Starting a conversation is not easy, especially if you are shy, or facing a room of strangers, new colleagues or old friends you have run out of small talk with. The good news is that it is a skill, not a personality trait, and the questions you choose do most of the work. In a well-known 1997 study in Osobnosť a prehľad sociálnej psychológie, psychologist Arthur Aron and colleagues found that pairs of strangers who worked through a set of gradually deeper questions felt markedly closer than pairs who made ordinary small talk.
In our years helping hosts run live sessions at AhaSlides, we have seen the same thing on screen: give a group a good prompt and the conversation runs itself. Below are 140 conversation topics grouped by setting, five practical tips to get started, and a few ways to run them live with a whole group.
Päť praktických tipov na začatie konverzácie
1. Nechajte to jednoduché
The point of a conversation is not to impress but to share and listen. Stick to simple questions, be honest and be yourself: trying to say something clever usually puts pressure on both sides.
2. Začnite otázkou
An otvorená otázka is the fastest way onto a topic the other person cares about. Instead of "do you like your job?", try "what is the most interesting thing about your job?" and you open a door rather than close one.
3. Počúvajte aktívne
Venujte pozornosť slovám, tónu a reči tela druhej osoby, namiesto toho, aby ste si svoju odpoveď nacvičovali. Jej signály vám hovoria, kedy sa máte ponoriť hlbšie a kedy zmeniť tému.
4. Prejavte záujem
Comfortable eye contact, a smile and a nod show that you are engaged, without tipping into an awkward stare.
5. Buďte úprimní, otvorení a láskaví
Podeľte sa o svoju vlastnú skúsenosť po tom, čo sa na to opýtate, a prestane to pôsobiť ako pohovor. Na čokoľvek, o čom by ste radšej nediskutovali, je úplne v poriadku zdvorilé „porozprávame sa o niečom inom?“.
General conversation topics
Easy, low-stakes questions for a first coffee, a team lunch or the first five minutes of a meeting. Our pick: What are three surprising things about you?, because the answers almost always lead somewhere unexpected.
Films, music and showstém 6
- Počúvaš nejaké podcasty? Ktorá je vaša obľúbená?
- What do you think has been the best film of the year so far?
- What song can't you get out of your head at the moment?
- Would you recommend the last rom-com you watched? Why or why not?
- Ktorý slávny pár by ste chceli, aby sa dal opäť dokopy?
- Is there a series you'd recommend I start this week?
Getting to know youtém 8
- What was your favourite toy or game as a child?
- Kto bol tvojím detským hrdinom?
- If you didn't have the job you have now, what would you be doing?
- What are three surprising things about you?
- How have your interests changed over the last few years?
- V akej veci by ste chceli byť odborníkom?
- V akom športe by si chcel byť dobrý?
- What's a hobby you've picked up recently?
Places and planstém 6
- Kam by ste išli na dovolenku, keby ste nemali rozpočet?
- Aká je tvoja obľúbená reštaurácia v okolí?
- Which city would you move to tomorrow if you could?
- Akú výhodu spoločnosti by ste chceli mať?
- Aké sú jedinečné tradície vašej spoločnosti?
- What's the best thing you've done this month?
Deep conversation topics
People tend to avoid deeper questions because they expect them to feel awkward, but Štúdia 2022 by Michael Kardas, Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley found that deep conversations with strangers were less awkward and more enjoyable than people predicted. Our pick: Which teaches you more: success or failure?, a question almost everyone has a story for.
Ponaučenietém 7
- Akú najhoršiu radu ste kedy počuli?
- What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far?
- Which teaches you more: success or failure?
- What lessons from your childhood have shaped how you see the world?
- What has been your biggest success so far, and how did it change your life?
- What's the biggest challenge you've taken on this year, and how did you get through it?
- Čo najzaujímavejšie ste sa v práci naučili?
Kto sitém 8
- Aké sú vaše najlepšie spôsoby, ako sa vysporiadať so stresom?
- What's the best surprise you've ever received?
- Aká je vaša definícia rizika?
- Čo robíš, keď sa cítiš nemotivovaný?
- Ak by si mohol zmeniť jednu vec na svojej osobnosti, čo by to bolo?
- If you could go back in time, is there anything you would change?
- How do you keep yourself organised day to day?
- What does "inner beauty" mean to you?
Veľké otázkytém 5
- Do you think people can really change?
- Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist?
- If you could break one rule without getting in trouble, which would it be?
- Can someone be too young to be in love? Why or why not?
- Ako by bol váš život iný, keby neexistovali sociálne siete?
Funny conversation topics
Use these to break the tension at a party, a team social or a slow Monday morning. Our pick: What's the worst superhero power you can imagine?, which gets everyone competing for the most useless answer.
Food and fridgestém 5
- What's the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
- What's the craziest food you want to try?
- If your personality were a food, what would it be?
- Čo je teraz najzvláštnejšie vo vašej chladničke?
- What would be the worst "buy one, get one free" deal of all time?
Embarrassing momentstém 5
- What's the funniest text you've ever received?
- What's the most embarrassing thing you've seen happen to someone else?
- What's a random, funny thing that happened to you on holiday?
- What's your most embarrassing moment at work?
- What's the strangest thing you've seen on social media recently?
Pure imaginationtém 10
- What would be the worst possible name to give a child?
- What's the worst superhero power you can imagine?
- What's popular now that everyone will be embarrassed by in five years?
- Ak by neexistoval dress code, ako by ste sa obliekali do práce?
- What would be much better if you could just change its colour?
- What would be the most unusual funeral you can imagine?
- Aký najneužitočnejší talent máš?
- What terrible film do you secretly love?
- What's the weirdest thing you find attractive in a person?
- What isn't real, but you wish it were?
Mindful conversation topics
Reflective questions for a close friend, a partner or a quiet walk. Give people time to think, and be ready to answer them yourself. Our pick: What do you always enjoy doing, even when you are tired?, a gentle way into what really matters to someone.
Práve teraztém 6
- What are you enjoying most about life at the moment?
- Na čo najviac myslíš?
- Who do you talk to on the phone most often?
- What do you always enjoy doing, even when you are tired?
- Akú úlohu vo vašom živote hrá vďačnosť?
- How confident are you in your decision-making?
Choices and valuestém 7
- How do you think you can become the best version of yourself?
- If a relationship or job made you unhappy, would you stay or leave?
- What's a hard decision you're glad you made?
- Aká je vaša najvyššia základná hodnota?
- čo si myslíš o peniazoch?
- What role has formal education played in your life, and how do you feel about it?
- Do you believe your future is decided for you, or do you decide it yourself?
Dlhodobý pohľadtém 7
- Čo ste urobili, vďaka čomu ste na seba najviac hrdí?
- Aké dedičstvo chcete zanechať?
- Ak by si mohol mať len jedno želanie, aké by to bolo?
- How comfortable are you talking about death?
- Ako vnímaš svojich rodičov?
- Ako vnímate starnutie?
- Čo si myslíš, že dáva tvojmu životu zmysel?
Conversation topics for work
Questions that help colleagues get to know each other without crossing into anything too personal. They work well for one-to-ones, team check-ins and a new starter's first week. Our pick: Who at work has taught you the most?, which gets people talking about each other in a good way. For more, see our ľadoborec otázky.
Everyday check-instém 7
- Aká bola vaša posledná pracovná záťaž?
- Čo bolo vrcholom vášho dňa?
- What's one thing you're excited about this week?
- Čo ste dnes stihli?
- How's your morning going so far?
- What is a good work hack that everyone should try?
- Akú novú zručnosť ste sa naposledy naučili?
The job itselftém 6
- Mohli by ste mi povedať o svojich skúsenostiach s prácou na tomto projekte?
- Are there any skills you thought would be crucial to your job that turned out not to matter?
- Čo máš na svojej práci najradšej?
- What would you change about your job if you could?
- What do you find the biggest challenge in your role?
- What's the best piece of feedback you've ever been given?
Kariéra a ambícietém 7
- Which project are you proudest of so far?
- What's one lifelong dream you haven't fulfilled yet?
- How did you end up in this career?
- Where could your career go from here in this organisation?
- What opportunities does this job give you?
- What do you think the industry will look like in a few years?
- Who at work has taught you the most?
Conversation topics for networking events
At a conference, the event itself is the one thing you know you have in common, so start there and widen out. Our pick: Čo ťa sem dnes priviedlo?, simple, open and impossible to answer with a yes or no.
O udalostitém 11
- If you had to sum up this event in three words, which would you choose?
- What other events like this have you been to?
- What have been your highlights so far?
- What do you enjoy most about events like this?
- Ako ste sa o tejto udalosti dozvedeli?
- What would bring you back next year?
- How does the event compare with what you expected?
- What's the most surprising thing about this event so far?
- Čo ťa sem dnes priviedlo?
- Na ktorú časť podujatia sa najviac tešíte?
- What's one thing you're hoping to learn here?
Speakers and sessionstém 4
- What do you already know about this speaker's work?
- Which of the speakers would you most like to meet?
- What did you think of that talk?
- If you were giving a talk here, what would you speak about?
Väčší obraztém 5
- Which conference would you hate to miss?
- What's the best event on your calendar this year?
- What has changed since you started coming to this event?
- Ako ste sa dostali do branže?
- Are you here to meet anyone in particular?
Conversation starters over text
Over text, short and specific beats long and general, and a question gives the other person an easy way to reply. Our pick: Describe yourself in three emojis, quick to answer and fun to decode.
Light openerstém 9
- Aký máš deň?
- Pracujete v poslednej dobe na niečom vzrušujúcom?
- Are you more of a cat or a dog person?
- Opíšte sa v troch emoji.
- Aké je tvoje obľúbené jedlo?
- What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
- Čo najzaujímavejšie ste v poslednom čase čítali?
- Aká bola najlepšia dovolenka, na akej si kedy bol/a?
- It's such a nice day. Fancy going for a walk?
Približovať satém 11
- Where would you like to go on a first date?
- Who is the most interesting person you have ever met?
- What's a small habit that has made a big difference to you?
- Is there a quote that is special to you?
- What's the worst chat-up line you've ever heard?
- What's something that scares you but you'd like to do anyway?
- What's a small thing that always makes your day better?
- What's the best compliment anyone has ever given you?
- Čo si najviac želáte vo vzťahu?
- Ako definujete šťastie pre seba?
- Aký bol tvoj prvý dojem zo mňa?
Tieto témy spustite naživo so skupinou
These prompts work one-to-one, but they really come alive with a group. With a tool like AhaSlides, everyone answers from their phone and the responses appear on the shared screen, so nobody has to shout over the room and quieter members can join in without being put on the spot.
Zahrejte sa s živé slovo mrak. Ask "describe yourself in three words" or "which Slack channel are you most active on?" and watch the answers build live, with the most common growing largest.
Rýchlo hlasujte s online anketa, potom nechajte ľudí vysvetliť svoju voľbu. Kolo otázky typu „toto alebo tamto“ je spoľahlivá iskra. Collect the bigger questions on an open-ended slide takže hlbšie témy dostanú premyslené, písomné odpovede, a nie zhon, kto prehovorí prvý.
Často kladené otázky
What are good conversation topics?
Good topics are open-ended and easy to answer from personal experience: films and music, travel, food, work, hobbies and plans. Avoid questions that only need a yes or no, and follow up on whatever the other person seems most interested in.
How do you keep a conversation going?
Ask a follow-up question about something they just said, then share a little of your own experience. Listening for details you can pick up on is more useful than having the next question ready.
What topics should you avoid with people you have just met?
Steer clear of money, religion, politics and anyone's appearance until you know the person better. If a topic lands badly, move on with a lighter question.
How do you start a conversation with a group?
Pick one question everyone can answer, such as a this-or-that choice or a one-word word cloud, and let people answer at the same time. Once the answers are on the screen, the discussion starts itself.
