150 questions · any room, any depth

150 Questions to Ask People

Sorted by how well you know them — from first hellos to the questions you save for the right person.

Hit draw and pass the question around.

The right question for the right person

The same question that charms a stranger can bore an old friend, and the one that moves a close friend can spook someone you just met. That's why this bank is sorted by closeness, not by topic — pick the group that matches the person in front of you.

Every question here has one job: make the other person interesting to themselves for a minute. Ask, then listen well enough to ask the follow-up that isn't on any list.

The full bank · 150

People You Just Met

  • What brought you here tonight?Copied
  • How do you spend most of your time?Copied
  • What's the best thing that happened to you this week?Copied
  • Are you from around here originally?Copied
  • What's something you're looking forward to?Copied
  • What's the last show, book, or podcast you got into?Copied
  • What's your favorite way to spend a day off?Copied
  • Do you have any trips coming up?Copied
  • What's a place you'd recommend to anyone who asks?Copied
  • What's the story behind your name or nickname?Copied
  • What's something good in your life right now?Copied
  • What's the most interesting part of your work?Copied
  • What's a hobby you've picked up recently?Copied
  • What do you do when the weather's perfect?Copied
  • What's your unpopular food opinion?Copied
  • Have you been to anything interesting lately — events, shows, places?Copied
  • What's a small thing that made you smile today?Copied
  • What's something you're learning right now?Copied
  • If you had a free evening with zero obligations, what would you do?Copied
  • What's the best meal you've had recently?Copied
  • What's a fun plan you have coming up?Copied
  • What's your go-to coffee or drink order — and does it say something about you?Copied
  • What's something you changed your mind about recently?Copied
  • Who's the most interesting person you've talked to lately?Copied
  • What's a question you like asking new people?Copied

Their Life & Story

  • What did you want to be when you were a kid?Copied
  • What's the best decision you ever made on a whim?Copied
  • Who shaped you more than anyone else?Copied
  • What was your first job like?Copied
  • What's a chapter of your life people don't usually hear about?Copied
  • What's the proudest you've ever been of yourself?Copied
  • What's a tradition from your childhood worth keeping?Copied
  • What's the hardest thing you've ever done?Copied
  • What's the best advice you've ever gotten — and did you take it?Copied
  • What's a moment that changed your direction?Copied
  • What was your favorite age so far, and why?Copied
  • What's something you did that scared you and was worth it?Copied
  • Where were you when something big happened in the world?Copied
  • What's a small decision that ended up changing your life?Copied
  • What did your parents understand that you only got later?Copied
  • What's the best year of your life so far?Copied
  • What's a skill you're glad you learned young?Copied
  • What would the teenage you think of your life now?Copied
  • What's a story your family always retells about you?Copied
  • What's something you rebuilt after it fell apart?Copied
  • What was the most memorable day of a job you've had?Copied
  • What's a place that feels like it made you who you are?Copied
  • What's the best letter or message you've ever received?Copied
  • What do you want the next ten years to be about?Copied
  • What's a door that closed that you're now grateful for?Copied

Favorites & Opinions

  • What's the best movie nobody told you to watch?Copied
  • What's your most-defended unpopular opinion?Copied
  • What's the best meal in this city, in your opinion?Copied
  • What's a song you'll never skip when it comes on?Copied
  • What's the best purchase you've made this year?Copied
  • What's overrated that everyone loves?Copied
  • What's your favorite underdog story — sports, business, anywhere?Copied
  • What's the most beautiful place you've ever been?Copied
  • What's a book that actually changed your mind about something?Copied
  • What's the best piece of media under an hour that you'd recommend?Copied
  • What's your favorite thing you've ever made with your hands?Copied
  • What's a trend you hope never comes back?Copied
  • What's the best advice in one sentence?Copied
  • What's a free thing everyone should try once?Copied
  • What's your favorite way to celebrate good news?Copied
  • What's the funniest stand-up or comedy special you know?Copied
  • What's a skill that looks hard but isn't?Copied
  • What's the best gift you've ever given?Copied
  • What's the most underrated city you've visited?Copied
  • What's something old that's better than its modern version?Copied
  • What's your favorite question to be asked?Copied
  • What's the best team, brand, or group you've ever been part of?Copied
  • What's a small pleasure you'd never give up?Copied
  • What's your favorite thing about the season we're in?Copied
  • What's worth paying full price for?Copied

Fun Hypotheticals

  • If you could instantly be great at one thing, what would it be?Copied
  • If you had a free plane ticket leaving tonight, where would you go?Copied
  • If your week had an extra day, what would you fill it with?Copied
  • If you could have dinner with anyone, living or not, who's in the chair?Copied
  • If you had to teach a class on something, what could you talk about for an hour?Copied
  • If you won a small lottery — say, ten grand — what would you do with it?Copied
  • If you could live in any era for a month, which one?Copied
  • If you had to pick a totally new career tomorrow, what would it be?Copied
  • If animals could talk, which one would be your favorite to chat with?Copied
  • If you could eliminate one chore from human existence, which one?Copied
  • If you were given a year off with full pay, day one — what happens?Copied
  • If your life had a soundtrack, what's the opening track?Copied
  • If you could witness any event in history, front row, which one?Copied
  • If you had a boat, a cabin, or an RV, which one and why?Copied
  • If you had to move to another country next month, where do you start packing for?Copied
  • If you could ask the world one question and get a real answer, what is it?Copied
  • If you could redo one purchase from your life, what would you buy instead?Copied
  • If you hosted a dinner party with a theme, what's the theme?Copied
  • If you got to name a street, a color, and a cocktail, what are the three names?Copied
  • If you could spend a day in someone else's job, whose?Copied
  • If you could make one food calorie-free forever, which one?Copied
  • If you had a personal driver, chef, or assistant for a year — pick one.Copied
  • If you could see one concert from any decade, which one?Copied
  • If your hometown had a slogan, what should it be?Copied
  • If you could master one language overnight, which one opens the most doors for you?Copied

Meaningful

  • What are you most grateful for this year?Copied
  • What's something you're still figuring out?Copied
  • What's the kindest thing anyone has done for you?Copied
  • What do you want more of in your life?Copied
  • What's a risk you're glad you took?Copied
  • Who do you appreciate more than you've said out loud?Copied
  • What's the best conversation you've had this year?Copied
  • What's something you've made peace with?Copied
  • What do you hope people remember about you?Copied
  • What's a moment that restored your faith in something?Copied
  • What advice would you give someone walking your path?Copied
  • What's worth the effort even when nobody notices?Copied
  • What's the bravest thing someone you know has done?Copied
  • What do you want to spend more time on while you still can?Copied
  • What's something you learned about yourself the hard way?Copied
  • What does home mean to you?Copied
  • What's a promise you're keeping to yourself?Copied
  • What's the best thing about the decade you've just had?Copied
  • What would make the next year a success, honestly?Copied
  • What's something you'd want to be asked more often?Copied
  • Who made you feel seen when you needed it?Copied
  • What's a small kindness you witnessed that stuck with you?Copied
  • What are you rebuilding right now, if anything?Copied
  • What's the best thing about getting older so far?Copied
  • What do you want to do while the people you love are still around?Copied

In a Group

  • Everyone answer: what's your most useless talent?Copied
  • Who here has the best story from the past month — thirty seconds, go.Copied
  • Round the table: what's the best meal you've had this year?Copied
  • Everyone name the song you've played most this month.Copied
  • What's a skill everyone here should teach the rest of us?Copied
  • Best trip anyone's taken that the rest of us should copy?Copied
  • Everyone share the weirdest thing in your bag or on your desk.Copied
  • What's the group consensus on the most overrated food?Copied
  • Who has the oldest photo on their phone — show us.Copied
  • Everyone give their hot take on the best breakfast.Copied
  • What's something everyone here does that the world should know about?Copied
  • Name the last thing that made you laugh out loud — no repeats.Copied
  • Everyone pick: beach, mountains, or city — defend in one sentence.Copied
  • What's the most spontaneous thing anyone here has done?Copied
  • Share one small win from this week, no modesty allowed.Copied
  • Everyone name a place they'd move to for a year.Copied
  • What's the best advice anyone here has ever gotten?Copied
  • Everyone share their worst haircut era.Copied
  • Round the table: what are you reading, watching, or playing right now?Copied
  • What's something this group should plan and actually do?Copied
  • Everyone reveal their current phone wallpaper and explain it.Copied
  • What's the group's most debated topic — settle it now.Copied
  • Everyone share a compliment for the person on their left.Copied
  • What's the most random fact anyone here knows?Copied
  • Everyone answer: what would make next week a win?Copied

How to ask people questions they enjoy

Being interested beats being interesting.

  1. Pick by closeness, not curiosity

    Start in the strangers category with someone new no matter how charming you feel — the closeness sort exists so nobody gets an interview question that feels like a form.

  2. Ask the follow-up

    The first answer is never the interesting part. 'What was that like?' or 'how did that happen?' turns a fact into a story — and stories are where people connect.

  3. Trade answers

    Answer every question you ask. It halves the pressure on them and doubles what you learn about each other.

  4. Draw in groups

    Group rounds work best at pace: draw a question, go around the table with short answers, draw again. Long pauses are where group energy dies.

Print the whole bank

A clean list of all 150 — no buttons, no menus.

FAQ

What are good questions to ask people you just met?

Questions with low stakes and real answers: what brought you here, the best thing that happened this week, what they'd do with a free evening. The strangers category avoids both interview vibes and oversharing.

How do I ask someone about their life without prying?

Offer your own answer first and keep the question at story-level, not feeling-level — 'what was your first job like' invites, while 'why did you quit' presses. They'll go deeper on their own when they want to.

What questions should I ask at a dinner party?

The group category is designed for going around the table with short answers. Mixed-closeness groups do best with favorites, hypotheticals and small wins — everyone can play, nobody is exposed.

What are good questions to ask older relatives?

Their-life questions: first jobs, family stories, the best year of their life, what they want to do while everyone's still around. Most people are rarely asked about their own story and light up when someone finally does.

How do I keep a conversation from dying after one answer?

Have three follow-ups ready that work on anything: how did that happen, what was the best part, what did you do next. Listening for the detail worth pulling is the actual skill.

Keep playing

Conversation Starters

Openers sorted by situation instead of closeness.

Getting to Know You Questions

Built for new teams and first days.

Deep Questions

When closeness and the moment both allow it.

Topics to Talk About

Whole themes instead of single questions.