100 This or That Icebreaker Questions

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Ruth Hadari
Ruth Hadari
Agile Advocate, Engineering Ops Expert
Posted on
Nov 9, 2022
Updated on
Apr 24, 2023
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We all know how difficult it can be to start a conversation, especially with people you don't know very well. That's why this or that icebreaker questions can be so helpful. They give you something to talk about right off the bat but can also help you get better insights about your co-workers. 

There are all sorts of team building questions you can use, depending on the situation. If you're starting a new job, for instance, you might want to ask about your co-workers' favourite foods or movies. If you're at a networking event, you might want to ask about people's hobbies or interests. No matter what the situation, questions can help you get the conversation started.

What Are This or That Questions?

This or that questions are also referred to as icebreaker questions as they help break the ice and get the conversation going. This or that questions are usually options that a recipient has to choose between. They can come in the form of either/or questions, such as "Do you prefer coffee or tea?" or "Do you prefer pizza or hot dogs?". This or that questions can also be yes/no questions, such as "Do you like to travel or stay at home?" 

There are no right or wrong answers to this or that icebreaker questions, they’re all subjective so feel free to be creative. You can ask about anything you want, and you can make the options as silly or serious as you like. This or that questions are a great way to start a conversation, get to know someone better, or just have some fun.

Why Are This or That Questions Effective?

This or that icebreaker questions are effective for work because they're a great way to get to know your co-workers. By understanding the thought processes and opinions of your teammates, you’ll be sure to work closer and better in the future. This or that icebreaker questions can also be effectively used in virtual team building exercises as well as in-person meetings. Using them as zoom icebreakers can be a great way to ease the tension that we all feel when starting a virtual meeting.

Plus, this or that questions can help you bond with your co-workers. By asking and answering these questions, you'll get to know each other better and build relationships. And when you have good relationships with your co-workers, you’re also more likely to enjoy the work that you do, which in turn creates high quality work.

According to a study done by Harvard Business Review, one of the contributing factors to highly successful teams is that team members connect over non-work topics and have side conversations within the team. Connections are often fostered by team-building activities such as icebreaker games.

Even if your team is working remotely, starting virtual meetings with a round of this or that questions can help everyone get to know each other better and feel more comfortable working together which directly correlates to increased team collaboration which drives innovation and creative problem solving.

How Do You Ask This or That Questions?

This or that questions are easy to ask. Just ask the question and let the person answer. You can then follow up with a related question, or ask another this or that question. For example, you could ask "Do you prefer cats or dogs?", and then follow up with "Why do you prefer that animal?". 

Here are a few tips when asking this or that questions: 

  • Keep it light and friendly. This is not the time for serious questions! 
  • Make sure everyone understands the rules before you start. 
  • Ask one person at a time and give them a chance to answer before moving on. 
  • Try to come up with creative, interesting questions that will spark conversation.

100 This or That Questions

Here are 100 fun this or that questions to inspire you.

20 Funny This or That Questions

Funny this or that questions are a great way to keep things lighthearted and fun. The following examples might help your team warm up to each other and be a good way to kick off the session.

  1. Air guitar or air drums?
  2. Robots or dinosaurs?
  3. Forgetting the lyrics at karaoke or forgetting lines to a speech?
  4. Loud or nosey neighbours?
  5. Toilet paper over or under?
  6. Outer space or the bottom of the sea?
  7. Crusts or no crusts on your sandwiches?
  8. Zombie outbreak or alien invasion?
  9. Be underdressed or overdressed?
  10. Live without the internet for a week or not shower for a month?
  11. Wear silly hats or silly socks?
  12. Have three eyes or three legs?
  13. Tell a funny story or have a good one-liner?
  14. Be known for moonwalking or dad dancing?
  15. Circles or squares?
  16. More money or more free time?
  17. Be able to speak every language or speak to animals?
  18. Listen to the same 10 songs or watch the same 5 movies forever?
  19. Never eat your favourite food again or eat your least favourite food once a week?
  20.  Have unlimited free food or unlimited aeroplane tickets?

20 This or That Questions for Work

By asking work-related this or that questions, you can learn a thing or two about how your co-workers operate in the workplace.

  1. Desktop or laptop? 
  2. Office or cubicle? 
  3. Headphones or earbuds? 
  4. Chatting or emailing? 
  5. Morning person or night person? 
  6. Coffee or tea? 
  7. Taking risks or playing it safe? 
  8. Working alone or with others? 
  9. Taking breaks or working straight through? 
  10. Work in a shared space or private room? 
  11. Flexible hours or set hours? 
  12. Wearing casual clothes or dressing up? 
  13. Having a lot of meetings or very few meetings? 
  14. Work from home or in the office? 
  15. Brainstorming with others or coming up with ideas on your own? 
  16. Presenting in front of a group or working on a project alone? 
  17. Be your own boss or work for someone else?
  18. Having a set routine or being more flexible? 
  19. Getting all your work done as soon as possible or taking your time and enjoying the process? 
  20.  Doing something you love or getting paid well?

20 Thanksgiving This or That Questions

Is it the time of the year when the leaves are changing colour, temperatures are dropping, and you’re preparing for a feast? Thanksgiving this or that questions are great just before leaving for the long weekend.

  1. Turkey or ham? 
  2. Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes? 
  3. Apple cider or pumpkin spice latte?
  4. Gravy or no gravy?
  5. Cranberry sauce from a can or cranberry sauce from scratch? 
  6. Apple pie or pumpkin pie? 
  7. Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
  8. Hosting or attending?
  9. Knit sweaters or flannels?
  10. Go on a hayride or jump in the leaves?
  11. Watch football or play football?
  12. Eat turkey for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week or wear a pumpkin suit for a week?
  13. Spend Thanksgiving with immediate family and close friends or a large group of extended family and friends?
  14. Cabin in the woods or house on the lake?
  15. Cook the Thanksgiving meal or clean up afterward?
  16. Eat Thanksgiving food every day or never again?
  17. Pumpkin soup or pumpkin bread?
  18. Take family pictures or play board games?
  19. Relax at home or go on a hike to see the fall colours?
  20.  Soup or chili?

20 Halloween This or That Questions

These themed questions may do just the trick to get everyone into the Halloween spirit. Use them for a spooky twist to traditional this or that questions.

  1. Jack-o'-lanterns or candy corn? 
  2. Trick-or-treating or going to a Halloween party? 
  3. Wearing a costume or not wearing a costume? 
  4. Carved pumpkins or painted pumpkins? 
  5. First to die or last one standing?
  6. Ghost stories or horror movies? 
  7. Freddy or Jason?
  8. Candy apples or caramel apples? 
  9. Hayrides or haunted houses? 
  10. Walk through a graveyard in the dark or spend a night in an abandoned house?
  11. Scare or be scared?
  12. Give out candy or take candy?
  13. Wear a funny costume or a scary one?
  14. Communicate with ghosts or animals?
  15. Homemade costume or store-bought costume?
  16. Mummies or vampires? 
  17. Skeletons or zombies? 
  18. Witches or werewolves? 
  19. Supernatural or slasher?
  20.  Be covered in spiders or snakes?

20 Christmas This or That Questions

Ready to break for the Christmas holidays? Set up a round of this or that questions for meetings around the most wonderful time of the year.

  1. Santa or the Grinch? 
  2. Christmas lights on the house or in the yard? 
  3. Red and green or blue and silver? 
  4. Stockings or presents under the tree? 
  5. Snowballs or snowmen? 
  6. Eggnog or hot cocoa? 
  7. Real tree or fake tree? 
  8. Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? 
  9. Angels or elves? 
  10.  Icicles or mistletoe? 
  11. Christmas carols or Christmas movies? 
  12. Gingerbread houses or gingerbread cookies? 
  13. Santa's workshop or the North Pole? 
  14. Dashing through the snow or sitting by the fire? 
  15. Sledding or snowboarding? 
  16. Ice skating or skiing?
  17. Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? 
  18. Boxing Day or New Year's Eve? 
  19. White Elephant or Secret Santa?
  20. Ugly sweaters or matching PJs?

How Can GoRetro Help?

GoRetro is a programming company that creates agile/scrum workflows. Our agile retrospective tool is popular with scrum teams from startups, Fortune 500 companies, banks, and government agencies. It is a way for teams to reflect on their teamwork and identify ways to improve and can help team members identify what went well, what didn't go well, and what could be done differently in the future.

We can help by driving continuous team improvement to transform the way teams work together. With our platform, the retrospective process is made seamless and engaging, and you can create unlimited teams and collaborate on GoRetro boards so you can keep track of your meetings all in one place.

Our 20 pre-built templates are easy-to-use and flexible, and retrospectives can be customized from start to finish. GoRetro makes meetings from anywhere more efficient with meeting action items, powerful analytics, and timers to keep the conversation on track.

About the author

Ruth Hadari
Agile Advocate, Engineering Ops Expert

Highly experienced in leading multi-organizational teams, groups, in-shore as well as off-shore. The go-to person who is able to simplify the complex. An agile advocate, experienced in all common methodologies. Responsible for the entire software development lifecycle process from development, QA, DevOps, Automation to delivery including overall planning, direction, coordination, execution, implementation, control and completion. Drives execution, and communicates on status, risks, metrics, risk-mitigation and processes across R&D.

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