120 CONVERSATION STARTERS THAT ACTUALLY GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

Conversation Starters

A conversation starter only has one real job: make the next response easier.

That is why something specific usually works better than something impressive.

“What's up?” is perfectly normal, but it gives the other person almost no direction. “What's been the best part of your week so far?” gives them something they can actually choose, describe or tell a story about.

The same idea applies outside questions. You can comment on something happening around you, ask for an opinion, notice an interest or introduce yourself directly.

The starter is not supposed to carry the whole conversation. It only needs to open the door.

Once the other person gives you something interesting, use it.

If you only want a few reliable options, start here. These are broad enough to work in plenty of situations without sounding like you pulled them from an interview questionnaire.

1. What has been the best part of your week so far?
2. What is something you've been really into lately?
3. What's something you're looking forward to right now?
4. How do you normally spend a completely free day?
5. What's the last thing that made you laugh properly?
6. What is something you could talk about for way too long?
7. Have you discovered anything recently that you'd actually recommend?
8. What's somewhere you'd happily visit again?
9. What have you been listening to lately?
10. What's something you've always wanted to learn?
11. What is something you tried recently that surprised you?
12. What's a small thing that always improves your mood?
13. If tomorrow suddenly became completely free, what would you do?
14. What is something you wish you had more time for?
15. What's been taking up most of your attention lately?

You do not need to ask all fifteen.

If question three turns into ten minutes of conversation, question four has already become irrelevant.

Sometimes you are not trying to have an incredible conversation. You just need somewhere comfortable to begin.

16. How has your day been?
17. Done anything interesting today?
18. Have you got much planned this week?
19. What have you been watching lately?
20. What kind of music are you into?
21. Are you more of a morning person or a night person?
22. What's your usual way of switching off after a long day?
23. What kind of weekend do you actually enjoy?
24. Have you been anywhere good recently?
25. What food could you eat every week without getting tired of it?
26. Are you someone who plans everything or figures things out as you go?
27. What is your current comfort show, game or hobby?
28. Have you picked up any new interests lately?
29. What's something ordinary you're weirdly particular about?
30. What usually makes a day feel like a good day to you?

Easy does not mean boring. These work because the answer can stay light or become more interesting depending on what the person wants to share.

When you barely know somebody, give them room to decide how much they want to reveal.

You do not need to skip small talk immediately. Small talk exists for a reason: it gives two people somewhere safe to begin.

31. What brought you here today?
32. Are you from around here originally?
33. What's your hometown like?
34. How do you know the people here?
35. Have you been here before?
36. What do you usually like doing outside work or school?
37. How did you get into what you're doing now?
38. What's something you've been enjoying recently?
39. Do you know many people here already?
40. What's something I should know about where you're from?
41. What do you normally end up doing on weekends?
42. Is there something you're looking forward to this month?
43. What sort of things usually keep you busy?
44. What's the last really good recommendation somebody gave you?
45. What kind of people do you usually click with quickly?

If you want more questions specifically designed for learning about somebody, this is where you can naturally link: Want more? See our 250 Questions to Get to Know Someone.

Talking to a stranger usually feels more natural when your opener belongs to the situation you are both already in.

46. Have you been here before?
47. Is this place normally this busy?
48. Do you know what's actually good here?
49. I have absolutely no idea what to order. What would you pick?
50. That looks interesting—what is it?
51. How did you hear about this place?
52. Is that actually worth trying?
53. I like your jacket. Where did you get it?
54. Have you been waiting long too?
55. I'm starting to think this line might be permanent.
56. Is this your first time at one of these?
57. Do you know many people here?
58. What did you think of that?
59. I don't think we've met—I'm [name].
60. Okay, I need another opinion on something…

Notice that not all of these are questions.

Sometimes an observation is easier because it lets the other person choose whether to engage.

And if you want the full mechanics behind starting the interaction, link naturally to: How to Start a Conversation.

Funny starters work best when they create something playful to react to rather than putting pressure on somebody to perform.

61. What completely harmless opinion would you defend far too passionately?
62. What would your warning label say?
63. What's your most irrational pet peeve?
64. What everyday activity should become an Olympic sport?
65. Which fictional character would be an absolute nightmare to live with?
66. What's the worst fashion choice you've ever made voluntarily?
67. If your week had a title, what would it be?
68. What's a useless skill you're strangely good at?
69. If animals could talk, which one would be the rudest?
70. What's a food combination you like that other people judge you for?
71. Which song would make the worst possible alarm?
72. If your personality had a weather forecast today, what would it say?
73. What tiny inconvenience makes you disproportionately angry?
74. What's something you believed as a kid that makes absolutely no sense now?
75. If today became a national holiday, what would we be celebrating?

Humor is especially useful when the conversation is going fine but has become predictable.

These sit somewhere between casual small talk and genuinely personal conversation.

76. What is something you think everyone should try once?
77. What's something you've changed your mind about recently?
78. What skill do you think is underrated?
79. What's something people take too seriously?
80. What's something people don't appreciate enough?
81. What experience taught you more than you expected?
82. What's something you'd like to understand better?
83. What is something that looks difficult but is surprisingly easy?
84. What is something that looks easy but is actually difficult?
85. What's a habit you're glad you developed?
86. What makes someone interesting to talk to?
87. What's something you wish people asked you about more often?
88. What kind of environment brings out the best version of you?
89. What's something you've become less worried about as you've got older?
90. What is something you think you'll care more about five years from now?

These are useful when you want to learn how somebody thinks without suddenly turning the conversation into therapy.

Online conversations have less shared physical context, so give the other person an easy topic instead.

91. Where in the world are you talking from?
92. What's your day been like there?
93. What's something people should know about where you live?
94. What have you been listening to lately?
95. What do you normally do when you're online and bored?
96. What made you feel like talking to someone new today?
97. What's something interesting that's happened this week?
98. What have you been watching or playing recently?
99. If somebody visited your city, what would you tell them to do first?
100. What's something ordinary where you live that might seem strange somewhere else?
101. What hobby would you recommend to someone who needs a new one?
102. What language would you learn if you could become fluent overnight?
103. What's a place you'd like to visit next?
104. What topic always sends you down an internet rabbit hole?
105. What kind of conversation makes you forget how long you've been talking?

Sometimes the best way out of a flat conversation is to ask something completely unrelated.

106. If you could see one statistic about your entire life, what would you choose?
107. What's something you think everyone secretly pretends to understand?
108. If you had to give a ten-minute presentation right now, what topic would you choose?
109. What's a tiny luxury you would hate to give up?
110. Which decade would you visit for one week?
111. What object you own has the best story behind it?
112. What's something you would do more often if you did not care about being bad at it?
113. What is something you have never understood the hype around?
114. What everyday thing would you miss surprisingly badly if it disappeared tomorrow?
115. What's something you tried once and immediately knew wasn't for you?
116. What smell instantly takes you back somewhere?
117. If you could become an expert on one oddly specific topic, what would it be?
118. What's a decision you made on impulse that worked out surprisingly well?
119. What question do you wish people asked you more often?
120. If we spoke again a year from now, what do you hope would have changed?

The point of random questions is not randomness itself. It is breaking the predictable pattern of questions people have already answered a thousand times.

A starter stops being useful the moment you become more interested in the list than the person answering it.

Suppose you ask: “What have you been listening to lately?” They say: “Mostly old-school hip-hop. My older brother got me into it.” You now have several obvious directions: “What did he get you listening to first?”, “Do you two have similar taste?” or “Who's your favorite?”

Going back to the list and asking: “Anyway, what's your favorite food?” would throw away everything they just gave you.

Conversation starters are there to find a thread.

Once you find one, pull on it.

Do not assume immediately that you said something wrong. Some people naturally answer briefly. They may be nervous, distracted or simply not interested in that particular subject.

Try one follow-up or switch topics once.

For example: “What have you been watching lately?” “Nothing really.” You can move naturally: “Fair. What do you normally do when you're trying to switch your brain off?”

If every topic produces the same one-word response, you do not need to keep dragging the conversation forward alone.

Not every conversation needs saving.

Yes—but timing matters. A thoughtful question can create a much better conversation when both people already seem comfortable. The exact same question can feel strangely intense if somebody has known you for thirty seconds.

Think of depth as something you arrive at, not something you prove by asking the deepest question in the room.

You can move naturally from: “What do you do on weekends?” to: “What do you like about it?” to: “How did you get into that?” to: “What does that give you that other things don't?”

Nothing there is a dramatic leap. The conversation simply gets more personal because both people keep choosing to stay on the subject.

Silence is not an emergency.

You can introduce a new starter, return to something mentioned earlier or even acknowledge the pause.

For example: “Random change of subject—where would you travel tomorrow if somebody paid for it?” Or: “You mentioned you were learning guitar earlier. How's that actually going?”

A pause only becomes painfully awkward when both people decide it means something has gone wrong.

Sometimes you simply ran out of that particular topic.

Start another one.

You could memorize all 120 starters on this page and still have a terrible conversation if you never listen to the answers.

Or you could ask: “What have you been into lately?” and spend twenty minutes talking about one unexpected answer.

That is the difference between starting topics and actually having a conversation.

Use these prompts when you need somewhere to begin. Once something clicks, leave the list behind.