40 Icebreaker Questions That Work on Video Chat

Two faces appear, both of you say "hi", and for about four seconds nobody knows what comes next. Those four seconds are the hardest part of a video chat, and they have nothing to do with your camera or your internet. A handful of good icebreaker questions makes them disappear.

Below are forty, in three groups. Pick two or three you like and leave the rest. Nobody wants to be read a list, so use these as a safety net rather than a script.

How to Open in the First 10 Seconds

Three small moves work better than any clever line.

1. Say hi first, and smile. The person who speaks first sets the mood, and a smile costs nothing.
2. Point at something real. A lamp, a guitar on the wall, the sunset behind them. It gives you a question that needs no preparation.
3. Ask about them, then answer yourself. "Where are you tonight? I'm in a very quiet flat in Lisbon." Now it is a swap, not an interview.

If you are worried the picture itself will put them off, spend thirty seconds in the online mirror before you start. A better angle changes how a chat begins.

Conversation Starters for the First Minute

A conversation starter is the opening move, and an icebreaker question is what you ask once the chat is moving. The best conversation starters are specific, easy to answer and tied to something you can both see. Four that work on video:

• "What time is it where you are?" It is a fact, so nobody has to think, and the answer often leads to a story.
• "Is that your cat?" Anything visible in the frame is a ready-made topic.
• "What are you drinking?" A mug on the desk is the easiest opener there is.
• "Where are you from, and what is it known for?" People enjoy explaining their own town.

Once one of these lands, move on to the lists below.

Light Icebreaker Questions

These are for the first minute. They are easy to answer, they take no thought and they usually lead to a small story. The best ones are about right now.

1. Where in the world are you tonight, and what time is it there?
2. What is the best thing you have eaten this week?
3. What are you drinking right now?
4. What is that on the wall behind you?
5. What was the last song you had on repeat?
6. Is it hot, cold or rainy where you are?
7. What did you do today that was not on your list?
8. What is the one app on your phone you could not delete?
9. Morning person or night owl?
10. What is the most useless skill you are secretly good at?
11. What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
12. Do you have a pet, or have you been trying to get one?
13. What is your go-to comfort show?
14. What is the first thing you do when you get home?
15. If you could teleport for one hour, where would you go?

Curious Questions That Get a Real Answer

Once the chat has a pulse, move to questions that cannot be answered in one word. They work well when you are talking to someone from another country, because the answers are different every time.

1. What is a word from your language that does not translate well?
2. What does a normal Saturday look like where you live?
3. What is something people from your country always get wrong about it?
4. What is the best piece of advice you ever ignored?
5. What is the strangest job you have ever had, or wanted?
6. What did you want to be when you were ten?
7. What is a small thing you do that makes your day better?
8. Which food from your childhood do you still crave?
9. What is the best thing about the place you grew up?
10. What is something you learned recently that surprised you?
11. Is there a place near you that visitors should never miss?
12. What do you do when you cannot sleep?
13. What is a tradition in your family that outsiders would find odd?
14. Which book or film did you quote too much in school?
15. What is the last thing you got really good at?

Deeper Questions When the Chat Is Going Well

Save these for when you are both leaning in. They are a bit more personal, so ask them only if the other person is giving you more than one-line answers, and share your own first.

1. What is something you changed your mind about in the last few years?
2. What is the best compliment you have ever received?
3. Who taught you the most, and what did they teach you?
4. What is a risk you are glad you took?
5. What do you wish you had started earlier?
6. What makes a day feel like a good day to you?
7. What are you looking forward to over the next six months?
8. What is a hard thing you got through that you rarely talk about?
9. What would you tell your younger self about this year?
10. What is something you are quietly proud of?

Random Chat Topics When the Conversation Stalls

Questions run out. Topics do not. When the chat dips, steer toward one of these and let the other person take it somewhere:

• Food. The dish they would defend in an argument, or the one nobody outside their country gets.
• Travel, including bad trips. The worst journey is always the best story.
• What they are watching or playing. It also tells you in ten seconds whether you have something in common.
• The odd detail in the frame. The room says more than a profile ever could.
• Plans for the weekend. Boring, but it works on every kind of person.

How to Talk to Strangers Without It Getting Weird

Knowing how to start a conversation with a stranger online is mostly about being easy to answer. A few habits make you that person:

• Ask one question at a time. Three at once feels like an interrogation.
• React to the answer. "No way, really?" matters more than your next question.
• Keep the personal stuff personal. Skip full names, home addresses and where you work. Real friendships can wait for those.
• Notice the signals. Short answers, looking away, an eye on the clock. They mean the chat is ready to wrap up, and that is fine.

More on what to hold back, and what to do if someone does not respect it, is in the video chat safety tips.

How to Leave a Chat Politely

You are always allowed to go. If the chat has been pleasant, a short, kind exit leaves a good last impression: "I've got to run, it was nice talking to you." If it has not been pleasant, you owe nothing, and Next is the whole message.

If you have not tried yet, how OmegaCam works shows where the buttons are, and camera chat online is the place to test a few of these questions on real people.