The best conversation starters are questions that make people pause before answering. Not "what's your favorite movie" but "what's something you know is true that most people don't believe?" These 150+ questions do that. They were tested in real conversations between strangers on the streets of New York City, filmed for 8notice9.
Some made people laugh. Some made people stop mid-sentence. A few made people cry. What they all have in common: they get past the part where everyone's performing and into the part where people are actually talking.
Use them at dinner parties, game nights, road trips, first dates, team offsites, family gatherings, or anywhere the conversation has gone flat and someone needs to go first. They're organized by category so you can pick the ones that fit the energy in the room.
Last updated: February 15, 2026
For Groups
Good conversation games for groups work best when everyone reacts at the same time. These 15 group questions do that. They're designed for game nights, dinner parties, and gatherings of 3+ people. They break the usual one-at-a-time conversation pattern. Start here if the room needs energy.
Everyone point at the funniest person in the room on the count of 3
Everyone pick a number from 1 to 100. See who picked closest to each other
Look at everyone for 5 seconds each. Who looked the most uncomfortable being looked at?
If this group started a band, what would it be called?
If a stranger watched this group for 5 minutes, what would they assume about you all?
What would a stranger think if they walked in right now?
Who's the most intense person here? The group has to agree on one name
If everyone in this room had a secret talent, what would each person's be? Go around and guess
Without looking — what time do you think it is? Everyone guess. Closest wins
Describe someone in this room using only three words. Let the group guess who
Everyone be completely silent for 10 seconds. Then describe what you heard
If you had to send one person in this room to represent the group to aliens, who and why?
Who here would you go to if everything fell apart tomorrow?
Show the group your screen time for today
Make up a question right now. Everyone has to answer it
Deep Questions
Deep questions to ask friends, partners, or anyone you want a real conversation with. These are the ones that make people put their phone down. Use them when the room is already warmed up and the surface-level stuff has run its course. Don't start with these. Build up to them. The payoff is bigger when people have loosened up.
If this is as good as it gets, would that be enough?
What's something you know is true that most people don't believe?
What do you think happens when we die?
Will you live a great life?
What aspect of society do you reject?
If you could get the whole world behind one idea, what would it be?
What's a lesson you keep having to relearn?
Name a belief you held a year ago that you've quietly dropped
What is one of the most underrated qualities in life?
What's one thing about love not enough people notice?
What's the worst advice you ever took?
What do you think your life looks like from the outside?
If you could have a conversation with any version of yourself — past or future — which one?
How do people in your life help you be a better person?
What is one reason to be optimistic about the world today?
These assume some level of existing closeness. They work best with people you already know but haven't gone deep with in a while. The kind of things you've thought about your friends but never actually said out loud.
Tell someone in the room something you've noticed about them but never said
What's something you've never said to anyone in this room?
Tell someone here why you're glad they're here
Pick someone. What's a top memory you have with them?
Who here changed the most in the last year? Tell them what you see
What is your favorite thing about one of your best friends?
Tell someone what you think their superpower is
Who in this room would you trust with a secret you've never told anyone?
Who here makes you feel the most calm?
Pick someone. What would they be doing if money didn't exist?
Who here do you think would be famous if they really tried? Why?
Who here has a talent they don't take seriously enough? Call them out
Pick someone. Describe their energy today in one word
Who here isn't seeing your vision right now? Say their name
Who had your back when you were low?
Observation Questions
Observation questions are the easiest conversation starters to use with strangers or new acquaintances because they don't require vulnerability, just attention. They pull people into the present moment and work anywhere: restaurants, parks, living rooms, waiting rooms.
What sound can you hear right now that you weren't aware of 5 seconds ago?
Name something beautiful that's within eyesight right now
What do you notice about the place you're in?
Look around. What's one thing in this space you've never noticed before?
What's the oldest thing in this room?
Look at everyone's shoes. What do they tell you about the person?
Name something in this room that someone clearly cares about. How can you tell?
What's the furthest thing you can see from where you're sitting?
Look at your hands. What's the most recent thing they did that mattered?
What emotion is sitting in the room right now? Name it
Look around. Who's carrying something heavy right now?
What is something only you noticed today?
What's something you find beautiful that most people overlook?
What's one thing about this room you'll remember a week from now?
Close your eyes. Point to where you think north is. Open. Check
Fun Questions
Fun questions to ask friends that are actually interesting. These are lighter, playful, and good for breaking tension or warming up a new group. Still more interesting than "what's your favorite color." Use them as icebreakers or as a breather between heavier categories.
Are you more of a hehe or haha type of person?
If months were people, which one would be the rudest?
If animals could talk, which one would you hear from first?
One meal, free and zero calories except the good ones — what is it?
What was your childhood nickname?
Point at someone. What's their theme song?
Assign someone in the room a role in a movie. Describe their character
If they made a movie about your life, what would it be called?
What old person tendencies do you have?
What's the most unhinged thing you've ever done that you'd do again?
What's something you're weirdly good at that has zero practical use?
If you could fly anywhere tomorrow, expenses paid — where would you go?
What's something you believed way too long as a kid?
Point at the person who would survive the longest in the wild. Explain
What song do you think they're playing in heaven right now? Queue the music
Personal questions to ask someone when you want a real answer, not a rehearsed one. These go inward, asking people to share something they don't normally say out loud. Best in smaller, trusted groups or one-on-one. The quiet after someone answers one of these is usually the best part.
What's one thing you're avoiding right now?
What do you wish you could tell your younger self?
Do you have a dream you never told anyone about?
What's a promise you will never break?
What's something you're proud of that you never talk about?
Name a moment that changed the direction of your life
What's something everyone assumes about you that isn't true?
What's one thing you want to do but are too scared?
What is one thing you want but are too embarrassed to admit?
What happened the last time you cried?
What's a place that changed the way you see things?
What's a big thing on your mind these days?
Say something honest right now. About anything
Rate your current happiness from 1-10. Now explain the number
What's something you own that you'd never sell no matter the offer?
Hypothetical Questions
Hypothetical questions that make you think without requiring anyone to be vulnerable first. People reveal what they care about through imagination rather than confession. Lower stakes than personal questions, but they often end up going just as deep. Great for groups that are smart and playful.
If you could ask the entire world one question and get an honest answer, what would you ask?
If your life was a movie, what is the audience chanting for you to do right now?
If you could witness any moment in history — just watch, not change it — what would you pick?
If you could master any skill overnight, what would it be?
If you could see one measurement or statistic over everyone's heads, what would you want it to indicate?
What would you do with an extra hour every day that nobody knew about?
If you could live in any era for a week, where are you going?
If everyone in this room had met in a different lifetime, what do you think the setting would be?
If you could change one decision, which one?
If you received $5 million tomorrow, what would you do with it?
If you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be?
If you had to share a one-line message with the world, what is it?
If your mood right now was a color, what color is it?
If your life had a title right now, what would it be?
What would be a dream come true for you?
Creative Questions
Creative conversation starters that ask people to make something up or describe something in a new way. These work well with expressive, verbal people who like to riff. Often the funniest category because the answers are unpredictable.
What's a word you think should exist but doesn't? Describe what it means
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
What meal feels like home?
Give any example like what falling in love feels like
What's a time you were brave? Tell the group, even if you don't feel like a hero
If someone in this room wrote a book, what would the title be?
What are you obsessed with right now?
What is one of the best feelings in the world to you?
What is the weirdest thing you're afraid of?
What are you particular about?
Name something that exists right now that would blow someone's mind 200 years ago
What's a tradition you want to start but haven't yet?
What's the last thing you made?
What's a great victory you won?
What is your biggest green flag?
The Challenge Questions
Truth or dare alternatives that require action, not just words. Someone has to do something: call someone, show something, say something directly to another person. Save these for the end of the night or when the group is brave enough. They're the ones people remember.
Call someone you love on speaker. Tell them one thing
Show the group a recent photo you took
Show the group your lock screen. Why that image?
Give someone a compliment you'd normally only think
Tell someone what you think they'd be like as a parent
Tell someone in the room what they are like when they think no one's watching
Look at the person to your left. What do they need to hear right now?
Look at the person across from you. What do you think they were like as a kid?
Tell someone one strength you admire about them
What do people get wrong about someone here? Don't say who
What's the most interesting thing about someone else in the room?
Who here is most different from who they were five years ago?
"Most people feel more alone now than they did 10 years ago." Address the statement like a politician
What is 12-year-old you would say about your life right now?
Don't read the whole list out loud. Pick one category that matches the current energy — Groups if people need to loosen up, Observation if the room is quiet, Deep if people are already being real. Read one question. Wait. Let the silence do its work.
The best approach: start with something light (Fun or Groups), then move toward something deeper as people warm up. End with a Challenge question if the group is brave enough. The arc matters more than any individual question.
If you want the full experience — 147 prompts designed to be played in sequence, on one phone, in the middle of the group — that's what Notice is. It handles the pacing for you. But these questions work on their own too. Use them however you want.
What is Notice?
Notice is a conversation game with 147 prompts designed to help groups have real conversations. You put one phone in the middle of the group and tap through prompts together. No scores, no timers, no winners.
The prompts are sequenced from light and fun to honest and deep. The order is intentional: it mirrors how real conversations open up when people feel safe enough to be honest.
It's free at playnotice.com. No app download, no account, no data collected. Works offline on any phone browser.
The prompts come from hundreds of real conversations with strangers on the streets of NYC, filmed for 8notice9. Good for dinner parties, game nights, road trips, first dates, team offsites, couples, and any moment where someone needs to go first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good deep conversation starters?
The best deep conversation starters are open-ended questions that invite honesty without forcing it. Instead of "How are you?", try "What's something you know is true that most people don't believe?" or "If this is as good as it gets, would that be enough?" The key is asking something that makes people pause and actually think, rather than reaching for a rehearsed answer.
How do you start a real conversation with someone?
Skip the small talk and ask something specific and unexpected. Questions that involve observation ("What sound can you hear right now that you weren't aware of 5 seconds ago?") or honest reflection ("What's something you're avoiding right now?") tend to break through surface-level conversation. The trick is asking with genuine curiosity — people can tell when you actually want to hear the answer.
What are good questions for game night or dinner parties?
Group questions work best when they involve everyone at once. Try "Everyone point at the funniest person in the room on the count of 3" or "If this group started a band, what would it be called?" Questions that create a shared moment — where everyone reacts at the same time — are more memorable than going around a circle one by one.
How do you get past small talk?
Small talk persists because people are waiting for permission to go deeper. Someone has to go first. Ask a question that's slightly more honest than the current energy — not so deep that it feels forced, but enough to signal that real conversation is welcome. "What's a big thing on your mind these days?" is a simple example that works in almost any setting.
What questions make people open up?
Questions that make people open up tend to do one of three things: ask about specific moments rather than general feelings ("Name a moment that changed the direction of your life"), invite observation ("What emotion is sitting in the room right now?"), or challenge someone to be honest ("Say something honest right now. About anything."). The common thread is that they ask for something real, not something polished.
Can you use conversation starter questions with strangers?
Absolutely — many of these questions were originally tested with strangers on the streets of NYC. The best ones for strangers are observation-based ("What do you notice about the place you're in?") or lightly hypothetical ("If your life had a title right now, what would it be?"). Avoid questions that assume closeness. Start where people are, not where you want them to be.
What is Notice?
Notice is a free digital game with 147 prompts designed to create real conversations. You put one phone in the middle of a group and tap through prompts together — no scores, no timers, no winners. Just questions that make people pay attention. Play free at playnotice.com, works offline with no accounts required.