25 Icebreaker Questions for Zoom Meetings & Virtual Teams

If you want an optional opening question for a Zoom meeting, choose something people can answer without showing their surroundings, turning on a camera, or sharing personal details.

A short round is one possible format, not a requirement for a good meeting. Skip it when the group would prefer to start the agenda, and make listening or passing a normal option.

Here are 25 prompts to choose from. For a ready-made selection, open the remote-call question set.

Choose a Format Before a Question

Tell participants how the opening round will run before asking for responses. For example: “Here’s an optional question in the chat. You can type, speak, or pass. We’ll spend about two minutes on it.”

Choose a format that suits the size of the call:

• Small group: invite volunteers after a short pause to think; don’t require everyone to take a turn.
• Large group: post one question in the chat and read a few volunteered answers if participants are comfortable with that.
• New group: start with an imaginary choice or simple preference from the new-group set.

Use plain wording, read the question aloud as well as posting it, and keep the prompt visible while people respond. Don’t make chat, speech, cameras, or breakout rooms the only way to participate.

The 25 Questions

For Regular Team Standups

1. What’s one thing you’re genuinely looking forward to this week?
2. Share a win from last week - work or personal.
3. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or watched recently?
4. If you could pick a soundtrack for a focused task, would you choose music, background sound, or silence?
5. If you could change one thing about how you work, what would it be?

For Kicking Off New Projects or Sprints

6. What’s a task you enjoy contributing to a project?
7. What’s one thing you want to learn by the end of this project?
8. What’s a small project milestone you’d like us to celebrate?
9. If this project were a film genre, what genre would it be?
10. What’s your go-to method for staying focused when things get complicated?

For All-Hands & Larger Meetings

11. What’s a topic you’d enjoy learning about in a short workshop?
12. If you could swap roles with anyone on this call for a day, who would you pick?
13. What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?
14. What’s one thing that’s changed about how you work in the last two years?
15. What’s a skill outside your job description that you’re proud of?

For Energising a Dragging Call

16. What would your walk-in music be if you entered a meeting like a boxer entering a ring?
17. If you had to describe your current mood as a weather report, what would it be?
18. What’s a simple tool or shortcut you’d recommend trying?
19. What’s the most creative solution you’ve ever come up with at work?
20. If this team were a sports team, what sport would we play and why?

For Wrapping Up & Closing

21. What’s one word to describe how you feel about the week ahead?
22. What’s one small task you’d like to make time for before the next meeting?
23. What’s a work topic you’d like us to make room for in a future meeting?
24. What’s something about today’s meeting format you’d keep next time?
25. Would you prefer a question, a quick poll, or no opening activity next time?

How to Use These Effectively

Invite, don’t cold-call. Put the question in the chat, read it aloud, and leave a pause before inviting volunteers. State that nobody has to answer or explain a pass.

Offer a brief example. If you’re facilitating, give a one-sentence answer so people know the suggested length. Your willingness to share does not oblige anyone else to do the same.

Budget time for one question. For a brief opening, choose the quick-round icebreakers. Close the activity at the time you agreed and continue with the agenda.

Check the group’s preference. Ask whether people want to keep the activity, change the format, or leave it out. Don’t treat frequent answers as evidence of engagement or silence as a performance issue.

Leave Room for Different Participation Preferences

People may prefer writing, speaking, listening, or skipping on different days. Avoid assigning a format based on a personality label. Keep questions away from private home details and don’t ask participants to fetch or show an object from their space.

If a prompt asks about hobbies or recent experiences, offer an imaginary alternative: “Something you enjoy, or something you might like to try.” Nobody needs a subscription, a travel story, or a purchase to take part.

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Choose a question for your call: use the topic and tone filters in the Icebreaker Generator or open the remote-call set. For meeting and check-in formats beyond Zoom, see our practical team-building questions.