100 Conversation Starters for a Group Chat

Nothing kills a group chat faster than silence after the "hey everyone, welcome!" message. You've got a handful of people in one place, everyone's a little unsure who's going to talk first, and the whole thing risks fizzling out before it even starts. A good conversation starter fixes that instantly. It gives everyone something easy to respond to, takes the pressure off any one person to carry the conversation, and usually ends up revealing something more interesting about the group than you'd expect.

Group chats work a bit differently from one-on-one conversations. In a smaller room of, say, two to twelve people, one good question can spark five different answers, and then a follow-up conversation off the back of each one. That's really the whole appeal of small group chats over massive ones: there's enough people for the conversation to have some energy, but not so many that half the group just scrolls past without saying anything.

Below are 100 starters, sorted into five categories depending on the mood you're going for: light and fun, get-to-know-you basics, hypotheticals, deeper questions, and ones built specifically for strangers meeting for the first time. Drop one in whenever a chat goes quiet, or use them to kick off a brand new group entirely.

Light and Fun Icebreakers

These are low-stakes, quick to answer, and almost always get a reaction. Good for breaking the ice in a brand new chat or reviving one that's gone quiet.

1. What's a food combination you love that most people think is weird?
2. If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
3. What's the most useless talent you have?
4. What's a movie everyone loves that you just don't get?
5. What's your go-to karaoke song?
6. If your life had a theme song right now, what would it be?
7. What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
8. What's a small thing that instantly puts you in a good mood?
9. Cats or dogs, and why?
10. What's the worst haircut you've ever had?
11. What's a food you refuse to eat no matter what?
12. If you could instantly become an expert in one random skill, what would it be?
13. What's your comfort show, the one you rewatch when you don't want to think?
14. What's the weirdest thing in your fridge right now?
15. If you had a mascot for your personality, what animal would it be?
16. What's your unpopular pizza topping opinion?
17. What's a trend from a few years ago you're still not over?
18. If you could only communicate in gifs for a day, could you survive?
19. What's the last song stuck in your head?
20. What's your order at the place you go to the most?

Get-to-Know-You Basics

Once the energy's warmed up, these push a little further without getting too heavy. Great for a group that's still figuring each other out.

21. What's something you're really good at that most people wouldn't guess?
22. What's a hobby you picked up recently?
23. What does your ideal weekend look like?
24. What's a book, show, or podcast you've recommended the most this year?
25. Where did you grow up, and what's one thing people always get wrong about it?
26. What's your go-to way to unwind after a long day?
27. What's a skill you wish you'd learned earlier in life?
28. If you had a completely free day tomorrow, what would you do with it?
29. What's something you're currently learning or working on?
30. What's a place you've been that completely surprised you?
31. What's your morning routine actually like?
32. What job did you want as a kid, and does it match what you do now?
33. What's a small habit that's made a big difference in your life?
34. What kind of music were you into as a teenager?
35. What's something you collect, or used to collect?
36. What's a language you'd love to learn?
37. What's your favorite way to spend a rainy day?
38. Are you more of a planner or someone who figures it out as you go?
39. What's a piece of advice you got that actually stuck with you?
40. What's something on your bucket list that isn't travel-related?

Hypotheticals and Would-You-Rathers

These tend to spark the most back-and-forth, since everyone has a slightly different answer and people love arguing about it.

41. Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?
42. If you could have dinner with anyone, living or not, who would it be?
43. Would you rather never use social media again or never watch another movie or show?
44. If you woke up tomorrow with one new skill, what would you want it to be?
45. Would you rather live without music or without television?
46. If you had to move to a random country tomorrow, where would you want it to be?
47. Would you rather always be 10 minutes late or always 20 minutes early?
48. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what's the first thing you'd actually do?
49. Would you rather be able to talk to animals or speak every human language?
50. If you could relive one year of your life, which would you pick?
51. Would you rather have unlimited money or unlimited time?
52. If you could instantly master one instrument, what would it be?
53. Would you rather explore space or the deep ocean?
54. If you had to switch lives with someone in this chat for a day, who would you pick?
55. Would you rather always know when someone's lying, or always get away with lying yourself?
56. If you could time travel but only to the past, when would you go?
57. Would you rather live in a big city or somewhere completely remote?
58. If your pet could talk for one day, what do you think it would say?
59. Would you rather lose your sense of smell or your sense of taste?
60. If you had to give a TED talk tomorrow, what would it be about?

Deeper Questions

These work best once a group has a bit of trust built up. They tend to lead to the most memorable conversations in a chat.

61. What's something you believed as a kid that you laugh about now?
62. What's a decision you made that completely changed your life's direction?
63. What does success actually mean to you, outside of money?
64. What's something you're proud of that most people don't know about?
65. Who's someone who shaped who you are today?
66. What's a fear you've managed to get past?
67. What's something you've changed your mind about in the last few years?
68. What's a moment you felt genuinely proud of yourself?
69. What's something you wish more people understood about you?
70. What's a piece of advice you'd give your younger self?
71. What does a good friendship look like to you?
72. What's something that used to scare you but doesn't anymore?
73. What's a value you hold that you'd never compromise on?
74. What's something you're still figuring out about yourself?
75. What's the most meaningful compliment you've ever received?
76. What's a memory that always makes you feel calm?
77. What's something you've learned from a hard experience?
78. What does "home" mean to you?
79. What's a goal you're chasing right now, even if it's a long way off?
80. What's something you want to be remembered for?

For Strangers Meeting for the First Time

Made specifically for a chat full of people who don't know each other yet. Casual enough to keep things light, but with enough substance to spark real conversation.

81. What brought you into this chat?
82. What's something interesting happening in your life right now?
83. What's a topic you could talk about for hours?
84. What's your go-to conversation starter when you meet someone new?
85. What's something about you that surprises people when they find out?
86. What's a question you wish people asked you more often?
87. What's the best piece of advice you've gotten from a stranger?
88. What's something you and a total stranger have bonded over before?
89. What's a small thing that instantly makes you like someone?
90. What kind of conversations do you actually enjoy, small talk or deep talk?
91. What's something you're curious about that has nothing to do with your job?
92. If this chat became a real group of friends, what do you think would bring everyone together?
93. What's a question you'd want to ask everyone in this chat?
94. What's something you're looking forward to this month?
95. What's a conversation you had recently that you're still thinking about?
96. What's something you wish you talked about more with new people?
97. What's the most interesting thing you've learned from a stranger online?
98. What's a topic you never get tired of discussing?
99. What's one thing that would make this chat a great place to be a regular?
100. If you could ask this whole group one question, what would it be?

How to Actually Use These

The trick with conversation starters isn't finding the perfect one, it's using them at the right moment. Drop one in right after introductions, when a chat's gone quiet for a bit, or whenever the conversation's drifted and needs a new direction. It also helps to actually answer the question yourself first. Nobody wants to be the only one who's shared something, so going first tends to get a much better response than just tossing a question into the void and waiting.

If you're chatting with people you've never met, starting lighter and working your way down the list tends to work better than jumping straight to the deep questions. Meeting strangers without the pressure of video already removes a lot of the awkwardness, and a good opening question does the rest.

Try It for Yourself

Moopes is built for exactly this kind of conversation: small groups, capped between two and twelve people, text first, no camera required. It's a good place to actually put a list like this to use, whether you're starting a brand new chat or trying to revive one that's gone quiet.

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Looking for a place to actually use these? Try Moopes.

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Author

Jamie Ellison writes about online friendships, digital communities, and how people build meaningful connections online. Their work explores why smaller conversations and shared interests often create stronger social connections than modern social media feeds.