Icebreaker questions for team meetings

Quick (1 minute) icebreakers

One-word or one-line answers, for the start of any meeting.

• What is one word for how your week is going?
• What is the best thing you ate this week?
• Coffee, tea or neither?
• What is one small win from yesterday?
• What is on your desk that should not be there?
• Morning person or night person?
• What is the last thing that made you laugh?
• What app do you use most that is not for work?
• Rate your energy today from one to five.
• What are you looking forward to this weekend?
• Which emoji do you overuse?
• What is the weather like where you are right now?

Get to know the team icebreakers

For new teams, new starters and team days.

• What was your first ever job?
• What is a skill you have that would surprise us?
• What is the best piece of advice anyone has given you at work?
• Where did you grow up, and what is one thing you miss about it?
• What is something you are learning at the moment?
• If you could swap jobs with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be?
• What do you do to switch off after work?
• What is one thing you wish people knew about your role?
• What is the best team you have ever been part of, and why?
• What is a book, podcast or show you would recommend?
• What did you want to be when you were ten?
• What is your favourite way to receive thanks?

Deeper (for trusted teams) icebreakers

Better with teams who already know each other.

• What is something you changed your mind about this year?
• When do you do your best work?
• What is one thing that drains your energy at work?
• What is a mistake that taught you something important?
• What does a great day at work look like for you?
• What is one thing this team does well that we should protect?
• What would you like more of from each other?
• What is something you are proud of that nobody here knows about?
• What is one habit you are trying to build?
• What makes you feel trusted at work?

Remote and hybrid icebreakers

For video calls and teams spread across places.

• Show us one object within arm’s reach and tell us its story.
• What does your workspace look like today?
• What is the best and worst thing about working from home?
• What is your go-to lunch on a remote day?
• Who is the most frequent visitor to your video calls (pets and people count)?
• What time is it where you are, and what would you normally be doing now?
• What is one thing that would make our remote meetings better?
• What is your favourite thing about your local area?
• Camera background: real, blurred or a picture?
• What do you miss most about working in the same room?

Retrospective openers icebreakers

To start a retro or project review.

• Describe the last sprint as a weather forecast.
• What is one thing you would keep exactly as it was?
• If this project were a film, what would it be called?
• What surprised you most in the last two weeks?
• What is one thing you learned from someone on the team?
• Rate the last sprint from one to five, and say why in one sentence.
• What is one thing we should stop doing?
• Who on the team helped you this week, and how?
• What would make next sprint 10% easier?
• Which moment would you replay, and which would you skip?

Just for fun icebreakers

For Fridays, socials and end-of-year meetings.

• What would your walk-on song be?
• If our team were a band, what would it be called?
• What is the most useless talent you have?
• What is your hill to die on (pineapple on pizza counts)?
• If you could only eat one food for a year, what would it be?
• What would you do with an extra hour every day?
• What is the strangest job you have heard of?
• Which fictional character would make the best manager?
• What is something you are irrationally afraid of?
• If you won a holiday tomorrow, where would you go?
• What is the best gift you have ever received?
• Which decade would you most like to visit?

Tips for icebreakers that do not feel forced

• Answer first yourself, briefly. It sets the tone and the length.
• Let people pass. Forced sharing does the opposite of what you want.
• Keep it to five minutes. The aim is to warm up, not to fill the meeting.