Exciting introductory questions for teams and online events

In order to strengthen team cohesion, it usually helps to get to know your colleagues a little more informally. Often unexpected similarities and topics of conversation can be found during coffee breaks or lunch together. The team spirit almost develops on its own. But how do you get these conversations going? If you are looking for interesting questions to get to know each other that will charmingly lighten up a team meeting – virtually or on site – then you have come to the right place! We've put together a list of our favorite questions. And at the end an ultimate suggestion on how getting to know each other will be remembered positively for a long time!

Getting to know your team: Simple questions to get you started

If the team is still quite unfamiliar with each other, the introductory questions listed here offer you a “gentle introduction” that promotes understanding and cohesion among colleagues. They can also be used as an impulse to start a team meeting or during a team event.

Where did you grow up?
What hobbies do you have?
What is your favorite season?
Do you have a bucket list and which items are still outstanding?
Which ones have you already done?
Where and how do you prefer to vacation?
What do you like to do most on the weekend?
Do you have a favorite book?
What is your earliest childhood memory?
What skills would you like to learn?
What is one thing that instantly improves your day?
What always makes you smile or puts you in a good mood?
What do you look forward to most every day?
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?
What are you most looking forward to on Mondays?
What is your favorite meal?
Do you have a favourite meal?
Do you have a tattoo or would you like to have one?
What do you particularly like to do in summer/winter?
What is your favorite quote?

Funny questions to get to know colleagues in the team

If the team knows each other a little better and the first ice has already been broken, funnier or cheekier questions can be thrown around. You will see that you will definitely get to know your employees from a completely new perspective!

What is your least useful talent?
Is there a weird food combination that you like?
What is your strangest irrational fear?
If a pet could talk, what would it say about you?
What's the craziest thing you've ever done on a dare?
Do you have a favorite karaoke song?
Do you have any fun traditions in your family?
Which emoji do you use most often and why?
Do you have a favorite joke?
What was the most embarrassing situation you've ever found yourself in?
What is the funniest thing you drew as a child?

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The following questions to get to know each other are suitable - also individually as an impulse to start a meeting - for getting to know each other more intensively as a team. The answers to this probably won't come straight out of the box, but they often reveal a lot about the other person.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Which songs are part of the soundtrack of your life?
Tell your life story in one sentence.
What is the strangest coincidence that has ever happened to you?
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?
What are you particularly grateful for?
What could you not live without for a day - apart from absolutely essential things?
When did you first feel grown up?
Whose opinion is particularly important to you?
What is your earliest memory?
What was the most amazing place you've ever traveled to?
Which skills would you particularly like to learn?
What do you think your five-year-old self would particularly like about you?
What is your favorite website or social media channel?
Do you have an absolute favorite song?
What was the best concert you've ever attended?
What don't you like that others seem to like?
Which celebrity would you like to meet?
What question would you like to be asked more often?
What is the best advice you have ever received?
What is the worst advice you have ever received?
Is there something you've wanted to do for a long time? Why haven't you done it yet?
If you could relive one moment in your life, what would it be?

Get-to-know-you questions for your team in a more formal work context

Some of the questions already listed may seem too private in a more formal work context. But solid group cohesion is also important in teams with fixed hierarchies and more traditional group constellations. These get-to-know-you questions help to promote cohesion in a team and thus strengthen team spirit.

What is your position?
And what did you do before that?
What was your first job?
What jobs did you previously do alongside school/studies?
Email or meeting?
SMS or call?
Tea or coffee?
What motivates you?
And what inspires you?
What do you like to do on a day off?
What career advice would you give your younger self?
What is the best idea you've ever had in a job?
What is the funniest story that has happened to you so far in a work context?
Do you prefer to work from home or in the office?
What has been the most interesting thing you have learned on the job so far?
What was the collaboration like?
What kind of team have you been able to work in best so far?
What was the best team event/trip you have done so far?
Have you ever made a mistake that you could later benefit from learning from?
What has been your absolute favorite project so far?
If you didn't have to make money, what would you do?
Who or what would be your absolute nightmare boss?
If you had lived in the Middle Ages, what would your job have been?
What do you hope your colleagues would say about you?
If you could banish one question from job interviews: what would it be?

Why so many questions?

In order to get colleagues, teams or even external people talking to each other and to make or deepen contacts, exchanging exciting information about each other is particularly valuable. This question and answer game works particularly well when people from all management levels participate and answer the questions openly and honestly. Ultimately, the quality of getting to know each other depends primarily on the openness and enjoyment of the answer. By the way: the questions are not only great in a work context, but are also a great opportunity to get to know friends or family again :-)

Are you looking for simple questions or questions about how to start a meeting? Here you will find icebreaker questions for (digital) interview rounds . Before you start, do you need a really good warm-up? Here we have collected ideas on how you can start the meeting well with larger virtual groups .
Are you planning an event and don't yet know whether it will take place digitally or on site? Then take a look at our 5 tips for successful hybrid events . If you are looking for sustainable team events , you will definitely find them here.

The ultimate get-to-know-you event?

And last but not least: Are you looking for the perfect activity for your digital get-to-know-you event? Because outside of the classic work context, getting to know each other often works much better. No matter whether it’s a customer event, team event or company party – we’ll be happy to support you in organizing a great and delicious event!

group event company A unique experience for team bonding: the chocolate tasting

FAQ

What are good questions to get to know a team?

Good getting-to-know-you questions are questions that reveal something personal or funny about members of the team or colleagues. The best questions are those that are interestingly worded and entertaining. Such questions and, above all, the answers that follow them strengthen the relationship between the people who discuss them.

What are the best starter questions?

It always depends on the context in which the people getting to know each other relate to each other. Do they already know each other well because they have been working in a team for a long time? Then the participants can jump in with fun and more personal questions. Do your colleagues know each other rather casually, work irregularly together on projects, or are you just new to the team? Then it makes sense to start with more formal questions - the last questions on our list.

What is the difference between getting-to-know-you questions and icebreaker questions?

The goal of icebreaker questions is actually – as the name suggests – to break the ice. They are primarily used at the beginning of meetings and are often shorter and easy to answer. Getting to know each other questions are usually about getting to know each other better. While icebreaker questions are often only given a short amount of time, get-to-know-you questions can lead to entire team conversations. So the latter is really about having deeper conversations and learning something new, special or funny about the other person.

How do I get to know my (new) team?

That's exactly why we wrote this article :-) The questions listed are ideal for this. However, you often get to know your team much better outside of the classic work context, for example at a company outing. Digital team events are also a great option, especially for teams that have a high proportion of employees working from home.

How do I start a team meeting?

The start of a team meeting defines the mood that follows. So if you choose a relaxed, communicative or even funny start, there's a good chance that the meeting will go well. For example, you can use our questions or select individual ones that everyone who wants can then share with the group. If the whole thing takes place digitally, we have already put together some tips in our article “Virtual meetings: the best warm-ups”.

What makes a good meeting?

The answer to this question depends entirely on the objective involved. Be aware beforehand why you are calling the meeting and think about how you can best achieve the associated goal. It is also important that everyone has a say and that no one individual takes over all of the speaking. A good team meeting is when everyone can say that they got something out of it and no one feels left out.

How do I organize a team meeting?

This question is directly linked to the previous one. Once the goal has been defined, it's time to plan and hold a team meeting. After a short introduction - for example a short presentation or a few words to the team - a short warm-up can be carried out. Our questions are again ideal here. Then remember not to lose sight of the goal and to value everyone's input, even if it sometimes seems difficult. Differing contributions should be acknowledged but not taken up too much space. A successful team meeting depends on the balancing act of allowing spontaneity while not losing sight of the goal.

Header photo by Sigmund on Unsplash