
Although this may seem a bit personal, and not many people will like to give up such information, it is a good icebreaker question to ask your colleagues.
29. What is your favorite time of the day?
Most people have a favorite time of the day. It could be closing hour or lunchtime or even at the start of work. Break the ice and ask your colleague your favorite time of the day.
30. How many work holidays should you observe in a year?
Except for workaholics, almost every worker enjoys work holidays. This icebreaker can also serve as a research question.
31. What is your favorite work holiday?
There are several work holidays. This icebreaker question will help you find out which work holidays your colleagues prefer the most.
32. What is the strangest job you have ever heard of?
There are so many strange jobs in the world that you do not know about. Find out how many strange jobs your colleagues have heard of.
33. Daily Free lunch or Salary raise?
If you work in the human resource department and want to know the preferences of members of your staff, this is one of the fun icebreaker questions you should ask.
34. Remote work or on-field work?
The Covid 19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown has promoted remote work and its possibilities. While some people now prefer to work remotely, others still prefer a conventional working style.
35. Arriving early at work or leaving late from work?
If you want to spark a debate, this is one of the fun icebreaker questions you can ask for work.
36. If your boss is to say yes to just one question, what will you ask?
This is a cheesy way to determine which requests your colleagues may have for their employer.
37. On a scale of 1-10, how satisfying is your job role?
This is also one of the fun icebreaker questions to ask if you work in the human resource department. Find out how your staff feels about their job roles and what can be done to improve their experience.
38. What is the craziest co-worker experience you have ever had?
Most people have encountered crazy co-workers. This is a fun icebreaker question that elicits laughter and interesting stories.
39. Do you get Sunday night anxiety?
Most regular 9-5 workers get anxious on Sunday nights due to work resumption on Monday morning. This is a great way to know how your colleagues mentally prepare themselves for the work week.
40. How long should an ideal paid leave be?
This icebreaker will have hilarious answers because everyone wants paid leaves to be as long as possible.
Fun Icebreakers For Meetings
The following are fun icebreakers you can use to get the most out of the meetings, whether they are virtual or in-person. If you are a team lead, a meeting planner, an event organizer or simply want to make your meetings a little better, the following questions, games, and activities are worthy examples of icebreakers you can utilize.
Icebreakers for meetings are typically utilized at the start of a team session or meeting and usually involve many people. Sometimes, opening up meetings can be really awkward and that’s when these fun icebreakers for meetings can come to the rescue.
41. Trivia Questions
Numerous trivia games exist, and they are a simple approach to keep people focused, alert and cooperative just before the start of any meeting. To utilize trivia questions as an icebreaker for meetings, it’s important to put participants who haven’t before together, so they can get to know each other better.
Examples of good trivia questions are:
What country has the most number of pyramids?
Where is the world’s longest river located? E.t.c
42. Who was the first person you spoke to today?
This is an excellent icebreaker question. Since it’s a meeting, one of the ways to ease into the business of the day is have everyone say who they first spoke to.
43. The Game of Names
Use this icebreaker to help participants introduce themselves to one another at the beginning of a workshop or meeting. Make sure everyone can see the others by having the group sit in a circle. The first individual introduces themselves. After saying their own name, the subsequent speaker then repeats the first person’s name. Everybody keeps repeating one name at a time. At the very end, reassure everyone that becoming trapped is okay and exhort everyone to assist anyone who becomes lost.
44. Which is better…the end or the beginning of a thing?
This is an interesting question, especially as an icebreaker for a meeting. You can ask the respondents this question towards the end of the meeting just before closing.
45. Show and Tell a story
This icebreaker is perfect for virtual meetings. Ask your team members to collect something nearby (or even share a personal photo through group chat!) and share a story about the item or photo. The item they choose to share should be unique to them.
46. One-word Icebreaker
This is an interesting icebreaker to get everyone prepared for the meeting.
Make groups of four or five people out of the attendees and ask a simple question like, “What one word would you use to describe the culture of our company?” —and allow each group some minutes to come up with their one-word answer.
The groups will engage in extensive discussion before settling on their chosen one word, thus removing any awkward silence.
47. Once upon a time
This is a very creative and fun icebreaker for meetings. One person starts a brief story that begins, “Once upon a time.” The next person in line must continue the story when the group leader buzzes randomly to signal that time is over.
48. If you had to spend 100 million within a week, how would you spend it?
This is a good way to figure out the financial intelligence of your team members, especially before a meeting on pay raises.
49. Describe your morning routine
One of the best ways to set the ball rolling in any meeting is to ask the attendees to describe their morning routine.
50. Is your bucket list still full or empty?
Almost everyone has a bucket list. Find out if the attendees have done anything on their bucket list.
51. How long do you think this meeting should be?
This is a funny icebreaker question for a meeting. You can ask this question at the very beginning of the meeting.
52. Team Riddles
Asking attendees at a meeting to solve a riddle as a group will serve as an effective icebreaker during small group meetings. Working as a team to solve a riddle will encourage communication and urge team members to explore potential answers.
53. Share inspirational quotes
One way to create an atmosphere of positivity, especially during work meetings, is to have each attendee share at-least one inspirational quote.
54. Teen Achievements
Try a game of Achievements Under 18 if you are searching for a simple and cost-free approach to learning more about your team’s prior exploits. Ask everyone of your coworkers to name a feat they accomplished before turning 18, and this feat can be either academic or personal. This activity breaks up the monotony of a sluggish workday and is a pleasant way to get to know one another.
55. Hometown Icebreaker
Hometown is a simple-to-set-up icebreaker game for meetings. Start by pinning a sizable world map to a section of a blank wall. Next, set up a marker, some small Post-It notes, and a box of pushpins nearby. Then, instruct your team to mark people’s birthplaces or hometowns on the map over the following several days using pushpins and Post-It notes.
Hometown is a fantastic icebreaker because you will have a gorgeous new piece of wall decor that displays significant details of your coworker or employee pasts after everyone is finished. The pins on the map might inspire your coworkers to exchange stories about their upbringings in various locations as they pass by it.
Fun Icebreaker Activities
While icebreaker games are competitive and focused on having a winner at the end, icebreaker activities are for fun, with no need for a competition or having a winner emerge. And as such, if you or your group of friends or co-workers are only interested in having fun, getting to know one another, and having a good laugh and not a competition, the following icebreaker activities are sure to break the ice and bring some sunshine.
56. Would you rather Questions
Would you rather questions are some of the best icebreaker activities that can be utilized on various occasions to start up conversions. Here are some good examples of would-you-rather questions you can ask:
Would you rather be a ghost or an alien? Would you rather eat rotten meat or drink sewage water?
57. Candied Questions
Choose your favorite multicolored candy, such as M&Ms or Skittles, and put them in a bowl. Pass the bowl of candies around and ask everyone to take as many candies as they like but to not eat them. After everyone has picked some candies, have each person respond to a question for each color they take.
For example, ask all the participants who have red candies to say their favorite food.
58. Toilet Paper Suspense
One roll of toilet paper is required for this simple icebreaker activity, which can be quickly prepared in most live settings. Pass this around, and have each person take what they would typically use. This can cause the participants to be a little uncomfortable, as they struggle to understand the activity at first.
After everyone has torn out some toilet paper, they should count how many squares of toilet paper they have and share interesting facts about themselves based on the number of squares they have.
59. Paper Airplanes
For this icebreaker activity, give everyone a box of colorful paper. On the piece of paper, have each person write down interesting information about themselves before folding it into a paper airplane. Let everybody throw up their airplane at once, and then each person should randomly pick up another airplane. Next, the participants should guess whose interesting fact they are holding.
60. Speed Networking
Set a timer for two to three minutes to begin this fun icebreaker activity. Give everyone a conversation starter to respond to. Keep switching partners until the time is up. Ensure that everyone has met the other person. This icebreaker activity is good for student meetings, meet and greets, e.t.c
Example of conversation starters to use for this activity includes:
What fictional city in movies would you like to live in?
What’s your middle name?
Can you finish up a box of pizza in a single seating? E.t.c
In summation, icebreakers are a fun way to quickly get to know other people in a group. These questions, games, and activities listed above can take just a few minutes yet provide immense value in improving communication and engagement.
You can also start any occasion with any of the fun icebreaker questions on our list to bring your people together, build a community and create a positive and conducive environment for conversations.
