Funny Embarrassing Questions to Get to Know a Committee
These days can be tough for virtual teams. With less face time and fewer "water cooler" conversations, team members may begin to feel disconnected from their co-workers or isolated. These feelings have been connected to decreased morale, performance, and job satisfaction.
You can easily turn things around by getting your team to participate in team building! One that we highly recommend is virtual ice breaker questions – they're fun and easy to implement into even the busiest workdays!
We're going to give you lots (and we meanlots) of ideas for virtual ice breaker questions. But before we do, let's talk about how you can implement them into your virtual team building activities.
What Kind Of Questions Are You Looking For?
- Creative questions
- Options for all occasions
- Questions for Zoom meetings
- Funny questions
- Obscure and unique options
- Virtual team building questions
160 Virtual Ice Breaker Questions
Creative Questions
- Do you like square or triangle pizza?
- If you could be reincarnated as any animal, which would you choose?
- Which sitcom would you like to play a role on?
- What are your top 3 emojis?
- Did you have celebrity posters on your walls as a kid?
- Who is your celebrity doppelgänger?
- What is the most bizarre food you've ever eaten?
- What's the best movie you got to see in theaters?
- What is your "comfort movie"?
- What is your "comfort album"?
- Egg salad, tuna salad, or macaroni salad?
- You're next up for karaoke! What song do you pick?
- What is your favorite way to kill time during quarantine?
- Apple or Microsoft?
- Do you prefer the classic Disney movies or the live-action remakes?
- What is your favorite quarantine purchase?
- Would you rather live in Arizona or Alaska?
- If you were a dog, what breed would you be?
- Have you ever had a random celebrity encounter?
- If you could live in any country for one year, which would you choose and why?
- Who is your favorite movie villain?
- Pick one thing in the room and tell us a story about it (the story doesn't have to be real!)
- What would your personal theme song be?
- Which fictional character do you relate to the most?
- What is your guilty pleasure TV show?
- What was in your high school locker?
- If you could skip one part of your daily routine, what would it be and why?
- What is in the trunk of your car right now?
- What is the best gift you have ever received?
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Ice Breaker Questions For All Occasions
- What was your favorite Halloween costume ever?
- Where did you grow up?
- What was your favorite subject when you were in grade school?
- What was your favorite class in college?
- Are you reading a book right now?
- What skill do you wish you could wake up and have tomorrow?
- What is your favorite part about working from home?
- Are you watching an interesting show right now?
- What are your favorite podcasts?
- What is your go-to dinner after a long day?
- Are you an early bird or a night owl?
- What is your favorite song right now?
- What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
- If you would wake up with the ability to speak another language, which would you choose?
- What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
- What kind of pets do you have?
- Coffee or tea?
- Sweet tea or unsweetened?
- What is the last thing you ate or drank?
- Do you separate your light clothes from dark, or wash them all together?
- What meal would you cook for someone that you're trying to impress?
- What is your favorite appetizer?
- Which restaurant has the best dessert?
- What is your regular cocktail or beer order?
- What are your top 3 bucket list items?
- Which cancelled TV show do you wish was still on the air?
- What book did you read to yourself for the first time?
- What weird food did you love as a kid?
Ice Breaker Questions For Zoom Meetings
- What piece of advice helped your career the most?
- Where would you move if you could retire tomorrow?
- How do you unwind after work?
- How many countries (or states) have you visited? Can you name them?
- Do you shower in the morning or at night?
- Do you sleep with the TV on or off?
- Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?
- Did you play a sport in high school or college?
- What was your very first job?
- Where is your favorite place to vacation?
- Are you a dessert person?
- Apple or Microsoft?
- Did you play an instrument in high school?
- What are your top 3 bucket list items?
- If you weren't at work right now, what would you be doing?
- What is your favorite weekend activity?
- If you're going to a potluck, what would you bring?
- What is your favorite holiday and why?
- Who inspires you, professionally?
- Would you rather own a yacht or a private jet?
- Do you make your bed in the morning?
- Are you a dog person or a cat person?
- Which park at Disney World or Universal Studios do you want to visit the most?
- What was your first car?
- Would you want to be famous?
- If you had one extra hour of free time every day, how would you use it?
Funny Questions
- Where would you go in the event of a zombie apocalypse?
- Describe your personal style in middle school.
- What fashion trend are you glad is gone?
- What fashion trend would you like to see return?
- Do you believe in aliens?
- What is the worst horror movie you have ever seen?
- Do you talk to your pets as if they are people?
- What game makes you the most competitive?
- Super Bowl or puppy bowl?
- Favorite riddle or joke?
- The Office or Parks and Recreation?
- What was your favorite childhood movie?
- What movie makes you laugh until you cry?
- Do you think Rose could have made room for Jack on the door?
- Do you think tickling is funny or maddening?
- Is there anything Meryl Streep can't do?
- Are you more likely to pick truth or dare?
- Did you have a rebellious teenage stage?
- What superpower would you give your best friend?
- What is your favorite April Fool's Day joke?
- Do you prefer romantic comedies or "dramadies"?
- What is the funniest holiday movie?
- How would you describe your laugh?
- Do you have any embarrassing post-anesthesia stories?
- What is one story about you or your siblings that your family always laughs about?
- What band are you embarrassed to admit that you love?
Obscure Questions
- What is the story behind your phone or computer's wallpaper?
- Would you visit Mars even if the round trip took a year?
- Which vegetable best describes your personality?
- What songs do you want to play at your funeral?
- If you could pick ANY song to walk down the aisle to, what would it be?
- What reality show do you wish you landed a spot on?
- What crime would you commit if you know you would get away with it?
- If you were a type of shoe, what would you be?
- Would you go on a UFO if you were invited?
- If you had a magic carpet, where would you go first?
- Which Disney character would you be?
- What song describes you best right now?
- Which character from the Office would you be?
- What is your favorite song to sing in the shower?
- What is your favorite song to sing while driving with the windows down?
- Do you prefer the aisle or window seat?
- Flats or drums? (chicken wings)
- What is your go-to dance move?
- What is the scariest thing you have ever done for fun?
- If you were a type of jeans, which would you be?
- What fictional world would you want to live in?
- If you could have any superpower what would it be?
- What song do you embarrassingly know every word to?
- If you could clone yourself, what would your clone be doing right now?
- Was there an odd rumor that went around your high school that wasn't true? (for example, the seniors in my high school always tried to get the freshman to believe we had a secret rooftop pool)
- Pick something in the room and make up a story about it.
- Do you believe a monster will get your feet if they aren't tucked under the blankets?
- What's the worst advice you've ever been given?
- How did you get your biggest scar?
- If you were in the circus, what would your act be?
- If you were one of Snow White's dwarves, who would you be? You can make up your own name!
Ice Breaker Questions For Virtual Team Building
- If you could be a member on any fictional team, what team would you choose (it doesn't have to be a sports team!)
- What team is the best in real life?
- Would you rather be in N*SYNC or the Backstreet Boys?
- Do you think the Spice Girls made a good team? Why or why not?
- What qualities do you think are best in a teammate?
- When was the first time you were a part of a team?
- What is your biggest team accomplishment?
- Did you like team projects in school? Why or why not?
- Do you think anyone can be a team player if they try, or are some people just better on their own?
- What do you look for in a teammate?
- Do you have an easy time asking for help?
- Teamwork makes the dream work: true or false?
- What is your idea of a good virtual team building exercise?
- Do you think virtual team building exercises work?
- What is your favorite virtual team building exercise?
- Would you rather work solo or in a team?
- What would you say your role is in a team?
- Are you a listener or a talker?
- What type of partner would you choose to balance yourself out?
- What is something that you can do better than anyone else that you know?
And there you have it! 160 fail-proof ice breaker questions that you can start using at your next virtual team building event. For more virtual team building inspiration, check out our virtual team building options. Your team will have a blast working together in low-stakes environments, getting to know each other's work styles, and letting loose after a long work week!
Tips For Using Virtual Ice Breaker Questions
1. Keep Things Short
Your team is likely already feeling a little burnt out by now. Working from home during a pandemic is tough and you don't want to overwhelm your team with activities, even if they are meant to be fun.
We recommend planning a virtual ice breaker activity at the beginning of a Zoom meeting or 15-minutes before the end of a day. This will help to get your team energized or give them a chance to relax and let loose after a long day of work. Make sure the virtual team building activity doesn't stretch into "of the clock" time, though!
2. Keep Things Simple
You want your virtual team building exercise to be easy to explain and understand. That way, you aren't taking up too much of your team's time by explaining and clarifying the instructions. Virtual ice breaker questions are a great remote team building activity because there's really not much to them – just a question that needs an answer!
Even though virtual ice breaker questions are simple, they're effective! Getting your team to gather around for an activity that takes their mind off of work can help to support communication, collaboration, and relaxation. Overcomplicating things may make this fun activity feel more like a chore.
3. Use The Technology That's Available To You
There are so many fun things that you can do with technology and Zoom team building exercises! If you use the right features, you can create the best possible environment for your virtual ice breaker questions.
For example, if you have a large group, you can break everyone up into smaller group and utilize theZoom breakout session rooms. This can really add to the intimacy factor you're your large team might be missing when working from home.
Don't be afraid to add some fun elements like music, or creative ways to display the virtual ice breaker question at hand. Instead of simply asking the question out loud, you could create a slideshow that has a few questions on it and design each slide to reflect a certain theme. Don't forget about funky Zoom backgrounds!
4. Don't Limit Your Team To Ice Breaker Activities Over Zoom
Your team might be feeling the Zoom fatigue at this point. You can help mitigate the effects by utilizing other virtual avenues for virtual ice breaker questions.
- Create a recurring "team building Tuesday" calendar event and send out an ice breaker question to the whole team in an email
- Ask everyone what their favorite songs are and curate a group playlist
- Use Google Docs to create a collaborative document where everyone can answer ice breaker questions, respond to prompts, or just talk freely about what's on their mind that day!
5. Keep An Eye Out For Opportunities To Use Your Virtual Ice Breaker Questions
It's always great to plan a virtual team building exercise so your team knows what to expect and when to expect it. But you may find there are times when you can use virtual ice breaker questions as a way to kill some time or relax.
You can use virtual ice breaker questions if:
- You're waiting for others to join a meeting
- A meeting ends early
- There's a meeting that isn't capturing the attention of your team and you want to get everyone to reconnect during a break
- A meeting gets cancelled and you want to fill the time with a fun – yet productive – activity
Virtual Ice Breaker Activities
Fostering teamwork and connection during socially distant times can seem challenging, however it's not impossible! Here are eleven ideas for fun virtual team building ice breaker activities! You can find more free online team building games here.
1. Fun Fact Matching
How much do you really know about your coworkers? Maybe not as much as you think! In this game, team members come up with a tidbit about themselves that they think no one else would guess. They then email it to the activity facilitator. Over Zoom, that host reads off the items and team members take turns guessing which fact applies to which person, racking up points for each correctly guessed answer.
2. Team HQ
HQ is an online trivia game individuals can play simultaneously through an app. On weekdays at 3pm EST, live quiz questions are presented and participants worldwide attempt answering all ten correctly for a chance to split prize money with other winners.
Your team can partner up via Zoom, playing individually on phones but sharing answer ideas out loud. It's not as easy as it seems, but you might win with the advantage of working together!
3. TED Talk Watch Party
Have your leadership summits and professional development seminars been cancelled until further notice? Don't worry! Your team can still learn something new from the comfort of your home offices.
YouTube features hundreds of informative TED Talks that team members can all benefit from listening to and discussing together. A host can even have discussion questions regarding the TED Talk prepared to present to the team via Zoom.
4. Group Maps
With remote opportunities the main option for team building, you've got to make the most of what's available! Even Google Maps can provide a chance for people to get to know one another. Create a collaborative map and team members can place a marker on their birthplace, favorite vacation spot, location they love going to in your city, or any category you can think of! This is a great way to remotely explore and learn more about your coworkers.
5. What's Everyone Thinking?
This is a simple but surprisingly challenging game that requires zero equipment. First, the facilitator says a word. It can be any random word. Then, on the count of three, everyone else in the group says a new word that they associate with the previous word.
The objective of the game is to get all participants to say the same word at the same time. For example: if the facilitator's first word was "car," the group might say a variety of words like "travel," "driving," "road," and "engine." The group hearing those words might now say words like "vacation," "train," "trip," and "highway." The game continues on until hopefully everyone ends up saying the same word at the same time!
6.Take A Tour
With travel banned in many places, vacations and company retreats aren't an option. However, that doesn't mean you can't still experience new places and cultures, especially as a team! There are countless Airbnb virtual experiences for groups, some of which can accommodate up to 500 people! Learn about another country's culture from a local or do a trivia quiz with a campy host. No matter which experience you chose, your team will have plenty to talk about!
7.Breakout Groups
It's time to take advantage of the breakout sessions Zoom provides! In one large Zoom meeting, the host asks team members a simple question about one of their preferences with designated answer options. It can be something like their favorite color or whether they prefer cats or dogs.
From there, participants who chose the same answer separate into smaller groups via breakout rooms to answer a more personal question, such as "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?" or "What do you like most about your job?" This will give coworkers who don't normally interact with each other the chance to become better acquainted.
8. Trivia Session (Even Better If It's Themed!)
Using a collaboration of Zoom and online software like Kahoot!, companies can host a virtual trivia game tournament. Coworkers can be broken into teams that are each on their own Zoom call. One member from each team can share their screen and log into the Kahoot game and answer questions on behalf of their team. The team that most quickly and correctly answers questions wins!
This is a great option for teams with a lot of members to still work together without being overwhelmed by a large number of people on a call. Feel free to add in fun prizes for the teams who come in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Trivia questions can range from a variety of topics, from broad subjects like company history or niche options likeThe Office trivia.
9. Personality Quizzes
Team building personality tests are an enjoyable way to learn more about coworkers and there are plenty of free online choices to choose from. Have everyone take a brief quiz and then share with the group one thing they agree and disagree with about their results. Personality Perfect is a quick Myers-Briggs test option that doesn't require an email submission to use. Test Color may seem initially silly, however users have said that it yields surprisingly accurate results!
10.QuizBreaker
If you're willing to sign up for a free trial or donate a bit of budget to online team building, QuizBreaker is an awesome option. This software allows individuals to answer questions about themselves and give their responses to various scenarios. Coworkers then try to guess how the team member in question responded. The person with the most right answers wins!
11. Desk Snapshots
This is an easy way for team members to show off their spaces and see how well they know each other. Have everyone take a picture of their office or desk setup and then via Zoom or email, people can guess which desks belong to which coworkers. The same concept can also be applied to baby pictures!
Ice Breaker Tips
When using ice breakers, it's important to note that their purpose is to dissolve awkwardness and tension rather than create it. Take inventory of what kind of team you have and what sort of activities would be best suited for helping them bond. There are different types of ice breakers and not all benefit a team equally. There are some that help individuals get to know one other, those that improve teamwork and collaboration, and others that are great for kicking off meetings and improving participation. Choose wisely for the best possible results.
Designating a group facilitator is also important to have during ice breakers to help dispel any lingering discomfort and move the event along. Facilitators also need to be aware of game rules and the logistics of how an event is going to work. They should already know the necessary passwords or Zoom meetings links to make for a successful team building activity!
Anecia is a Nashville-based writer who believes in the power of team building. She writes a variety of content focused on creative corporate team building ideas, to help teams become more dynamic, unified, and successful.
Source: https://teambuildinghub.com/blog/ice-breaker-questions/