What's your favourite icebreaker question? Chance to be featured on Work Life + earn a badge! 🧊

[Angelie Stephens]

Building connections is important for any team, and a well-considered icebreaker question can be the perfect way to get to know your teammates.

In this month’s Work Life blog, we’ve collated an extensive list of our favourite icebreaker questions to help you to get to know your team better. Whether you have a few minutes at the beginning of a meeting or want to schedule a marathon get-to-know-you session with your teammates, you’ll strike team building gold with our extensive list.

Do you have a favourite icebreaker question we missed? Share it below and we just might add it to our list on Work Life!

I’m a huge fan of fun and light-hearted icebreakers, like:

• If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

• What fictional world would you like to live in?

• If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

I’d love to hear your answers to any of these questions too if you’d like to share!

After adding your icebreaker in the comments, you’ll earn a Work Life kudos badge. ✨

[Stephen.Lugton]

Apart from the usual ones of

• Hi everyone, what's this meeting about?
• Who are you, and why are you here?
• Am I meant to be in this meeting?
• Please stop inviting me to these meetings! (not really a question, just describes how much I actually want to be there)

My favourite is:

• What’s something on your desk, a nearby wall, or out the window that cheers you up during the day?

And to answer your questions:

• If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose? - Healthy chicken salad

• What fictional world would you like to live in? - Pern

• If you could have one superpower, what would it be? - Avoiding meeting invites

[Angelie Stephens]

Hilarious superpower choice there @Stephen.Lugton 😂

[Eva Gruener]

avoiding-meeting-invites-superpower 🤣🤣🤣 NICE!!! 👍

[Peter Van de Voorde]

You already have a pretty impressive list of ice-breaker questions :)

Here are some of mine:

2 Atlassian flavoured ones:

• Who would you like to spend an afternoon with: Mike or Scott?
• What's your favorite Atlassian t-shirt?

And some more general ones:

• When was the last time you felt nervous and why?
• What's the last thing you did that scared you but you still did it?
• If you could teach everyone in this room one thing before leaving this room what would it be?
• What skill do you want to master?
• What do you want to become when you grow up? (I believe we should never stop growing or learning, so we never fully "grow up")
• How can I help?

Good luck

[Angelie Stephens]

Love your Atlassian themed icebreakers, @Peter Van de Voorde! 

[Emin Devrim Fidan]

I guess first I need to get one Atlassian t-shirt :)

[John Funk]

If you could have dinner with anyone alive in the world right now, who would it be? 

[Lauren Marten Parker]

I think I'd choose Maya Rudolph, and hopefully convince her to do karaoke after!

[Sandra Franchetto]

Hang on. Atlassian has merch? Where do I get one of those t-shirts? ✋️😅🤣😂

[Barbara Szczesniak]

This might be for people of a certain age:

If I say "Captain Jack," do you think of:

1. Billy Joel
2. Torchwood
3. Pirates of the Carribean

[Angelie Stephens]

Great question, @Barbara Szczesniak ! 
It's 2 or 3 for me, I didn't know about 1 😅

[Mark Higgins]

"Captain Jack will get you high tonight, and take you to your special island"

It's now stuck in my head :-) 

[Sandra Franchetto]

Pirates of the Carribean 

[Amanda Barber]

We use a hack to have one post every Monday morning in Slack to discuss at our Monday standup! Here's the big list we've been working off of.

The best conversation starters we've had recently were:

• Is a taco a sandwich?
• What amount of money would it take for you to only eat the same food for one year?

[Angelie Stephens]

... is a taco a sandwich 🤔 .... that's going to be one I think about for a little while @Amanda Barber 😅

[Amanda Barber]

@Angelie Stephens - people are STILL talking about it weeks later. 🤣

[Lauren Marten Parker]

I've also heard "is a hot dog a taco?" 🤯

[Amanda Barber]

@Lauren Marten Parker I might need to throw that one in once the chatter from the taco = sandwich convo dies down, lol!!

[Stephen.Lugton]

@Amanda Barber , A taco is not a sandwich, it is an edible plate!

[Kali Norman]

YES! I had "is a hotdog a sandwich" as one of my faves too, tacos are definitely tricky to define as well

[Sandra Franchetto]

It all depends on your perspective.

[Daniel Orievweruvwe]

One sort of unique icebreaker I use for small group session is 

• Tell a brief story about any item (wristwatch, necklace, ring, cap, etc) with/on you at the moment.

[Heydi Menéndez]

Buen día , les dejo mis ideas/preguntas rompe-hielos para generar buen debate o intercambio de ideas.

Referente al equipo:

1.   Se sienten cómodos trabajando en este equipo?
2. Qué te gustaría cambiar del equipo para sentirte mejor ?
3. Cuál sería tu papel en una película donde actuara este equipo?

Referente a la persona:

      1. Qué te gustaría lograr este año y cómo crees que te puedo ayudar en ello?

      2. Cómo está la familia/ las cosas por casa?

Referente al presupuesto:

1.      Te parece con lo que haces, si fueras dueño de la empresa , podrías subsistir?

Ahora mis respuestas a la sugerencia :

• If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose? - Pasta

• What fictional world would you like to live in?- DC comics

• If you could have one superpower, what would it be?- Teleportation

2.15.1.0

[Michelle]

Name 3 things:

Something personal about yourself

Something professional about yourself

Somewhere you've traveled to

[Monique vdB]

• I have painted a lot of watercolors of John Ritter to practice my portraiture
• I have been at Atlassian for over 7 years
• One of my favorite trips was a solo drive around Ireland

[Sandra Franchetto]

Lucky me I get to combine personal and professional into one cause I live what I do. 

Melbourne - great city for food, sport  and lifestyle. I used to say pity about the weather but sadly due to climate change I now need to say pity about the weather in Sydney and Brisvegas too. 🥲 

[Kadie.hughes]

If you were stranded on an island, what 1 thing would you want to have with you?

[Monique vdB]

The internet 😆

[Kali Norman]

Love this! We're developing some Conversation Cards for Pledge 1% at Atlassian Foundation, and here are some of my favourite icebreakers from it:

- Is a hotdog technically a sandwich?

- What would the title of your autobiography be?

-  Would you rather hear the good news or the bad news first?

- Who are the three people you’d want on your team in a zombie apocalypse?

[Sandra Franchetto]

What is the one thing I could do to help you today?

Are you doing OK today?

Name one thing you love about our company?

[Chris Chappelear]

If you were stranded on an island and could only take the catalogue of one band/artist with you, what would it be?

[Angelie Stephens]

Love this question, @Chris Chappelear ! I’m going to have to have a real think about my answer now though 🤔

[Dan Wilson]

Show me your phone background and tell the story behind why you picked the image.

[Christopher Holmes]

I don't usually ask questions.  I start by sharing.  It's usually something like my name (if in a new team) and/or some information I find interesting or relevant to start a discussion.  Then I listen. This will usually start a team discussion and the flow will happen naturally.  I will use a related 'ice breaker' question if that goes flat but it seldom does. This works even if you aren't the lead. 

Then I will continue to be engaged and encourage discussion to nurture sharing of mutual interests.  It's even better if I have light hearted work related share or praise for the team. It makes it easier to shift gears in the meeting to get on topic.  

Many times a discussion is already in progress in which case I will engage and participate respecting my teams interests and sharing mine until the topic shifts to work if not already there.

[Howard Hudson]

Having done many interviews in my life, I have used some variation on many of these during interviews. I like to inquire "behind the resume/CV" so I can gauge this applicant as a person. 

They also work in icebreakers.

• If you were emperor of the world for one day, what is the first thing you would do?
• If you spoke dog, what do you think dogs say to each other? (if not a dog owner, substitute "favorite animal.")
• What one thing do you wish your younger self had done or not done, and why?
• What teacher had the greatest impact on you? How?
• Do you think there was enough space on that float for Jack AND Rose? (They need to have seen Titanic..., lol)

Thanks for this fun article.

[Sandra Franchetto]

Having done sooooooo many interviews sitting on the other side of the table, I would have loved getting those questions because although skills-wise I was perfect, culture-wise in personality and values I was not which was blindingly obvious. Alas none of those jobs worked out. It's also one of the reasons I run my own business so I can eventually surround myself with people like me and absolutely no-one gets past the interview stage if they don't have the same ethos. I've already been asked so many times that I've lost count, 'can I work for you?' The answer is currently no but it will always be no cause people will work with me not for me. 🫶 🙏

[Haunani Nakabara]

It takes a little longer but fun, 2 truths and a lie.  The activity can be done as a group to vote on which statement is a lie or it's also fun if everyone comes up with their own 2 truths and a lie and then go through them 1:1 with each other.  

[Sandra Franchetto]

Funny how 2 truths is harder than 2 lies. Can someone tell me why they think that could be?  Very curious about thoughts on that. Have an amazing day all.

[Christopher Holmes]

@Sandra Franchetto  Interesting point.  I think it is more difficult because we are sharing something real.  We are all naturally concerned about how we appear to others. 

[Sandra Franchetto]

@Christopher Holmes Great reason. Fear of others' judgement or opinions often holds people back. The key is realising that life should be about being around the kind of people who allow you to be you free of that. And this doesn't only apply to your work life but your personal life. 

[Sandra Franchetto]

Question:

What do you think makes a Team great?  You can use either 1. A description or 2. An acronym.

Example Answers:

1. Respect for each other.

Listening to others' suggestions without judgement.

2. Treating Everyone As Meaningful.

Treating Employees/Employer As Magnificent.

[Ncumisa Booi]

Q: What comes after Angelie

A: If its not Stephens I am stepping out.

Meeting over a recording will be sent to everyone who came 

[carolyn french]

- If you could have a vacation house anywhere, where would you choose?

- Favorite beverage and why?

- What was your first job?

So much talk of tacos in this thread, and I already was thinking about tacos, so that's what I would choose to eat for the rest of my life!

[Ashish Mani Tripathi]

Hi @Angelie Stephens :We have really some nice icebreakers here. I'll going to use them for my sessions surely.

I've few more for everyone, hope that helps:

• If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be and why?

• What’s your go-to way to de-stress after a long day?

• What was your first job, and what did you learn from it?

• If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be?

Thank you all 😁 

[Sandra Franchetto]

Are you what you wanted to become when you grew up?

Yes, a Dancer, a Footy player, a Golfer and a Human Behaviour Expert

Name skills you have mastered?

Time Management

Breathing and Self-regulation 

Listening

Metaphysics and Manifestation

If you could teach everyone in this room one thing before leaving this room what would it be?

How to Live A Truly Great Life 

Don't miss out on chances to completely change your life for the better because:

you think you know what and who is important in life; 

you make assumptions or judgements about people you don't even know based on colour, race, sex, religion or money;

you are too busy looking at a screen instead of looking into the faces of other human beings that cross directly into your path

Because these chances won't and don't always come around a second time

And in 2024 with nobody having invented a time machine, you would or could have missed the chance forever.

Have an amazing day my fellow human beings 😍💞😇🫶🙏

[Lavetta Stevenson]

What animal best describes you today?   

A common answer:  A cheetah because I want to be fast.   

[Sandra Franchetto]

A lounging lizard because I'm taking time out of my day to bask in the sun. What a beautiful day it is.

[Eva Gruener]

🎼 Fast like Einstein. Smart like a cheetah. 🙃😉

[Carol Valdebenito]

My favorite icebreakers are the ones that allow us to get to know the team better, for example: 2 Lies 1 Truth.

And to answer your questions:

• If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
  • Rice, I just love it.
• What fictional world would you like to live in?
  • The wizarding world, I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter.
• If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
  • Teleportation, it’s been my dream since I was a kid

[Eva Gruener]

@Carol Valdebenito 
Wow, that's difficult. I would rather assume this is 2x Truth and one Lie?!? 🤷‍♀️
Good technique. Definitely memorable.

[Carol Valdebenito]

@Eva Gruener  it’s the same as “2 Truths and a Lie,” but it’s more fun to detect what is the truth.

With this game, people always have a story to tell. Example:

• A picture of me was in the local newspaper.
• I was hit by a bus.
• I won a guitar when I was 5 years old.

So, when I say the truth that I was hit by a bus, I have a story to tell. This way, you get to know more about your team, their lives, and their stories

[Sandra Franchetto]

@Carol Valdebenito I love the concept of telling a story. Hit by a bus. Wow that really is interesting. Hope you are OK because I imagine the bus would have come off better in that scenario. 😔

[Stephen.Lugton]

There have been some good ideas here that I've 'borrowed', at the last retro one of the team had as what can we do to improve things 'Stop asking these b****y questions', I offered to let him run the retro next time and he's accepted that I'm going to keep asking them.

[Stefano Rosco Castro]

How much time would you think the humanity would take to create an iPhone again if everything gets wiped out? 

[Sandra Franchetto]

Depends. Are you talking about the original Steve Jobs version or just any version? First one well no amout of time cause suspect it would be near impossible. Second one fairly quickly. FYI you know the world won't end without iPhones cause there's this great alternative called an Android. 😅🤣😂 Also imagine all the free time one would get back not being available 24/7. 😜