One of the best ways to break the ice when trying to improve your team dynamics is to ask questions during corporate team events. Questions help team members get to know one another, and find things they have in common to build strong working relationships.
They are also a great way to encourage discussion and open conversation in the workplace, and that helps to build team morale and job satisfaction.
The problem is you are still in the workplace. That means your questions need to help everyone get to know each other, while leaving room for privacy and personal comfort levels.
To help you get started, here are the different types of questions you should aim to ask, along with examples.
Starter questions
These types of questions are a great way to ease tension and get everyone talking. That’s what makes them great starter questions. The key to remember is not everyone finds humour in the same things, so keep it varied but fun.
- What is your favourite emoji?
- If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- If they made a movie about you, who would you want to play the lead?
- What game show do you think you’d be a shoe in to win?
- Who is your favourite superhero and why?
Multiple choice
If open-ended questions aren’t what you want to ask your team members, you can try to break the ice with "either/or" questions. These can be about anything, but the less serious they are, the more likely your team is to get involved. It’s a bonus if your team gets into some friendly discussions, defending their choice.
- Super speed or mind reading?
- Ocean or mountains?
- Work from home or work from the office?
- Coffee or tea?
- Start early or leave later?
Background questions
Background questions will help your team members find some common ground and better understand how and why everyone does things the way they do.
- What was your favourite subject in school?
- Where did you go on your favourite vacation?
- What did you want to be when you grew up?
- What was your first job?
- What was the best piece of advice you ever received?
Serious questions
Now that you’ve broken the ice, you can start to talk about more serious topics. Try to ask questions about your team’s goals, successes, strengths and failures. Responses don’t have to be about work – stories from personal experiences can also build trust, companionship and a team spirit.
- What is your greatest success/failure?
- Where do you see yourself headed with your career?
- If you could achieve one goal this year, what would it be?
- What would you like to be remembered for?
- How do you cope with change?
- How do you manage deadlines?
- What is your greatest strength/weakness?
- What is your ideal role?
- What would your ideal team look like?
- What skills do you think others would want to learn from you?
- What is one piece of advice you are glad you took/ignored?
- How do you express/receive gratitude?
- How do you think others perceive you?
- What is something you want to improve about yourself?
- What steps do you take when you get a new project?
- What is your dream project?
- Do you prefer getting detailed instructions or an idea with permission to use your creative freedom?
Are you interested in learning more about how team building can help you build a happy and productive workforce? Get in touch with Teambonders today. We have a range of exciting, fun and inclusive events for your team.
