
Good Conversation Starters For Everyone
Mindful conversation topics are perfect for deepening relationships and fostering meaningful discussions—whether with strangers, family members, romantic partners, or friends old and new. Whether you use a conversation deck, pull from the questions below, or create your own list, here’s to never wondering what to talk about again!
Have you had a good conversation lately? Jump to the comments below and share your favorite topics!
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Conversation Topics For Anyone
1. Which scent do you find the most soothing?
2. What is a language you love to listen to even if you don’t speak or understand it?
3. Oceans or mountains? Why?
4. Describe the most captivating painting or artwork you’ve ever seen.
5. Do you remember the first novel you ever read? If so, what was it?
6. What is your favorite thing about your personality?
“What is your favorite thing about your personality?”
7. If you could have a fictional superhero for a best friend, who would it be?
8. What color would you choose to describe yourself?
9. What is something you have accomplished as an adult that your younger self would be proud of?
10. Is there a place in the world that you feel most represents who you are?
11. Where is one place you’d love to travel to again?
12. If your pet could talk, what would their voice sound like? What would they say about you?
13. What does your name mean?
14. What tasks make you feel like your best self?
15. What’s your Enneagram number and how does it influence your self-care practices?
16. Where do you feel most centered and happy?
17. What’s your favorite comfort food?
18. What do you wear when you’re feeling your very best, and why?
19. What is the best meal you’ve ever had, and what’s the best meal you’ve ever cooked for yourself?
20. What do you love most about your home?
“What do you love most about your home?”
21. What’s a yearbook-style superlative you’d give to your high school self? What’s one for your current self?
22. What gives you goosebumps?
23. Do you know your astrology sign? How about your birth chart?
24. How are you consciously practicing sustainability?
25. Do you have any tattoos?
26. Scuba diving or skydiving?
27. What are you most grateful for in this season of life?
28. Do you give back or volunteer with any organizations?
29. What’s your love language?
Conversation Topics For Friends
30. What do you look for and need in your friendships?
31. How do you feel that you best offer love and support to your friends?
32. Tell me about your childhood best friend.
33. When do you feel most authentically yourself?
34. What’s one form of self-expression you’ve been too hesitant to explore?
“What’s one habit you want to get rid of and one habit you want to keep?”
35. What’s one habit you want to get rid of and one habit you want to keep?
36. What was your first experience with sex like?
37. If you were to perform a duet with a famous musician, who would it be and why?
38. Do you have any recurring dreams? If so, what do you think they are trying to tell you?
39. Who do you most admire, and how has that impacted the way you live your life?
Mindful Conversation Topics for Your Parents
40. What’s one thing you’d tell yourself at my age? What’s one thing your younger self would tell you?
41. What do you wish you’d known before having kids?
42. What was the first big purchase you made as an adult?
43. How did you know when you fell in love?
“What was the first big purchase you made as an adult?”
44. Have you kept any memorabilia from your childhood?
45. What do you miss most about being a child? A teenager? My age?
46. What about the current world would be most surprising to your younger self?
47. If you could travel back in time, which part of your life would you go back to?
48. Who did you vote for in past elections? Why?
49. What are some of your favorite memories about your parents?
Conversation Topics For Kids
50. If you could have one cartoon character be your real-life best friend, who would you choose and why?
51. What’s your earliest memory?
52. What do you love most about school?
53. Who are your best friends?
“What does a perfect day with the family look like?”
54. What is your favorite season?
55. What superpower do you wish you had?
56. What do you want to be when you grow up?
57. If you could have any animal as a pet, which would you choose and why?
58. What does a perfect day with the family look like?
59. What do you love most about our house?
Conversation Topics For Date Night
60. How do you feel best supported in hard times?
61. What does “alone time” look like for you?
62. Dogs or cats (or rabbits)?
63. What do you wish people better understood about you?
“What does ‘alone time’ look like for you?”
64. What lessons from your childhood have most impacted your worldview?
65. If we could live in another country for a year (no strings attached), where would we go?
66. What do you love most about our relationship? What do you wish to work on?
67. What small joys bring light to your day?
68. How can we better practice sustainability as a couple?
69. What’s a favorite memory you have of us together?
Conversation Topics For Siblings
70. What’s one of your favorite memories from our childhood?
71. What do you think everyone in the family will be doing 10 years from now?
“Which characteristics do you think you inherited from our parents?”
72. Do you have a morning routine?
73. What was your favorite subject in school? Favorite teacher?
74. Which characteristics do you think you inherited from our parents?
75. If you could return to school, what would you study?
76. What Netflix show or movie are you watching?
77. What are you currently reading?
78. What food reminds you most of home?
79. What do you love most about yourself?
Conversation Topics For Work
80. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
81. What projects are you working on right now that bring you joy?
82. How do you unwind after work?
83. Do you listen to any podcasts during your commute? If so, which ones?
“How do you track your work goals and accomplishments?”
84. What do you enjoy most about our company?
85. Where do you need support that you’re not getting it?
86. How do you track your work goals and accomplishments?
87. Do you enjoy networking? Why or why not?
88. What was your very first job?
89. What skills are you focused on cultivating right now?
Conversation Topics For Strangers
90. How are you truly doing?
91. What’s one act of kindness you experienced today?
92. What do you do for enjoyment?
93. Do you recharge by being around other people or by spending time alone?
“What is the compliment you receive most often?”
94. If you had a day to yourself, what would it look like, where would you go, and what would you do?
95. What is the compliment you receive most often?
96. Do you collect anything?
97. What was the last movie you watched?
98. What’s one thing your loved ones would be surprised to learn about you?
99. If you woke up one morning and all your problems were solved, how would go about your day?
Kayti Christian (she/her) is a Senior Editor at The Good Trade. She has a Master’s in Nonfiction Writing from the University of London and is the creator of Feelings Not Aside, a newsletter for sensitive people.
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FAQs
What are the topics that leads to deep conversation? ›
Deep conversations may include topics such as personal values, relationships, philosophy, and social issues. Whether you're engaging in a deep conversation with a friend, a partner, or a group, it's essential to approach these topics with an open mind and a willingness to listen to different viewpoints.
How do you dig deeper in a conversation? ›- Recognise small talk as a necessary first step. To improve your conversations, don't dismiss small talk altogether. ...
- Ask better questions. ...
- Listen to the answers. ...
- Be willing to share something about yourself. ...
- Come ready to learn. ...
- Be prepared to give and take.
Draw quieter folks into the conversation with non-threatening questions such as “what haven't we thought about yet?” Changing who contributes will change the tenor of the conversation. Start asking really juicy questions. Use provocative questions that stop people in their tracks and cause them to reflect.
What are the 3 types of difficult conversations? ›- A “What Happened?” conversation,
- A “Feelings” conversation, and.
- An “Identity” conversation.
- 17 Interesting Things to Talk About When You Can't Think of Anything to Say. ...
- “How is your day going?” ...
- “What's keeping you busy lately?” ...
- “What hobbies are you into?” ...
- “What's something you're excited about in the future?” ...
- “What's a movie you could watch anytime anywhere?”
- Approaching a crucial conversation - Start with yourself. ...
- Notice when safety is at risk. ...
- Make it safe to share. ...
- Master your stories - dealing with strong emotions. ...
- Speak honestly without offending.
- Trust and Commitment. Trust is cherishing each other and showing your partner that you can be counted on. ...
- Conflict. ...
- Sex and Intimacy. ...
- Work and Money. ...
- Family. ...
- Fun and Adventure. ...
- Growth and Spirituality. ...
- Dreams.
- Who is your hero?
- If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
- What is your biggest fear?
- What is your favorite family vacation?
- What would you change about yourself if you could?
- What really makes you angry?
- What motivates you to work hard?
- Find what to say in your favorite topics. We all have things we are passionate about: activities, hobbies, projects, goals, ideas or jobs. ...
- Ask open ended questions. ...
- Blurt. ...
- Let the other person end the silence. ...
- Practice, practice, practice.
- When was the last time you tried something new? ...
- Who do you sometimes compare yourself to? ...
- What's the most sensible thing you've ever heard someone say? ...
- What gets you excited about life? ...
- What life lesson did you learn the hard way?
How do you make intimacy in a conversation? ›
- Be the one to initiate the conversation. ...
- Be vulnerable. ...
- Share secrets with each other. ...
- Appreciate and show gratitude. ...
- Be a comfort for them. ...
- Have practical expectations for the session. ...
- Share important childhood experiences. ...
- Talk about when you fell in love.
- Don't multitask. “Be present. ...
- Don't pontificate. ...
- Use open-ended questions. ...
- Go with the flow. ...
- Try not to repeat yourself. ...
- Stay out of the weeds. ...
- Listen. ...
- Be brief.
Funny Conversation Starters
If you were in a circus, which character would you be? What is the worst advice you have given? What is one thing you should never say at a wedding? What is the worst pickup line you have ever heard? If you could only store one type of food in your pocket, what would you carry?
- If you could have three wishes, what would they be?
- Who was your favorite cartoon character when you were a kid?
- What does spirituality mean to you?
- Do you believe in giving people second chances, and why?
- How would you describe your first crush?
- What are your favorite hobbies?
- Master the courage to interrogate reality. ...
- Come out from behind yourself, into the conversation, and make it real. ...
- Be here, prepared to be nowhere else. ...
- Tackle your toughest challenge today. ...
- Obey your instincts. ...
- Take responsibility for your emotional wake.
There are four different stages of conversations - Diverging, converging, deciding and convincing.
What are the 5 elements of conversation? ›These include the opening (or greeting and small talk), feedforward (or transition to and preview of the main message of the conversation), business (or the main topic of conversation), feedback (or reflection and summary of the conversation), and closing (or ending of the conversation).
What does a deep conversation look like? ›A: Deep conversations are essentially those that include self-disclosure — revealing personally intimate information about what someone's thinking, what they're feeling, what they're experiencing or what their beliefs are.
How can I sound more intelligent in a conversation? ›- Use simple terminology. Stop thinking the use of big words will make you appear smart. ...
- Don't over-articulate. Connect the words within phrases together.
- Relax & Breathe. Being relaxed always improves your performance; exhale your voice right out of your lungs. ...
- Use a varied intonation pattern.
Ask 3 “Why” questions to probe deeper into the customer's issue: “Why do you think your company is having this issue?” “Why do you feel that this change is problematic?” “Why is frugality such a strong value for your company?” Digging deeper can clarify the root cause of an issue or problem, which ultimately you will ...
How do you talk slower and deeper? ›
- Measure Your Rate of Speech.
- Feel Your Rhythm: Not Too Fast, Not Too Slow.
- Read Poetry, Aloud.
- Do a Little Improv.
- Regulate Your Breathing.
- Add Pauses to Your Notes.
- Approach it Like City Driving: Vary Your Speed.
- Be (a Little) Theatrical.