200 Best Icebreaker Questions For Work [2021 Update]

Icebreaker questions are a list of questions designed to familiarize group members and bond with one another. An icebreaker question can range across multiple topics such as work, personal life, hobbies, etc.

The power of asking the right icebreaker questions gets vastly underestimated. Monotonous meetings, disengaged employees, or just for a "pick-me-up" purpose; a well-executed ice breaker will help you foster genuine team bonding.

The term ice breaker denotes using a specific medium to "break the ice" of a person's outer surface and get to know his inner thoughts, ideas, and personality. We have found that ice breakers are the simplest way for a group of people to unite on common ground, especially when onboarding a new employee.

However, conducting an ice breaker session is more than asking a great question. According to Tim Hallett, before you break the ice, first identify what the ice represents.

• If you need to bring people together, the ice represents that they have never met before.
• For getting people of different backgrounds together, the ice represents different perceptions.
• If you bring together people at different levels of the organization, the ice represents the status differences.

Here is our extensive list of icebreaker questions that we manage to use in our organization frequently. Scroll down and find out if any of these team building questions resonate with you.

Icebreaker Questions For Work

1. Name one colleague who is the most likely to escape a deserted island alive?

2. If given the opportunity to be the boss for a day, which is the first thing you would do?

3. If you had to meet any historical figure and choose him as your teammate, who would it be?

4. What is the one thing that would actually help remote teams to function better?

5. Especially, which one of your colleagues should go on to open his/her own company?

6. What was your dream job when you were a kid?

7. What is the most memorable thing you bought with your first salary?

8. Altogether, what is your favorite thing about your team?

9. How do you feel about a four-day workweek where the total hours worked will be the same?

10. In particular, which team-building activity is your favorite?

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11. Which team members of your remote teams are the most likely to go wild without any kind of human interactions?

12. All in all, what is the worst job that you've ever heard of?

13. Altogether, what is the best advice you've received from anyone in this office?

14. According to you, who has the perfect personality of being a talk show host?

15. What is the best compliment that you've received from someone in the office?

16. All in all, what is your favorite food that everyone would most likely hate?

17. For the rest of your life, you could choose one team member to work with. Who would it be?

18. Particularly, what's the worst thing about working from home?

19. By and large, what's the best thing about working from home?

20. In a talk show, who among your team would get invited back multiple times?

Funny Icebreaker Questions

21. If trapped in a horror movie, who would be the first one to die from your team?

22. All in all, who is more likely to cry during an emotional moment?

23. If you had to talk like a cartoon character for the rest of your life, who would you choose?

24. If given the choice of being the best at your worst job or the worst at your dream job, which one would you pick?

25. Altogether, what is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?

26. All things considered, the worst advice you've followed and regretted?

27. If the title of your autobiography is the name of your favorite guilty pleasure, what would it be?

28. The worst advice you've given that others regretted?

29. Which is the lie that you've frequently gotten away with?

30. Aliens have landed on Earth and have claimed one of your team members as their spy. You're the least bit surprised. Who is it?

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31. If you had to break the ice during some awkward silences, which joke would you crack?

32. According to you, which reality TV show is the funniest?

33. Namely, a peculiar family tradition that you have?

34. In which sport would you compete (weird things are fine) that'll fetch you at least one award?

35. Which horrible fashion trend do you secretly like?

36. Particularly, name a team-building activity that you secretly hate?

37. The worst thing that you've ever eaten?

38. Name one thing that you've always imagined doing but never did?

39. Which is a word that you particularly can't stand the sound of?

40. Meanwhile, name the most adventurous dish that you've ever eaten?

Entertainment Related Icebreaker Questions

41. According to you, what is the most mind-numbingly dull movie ever made?

42. What is the most underrated song that everyone should listen to at least once in their life?

43. If given the choice of having a talk show host narrate your life, who would you choose?

44. Which reality TV show is your guilty pleasure?

45. All in all, the movie that had the most significant impact on your life and why?

46. If you could switch your life with any fictional character, who would it be?

47. Decidedly, you must choose a fictional world that'll become the new reality. Which one would you pick?

48. According to you, what is the most monotonous sport to watch?

49. Who would be the first celebrity guest in your very own talk show?

50. You now have the option of only viewing a particular celebrity's work for the rest of your life. Who do you choose?

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51. Without a doubt, who is the greatest actor that has ever graced the world?

52. If you had the chance to be in the Olympics, which sport would you compete in?

53. Generally, which reel life character are you most inspired by?

54. Which talk show host is your absolute favorite?

55. Given the chance to star in any movie, what will be the movie most likely be about?

56. Which song can cheer you up?

57. Namely, the most underrated celebrity that you know of?

58. Do you follow any family tradition that centers around movies, sports, or songs?

59. In this case, you have the chance to work with any celebrity that you want. Who would you choose?

60. What is the worst job ever done by a celebrity artist?

Icebreaker Questions Based On Daily Life

61. Which one book you've always wanted to read but didn't get around to it?

62. Any particular skill that you would recommend to everyone to learn?

63. What is the one thing you look forward to doing when you wake up in the morning?

64. Tell us the best piece of advice you've ever received in your life?

65. What would be the title of your autobiography?

66. What is your "I wish I had started doing this earlier in my life"?

67. At reaching which milestone would you consider yourself to be successful?

68. Which cartoon character do you find most relatable to now?

69. If given the option to time travel to your past and give yourself some advice, which age would you choose to go to?

70. The most terrible fashion trend that you followed religiously?

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71. If you had the chance to go back and start again, what age would you choose?

72. If you could meet any historical figure and ask them only one question, who would it be, and what would you ask?

73. When you die, what would you like to be remembered for?

74. What is the most fantastic thing that has ever happened to you?

75. The last mistake that you made is the title of your autobiography. What would it be?

76. If you had the chance to introduce a historical figure to meet any historical figure, who two people would you choose?

77. The one thing that you think everyone in this world should follow?

78. Given the chance to live the life of another person, who would you choose?

79. The kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

80. Who is the most inspirational person that you've ever met?

Miscellaneous Ice Breakers

81. What is the coolest website you've ever visited?

82. What is that one simple thing that everyone finds easy to do, but you struggle with it?

83. Which is your favorite hack of eating healthy foods?

84. If you were given the option to interact and meet any historical figure, who would you pick?

85. What is the one ice breaker question that should be made mandatory?

86. That one food you never understood why everyone liked?

87. Which is the weirdest food you've ever eaten?

88. What are the five things that are the most important to you except friends and family?

89. A book that you think will change lives?

90. What is that one thing that your younger self would have never imagined you doing now?

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91. If there were no limits, which place would you want to spend the rest of your life?

92. Are you a dog person or a cat person?

93. You have 5 minutes to hide a paperclip in your home. A detective is hired to find it. But if he fails, you'll get 10,000 dollars as a reward. Where would you hide the paperclip?

94. Namely, what is your favorite polite insult?

95. Your go-to icebreaker question during awkward silences?

96. You get to spend one year on a deserted island with any cartoon character. That cartoon character is your only chance at survival. However, after the year is over, that character would try to kill you. Which cartoon character would you choose?

97. Which everyday office task, if turned into an Olympics sport, would you fail in miserably?

98. Which favorite childhood food would you love to eat again but has been discontinued?

99. What is the worst gift you have ever received?

100. What song or music would make even the worst jobs bearable to do?

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101. Currently, is there any quote that inspires you?

102. What is the strangest thing that has happened to you?

103. Describe your ideal life.

104. You can not time travel, but your phone has the internet from 5 years in the future. What do you search for first?

105. If you could go back in time with the knowledge you currently have, what age would you choose, and why?

106. Considering there was a room filled with everything you've ever lost, what item would you be most excited to recover?

107. What's the first thing you'll do once the world is free of the pandemic?

108. Notably, what is your happiest memory to date?

109. In reality, which conspiracy theory do you believe entirely is true?

110. Significantly, what's the dumbest thing that you believed to be true?

111. What is the one piece of advice you've been given or would like to provide other remote workers to make their lives easier?

Simple Questions To Know Your Peers Better

112. What are your top five bucket-list items?

113. Can you tell us about the worst haircut you've ever had?

114. Tell us your favorite breakfast food?

115. What's on the top of your "anti-bucket list," i.e., things you'll never do again?

116. What was your fondest memory from high school?

117. What is the quirkiest thing about you?

118. Name one of your biggest pet peeves.

119. Tell us about someone you wish you hadn't met.

120. How would your best friend describe you?

121. How would your worst enemy describe you?

122. What is that one thing that always impresses you when meeting someone new?

123. What is your favorite genre of music?

124. Name the favorite trait, character, or feature about yourself.

125. Describe an encounter that made you question reality.

126. In case of an emergency, what are the 5 things that you would grab first?

127. What are you grateful for?

128. What piece of advice would you give to a younger you?

129. In high school, what was the stupidest thing you did?

130. If given the chance or time to meet your descendants, what piece of advice would you offer to them?

131. If given the chance or time to meet your ancestors, what would you ask them first?

Value-Based Icebreaker Questions

132. At what point in your life you realized that you grew up?

133. According to you, what says, "I'm a secretly wonderful person"?

134. What motivates you to get things done?

135. What never fails to make you feel emotional?

136. If you had all the time, money, and resources, would you still work?

137. What would you like to do when you retire?

138. You have 1 hour to live. What do you do in your final hour?

139. What are the lessons that you learned too late in life?

140. What is that one piece of advice that had changed your life?

141. How has your favorite high school teacher impacted your life?

142. What do you do when you notice someone is sad?

143. According to you, what should people stop feeling insecure about?

144. What does your perfect day look like?

145. When was the last time someone appreciated you or your work?

146. What is the kindest thing you've witnessed till now?

147. What type of person do you love working with the most?

148. What is the preferred way to break the ice with a new team member?

149. Tell us the most meaningful compliment you have ever received at work.

150. What is the one improvement that our company culture desperately needs?

151. Name the most challenging habit that you had to break.

"Would You Rather" Icebreaker Questions

152. Would you instead choose "wisdom" or "money"?

153. Would you instead never listen to old music again or never listen to new music again?

154. Would you instead earn 1 dollar for every step you take or 100$ every 2 hours?

155. Would you instead have the ability to freeze time for 30 seconds once every day or rewind time 30 seconds once every day?

156. Would you instead gain all knowledge from books by merely touching them or gain any physical skills simply by watching a video of them?

157. Would you rather be able to tell your past self one thing or ask your future self one question?

158. Would you rather happy moments become happier or sad moments become less sad?

159. Would you rather be able to see through material things (walls and doors) or figurative things (lies, promises)?

160. Which element would you rather be able to control?

161. Would you rather be able to talk to animals or speak every language?

162. Would you rather see the beginning of the universe or the end of the universe?

163. Would you instead be instantaneously ready for work in the morning or ready for bed at night?

164. Would you rather have flying or invisibility superpowers?

165. Would you instead settle all your disputes with a game of "paper, rock, scissors" or with a game of "hide-and-seek"?

166. Would you rather have which baked good: cookies or brownies?

167. Which weirdest food combination would you rather have- Cheetos and cream cheese or salt and chocolate milk?

168. Would you rather have a lengthy role in a bad movie or a short role in a good film?

169. Would you rather know everything about the ocean or space?

170. Would you rather be able to remember anything or be able to forget anything?

171. Would you rather never eat chocolate again or never eat bread again?

Virtual Icebreaker Questions

172. What has been your favorite thing to do while working from home?

173. What is the weirdest food you have tried during quarantine?

174. If you had to give your pre-pandemic self a piece of advice, what would it be?

175. Which skill have you learned during working from home?

176. What is the first thing you are going to do once the pandemic is over?

177. What item did you hoard when you heard that a lockdown will be happening?

178. When the pandemic gets over, which part of the work from home life will you miss the most?

179. If the pandemic gets over right this instant, who is the person you'd want to meet first?

180. What bad habits have you got to break once everyday life resumes?

181. While working from home, what is that one thing that gets you through a hard day?

182. What is your preferred way of breaking awkward silences over Zoom?

183. Name the song that was stuck in your head during quarantine.

184. Would you rather spend 1 year on a deserted island with everything you need or 1 year on home quarantine with a shortage of everything?

185. What is the best thing you've ever eaten during the pandemic?

186. If you could meet your descendants for 5 minutes, how would you describe the pandemic to them in 2 sentences or less?

187. What are the top 5 items in your post-pandemic bucket list?

188. What is that one quarantine incident that you'll remember for the rest of your life?

189. What is a podcast, TV show, or musical artist that got you through the pandemic?

190. Which pandemic trend was way overrated?

191. What is that one thing the pandemic has made you do that you thought you never will?

192. What are the best traits the pandemic bought out in you?

193. What's something you can't believe you used to do before the pandemic?

194. What is the first place you'll visit after this pandemic?

195. Which app have you started hating during the pandemic?

196. To future remote workers, what is one piece of advice you would give?

197. When it's your time to meet your coworkers after the pandemic, what is the first thing you'll do/say?

198. What new hobbies have you taken up while working from home?

199. What is the best thing a coworker has done or said to you during the pandemic?

200. What is your best or favorite work from the home tip?

Finally

Do you have any other icebreaker questions in mind? Do tell us in the comments below.

This article is written by Barasha Medhi who is a part of the marketing team at Vantage Circle. Barasha can be found either searching for interesting HR, company culture, and corporate buzzwords to write about or looking at pictures of cozy Bel Air mansions. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com.