100 icebreaker questions for remote teams (that people actually answer)

The rule behind every question

Every one of these prompts posts to a whole channel under the reader's name. So the test for including one is simple: could the quietest person on the team scroll past it without their silence meaning anything? That rules out anything that asks after salary, religion, politics, health, relationship status or family plans. What is left is taste, habit, opinion and history — which, it turns out, is where the good conversations are anyway.

The bank has four kinds of prompt. Small Talk questions are open and get answered in a thread. Would You Rather and Hot Takes are two-button polls, so the lurkers can take part with one click. Most Likely To is answered by tagging a teammate. Pick whichever matches the energy of the channel.

Small Talk questions by topic

Open questions, five per topic. Ask one, let the thread run.

Would you rather

Each pair is meant to split the room. In the bot these are two-button polls; here the two options follow the setup.

41. One superpower, and you only get the one: fly, or turn invisible? Fly or Be invisible?
42. You are never on time again. Which way does it go? 10 min early or 10 min late?
43. The office can only keep one of these stocked forever. Unlimited coffee or Unlimited snacks?
44. A month working from anywhere, and the internet is fine either way. Beach or Mountain cabin?
45. The company grants exactly one of these next year. 4-day week or WFH every day?
46. One of them disappears from your working life for good. No meetings or No email?
47. Someone is hired to take one thing off your hands entirely. Personal chef or Personal assistant?
48. One trip, one direction, no coming back for a week. The past or The future?
49. You get one thing right without ever checking it. Know the time or Know the weather?
50. Overnight fluency in one of these, at concert standard. Every language or Every instrument?
51. Life comes with one button, used sparingly. Rewind or Pause?
52. Same job, same pay, you just pick where you wake up. Big city or Small town?
53. The comic-book version of you gets exactly one of these. Super strength or Super speed?
54. One thing is guaranteed for the rest of your life. Perfect Wi-Fi or Free flights?
55. Your body clock is set permanently tonight. Early bird or Night owl?
56. Your memory gets one upgrade and one only. Photographic memory or Forget on command?
57. From tomorrow, half the menu is gone forever. Sweet or Savory?
58. Your career goes brilliantly, but only one of these comes with it. Famous in my field or Brilliant but anonymous?
59. One of these two never goes missing again. Never lose keys or Never lose phone?
60. A power you cannot switch off, so choose carefully. Read minds or Predict the future?

Hot takes

Statements the channel votes Agree or Disagree on. Expect a thread either way.

61. Pineapple belongs on pizza.
62. Remote work is more productive than office work.
63. Meetings could almost always be an email.
64. Tabs are better than spaces.
65. Dark mode is superior to light mode.
66. The best ideas happen in the shower, not in brainstorms.
67. Monday is the most productive day of the week.
68. Cereal is a soup.
69. A hot dog is a sandwich.
70. Reply-all should be removed from email.
71. Working with music is better than working in silence.
72. Standing desks are overhyped.
73. Lunch breaks should be at least 90 minutes.
74. Video-on should be optional for all calls.
75. Emojis in professional messages are totally fine.
76. Friday afternoon meetings should be banned.
77. The Oxford comma is essential.
78. Tea is better than coffee.
79. Open floor plans hurt productivity.
80. GIF is pronounced with a hard G.

Most likely to

Answered by tagging a teammate. Works best once people know each other a little.

81. Who is most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse?
82. Who is most likely to become a famous YouTuber?
83. Who is most likely to accidentally reply-all to the entire company?
84. Who is most likely to show up to a meeting still on mute?
85. Who is most likely to bring the best snacks to the office?
86. Who is most likely to win a trivia competition?
87. Who is most likely to write a bestselling book?
88. Who is most likely to start their own company?
89. Who is most likely to run a marathon?
90. Who is most likely to adopt the most pets?
91. Who is most likely to binge an entire TV series in one weekend?
92. Who is most likely to forget their own birthday?
93. Who is most likely to go on a spontaneous road trip?
94. Who is most likely to learn a new language just for fun?
95. Who is most likely to have a secret talent nobody knows about?
96. Who is most likely to accidentally join the wrong video call?
97. Who is most likely to become a morning person?
98. Who is most likely to organize a team outing?
99. Who is most likely to build something cool on a hackathon weekend?
100. Who is most likely to have the most browser tabs open right now?

Using these well

• One prompt at a time, in one channel. Two a day is already too many.
• Rotate the kind: a poll one day, an open question the next, Most Likely To on Fridays.
• Answer first yourself. The second answer is the hard one; make yours the first.
• Never follow up with anyone who skipped. That is the whole point of the rule above.

Looking for trivia rather than icebreakers? Start with the guide to choosing a Slack trivia bot, the Discord quiz bot page, or the compare pages for Water Cooler Trivia, Ricotta and Trivia by Heron HR.