Use Great Questions to Start Conversation

Using questions to start conversation with people you have just met is the best way to get people talking. Too many times people meet and say hello only to have the conversation drift into an awkward silence - with people twisting and thinking how they can possibly keep the conversation going and never thinking to use questions to start conversation.

However, if you use questions to start conversation you will find that it is really easy to meet someone, introduce yourselves, and then follow this up with a question to keep the awkward silence from ever entering the conversation, so to speak.

There are hundreds of questions to start conversation with, some which you can prep yourself on beforehand and then plenty of others you can pick up on simply because you are in the presence of the person such as their vehicle, sports, hairstyle, and any number of things you notice about the person can lead to questions to start conversation and keep it going.


1. One good question to ask is simply how the person is. They might reply any number of ways and then ask you the same question. There are many good questions to start conversation.

Where you can answer fine as well, but have been really busy lately because of work, or have not been able to sleep because of the heat, or are excited because you are going to see this new popular movie that just came out.

See how easy it is to use questions to start conversation and introduce a simple question. And include additional information in your response to direct the conversation in the direction you are most comfortable with.

2. Of course, asking someone about their past weekend or their future weekend plans is always a good way to start talking. This gives you lots of great questions to start conversation. People feel confident talking about themselves and may have some interesting plans that will fuel the conversation.

If you ask someone about their weekend plans and said they did nothing last weekend and have no plans this weekend and do not ask you about your past or future weekend then that does not mean the conversation is dead.

You can introduce your own personal weekend plans without the other person asking you since you are on that topic. Using questions to start conversation gets the ball rolling.

3. If you are in someone’s house for the first time, for whatever reason, it can occasionally seem awkward. However, it does not have to be because you can easily look around the home and pick out an interesting antique or piece of furniture and ask where it was purchased.

You should start by complimenting the item and then asking more about it. People love to be complimented on their taste and will start talking about other purchases in their home and may even begin showing you around. This can ease and tension and get the conversation going by using simple questions to start conversation.

4. Asking someone about their university or college are always great questions to start conversation as well. People simply love to go on and on about their universities, and if you went to a rival university some good bantering and comparisons can ensue.

Of course, you can think of many questions to start conversation and ask anyone almost anything and get the conversation going and these are some great standbys you can use in almost any situation. However, it is always a good idea to try and use information you have on hand to create the questions as well.

There are any number of questions to start conversation that can be created simply by looking at the person and their hairstyle, clothes, accessories, jewelry, shoes, and the like.