32 questions · Friends mood

Get to know you questions with a twist

Get to know you questions usually stall at where are you from and what do you do. This set covers the same ground but asks it sideways, so the answers come with stories, opinions and the odd confession instead of a list of facts.

Draw a question1 / 32

What is the most underrated thing about where you grew up?

Press space or → for the next one.

The basics, with a twist

  1. What is the most underrated thing about where you grew up?
  2. What would you be doing for work if money were not a factor?
  3. What is a nickname you have had, and who gave it to you?
  4. What is the story behind your name?
  5. How would your childhood best friend describe you?
  6. What is the first thing you do when you get home?
  7. What does your family group chat mostly talk about?
  8. What was the first concert you ever went to?

Habits and quirks

  1. What is a routine you stick to no matter where you are?
  2. What is the weirdest thing you are particular about?
  3. How many tabs do you have open right now, honestly?
  4. Do you read the last page of a book first?
  5. What do you always buy when you go to the grocery store, even if you do not need it?
  6. Are you a phone-face-down person or a phone-always-visible person?
  7. What is your go-to procrastination move?
  8. How do you organize your music, or do you just hit shuffle?

Favorites that say something

Ask what the favorite is, then ask why it won.

  1. What is your favorite season, and what does it remind you of?
  2. What is a smell that takes you straight back somewhere?
  3. Which movie could you quote from start to finish?
  4. What is your favorite word, just for how it sounds?
  5. What is your favorite meal to make for other people?
  6. What is the best gift you have ever received?
  7. Which app would you keep if you could only have one?
  8. What is your favorite way to spend a rainy day?

Stories and values

  1. Who was your favorite teacher, and what made them stand out?
  2. What is the best decision you made in the last five years?
  3. What is something you learned the hard way?
  4. What would your perfect day look like if you had no obligations?
  5. What is something you will never compromise on?
  6. When do you feel most like yourself?
  7. What is something you are excited to learn or try next?
  8. What tradition would you want to keep for the rest of your life?

How to use them

Use the twist, not the basics. Instead of asking where someone is from, ask what is underrated about it. The topic is the same, but the second version invites an opinion and usually a story.

Mix serious and silly. Going straight from quirks to values can feel abrupt, so alternate. A question about how many tabs someone has open buys you the goodwill to ask about what they will never compromise on.

These work in a classroom, at a new job or with someone you have just been matched with on Hush, where you know nothing about the other person beyond their aura and have to build the picture from scratch.

Questions people ask

Questions that invite stories and opinions rather than facts: the best decision they made recently, a routine they never skip, something they learned the hard way. Adults have answered where are you from too many times to enjoy it.

Answer your own questions, follow up on details instead of moving down a list and mix light questions in with personal ones. A real conversation has both people talking about equally.

There is no target. In a group, two or three per person is plenty. One on one, a single good question with follow-ups can fill twenty minutes, which is better than ten questions answered in a line.

More questions

Icebreaker questions for work, class and new groups30 questions. Icebreaker questions have a bad reputation because most of them are either forced or forgettable.
Questions to ask someone you just met30 questions. Questions to ask someone you just met need to do a lot in a short time: make them comfortable, find something you share and leave them glad they talked to you.
This or that questions for fast, fun answers35 questions. This or that questions are the fastest way to learn about someone: two options, no explanation required, one answer per second.
Questions to ask a stranger that are not about the weather32 questions. Good questions to ask a stranger do two things at once: they are easy to answer and they reveal something real.