Technology has definitely changed the way we work virtually for the better. However, working with a group of people you’re not with for 8 hours a day can make sharing and connecting as team harder than ever.
One way to get a little insight into the people you work with is creating an insightful, purposeful Q&A session. These questions will help people start talking and get warmed up to each other.
What makes a Good Q&A Question?
While your specific goals for a question and answer session will vary, there are a few hard and fast rules for what makes a good question.
- You want your questions to feel relevant to your specific group. It shouldn’t sound like something you copy-pasted from online. It will mean more to the group if your questions are tailored for them.
- A good question will elicit positive, good feelings. Even if it’s a silly question or one intended to be a bit more serious, you want your team to feel you care.
- The format of your question will make a big difference. For example, in smaller groups, you don’t want ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions because they feel super impersonal. But for larger groups, you’ll need to simplify responses so you’re not overwhelmed.
Keeping these three points in mind will help you craft the best questions for your next virtual Q&A.
15 Questions for Small Groups
A good small group question can be more personal than in a larger group. Smaller groups will have more time to answer for each person and can really break the ice in a deeper way. Here are some of our favorite questions in 2021:
- What do you miss most about working in the office?
- What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
- What’s your favorite book?
- The pandemic is officially over and you can have one free ticket to anywhere in the world. Where are you going?
- What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
- What’s your spirit animal and why?
- What’s one talent you have that no one here knows about?
- Name one song you think no one takes seriously enough.
- We’re a crew of con artists trying to break into a bank. Which job would you assign to each person in this group?
- What’s the strangest dream you’ve ever had?
- What's your favorite guilty-pleasure TV show?
- Are you a morning bird or a night owl?
- What is the one movie you think everyone should watch?
- What’s your favorite snack for a road trip?
- What is one task your family always expects you to do?
15 Questions for Large Groups
A good large group q&a sessiom needs to strike the perfect balance between being personal enough to help everyone get to know eachother and also easy enough to answer that the question session doesn't take forever. Here are some questions we like for large groups:
- Which Avenger would you want to be?
- Do you prefer coffee or tea?
- Are you a cat or a dog person?
- Do you prefer matinees or opening night movies?
- Share your phone wallpaper.
- Would you rather wake up early for the sunrise or see the sunset?
- Would you rather live where it always snows or where it’s always above 90 degrees?
- Which Founding Father would you want to have dinner with?
- What movie character do you relate the most to and why?
- What invention do you wish you had thought of first?
- Would you rather sing, dance, act, or present in front of a large group?
- Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
- Would you rather live in a cabin in the woods, a penthouse in the city, or a bungalow on the beach?
- Podcasts or music while driving?
- If you had to pick only one of the four Disney parks (Epcot, The Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios), which one would you go to?
15 Funny Questions
Sometimes you just want to get people laughing, and that's the perfect time for a humoruous question. Here are a few we love to lighten the mood:
- If you had to design your own superhero costume, what would it look like?
- What sport would you compete in if you had to be in the Olympics?
- What emoji could you not live without?
- What’s the most questionable fashion choice you’ve ever made?
- Describe your perfect sandwich.
- What’s the most random word you know in a language that isn’t your first?
- It’s the summer of 2001. The first Harry Potter film was just released. Shrek and Ocean’s Eleven are playing in theaters. What song are you listening to?
- What song do you know every word to? Can you sing it for us now?
- Were Ross and Rachel on a break?
- Complete this sentence: In my fridge, you’ll always find _________.
- Do you have a voice you only use on the phone? What does it sound like?
- If you had to replace your legs with animal legs, which animal would you pick?
- If you could pick your own nickname, what would it be?
- Pick one gif that describes your life and share it with the group.
- Have you ever been forced to wear matching outfits with someone? Why?
15 Serious Questions
Now and again you might want to really go deep in conversation, maybe you're interviewing someone or asking a question of a role model, and that's when you want to break out the more serious questions:
- As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
- What’s the hardest part about working from home for you?
- When you die, what do you want to be remembered for?
- What’s at the top of your bucket list?
- What's the kindest thing a stranger has done for you?
- What’s something you wish more people talked about?
- What are the best qualities you think you inherited from your parents?
- What’s the greatest challenge you’ve faced in the last month?
- What has been the highlight of your past year?
- What were the two biggest choices that got you to where you are today?
- What’s one activity or hobby that makes you lose all track of time?
- What do you think about the most while you’re driving or walking?
- What person has made a big impact on your life? How?
- What is one thing you wish you had more time to do?
- What place, even if you don’t live there now, has always felt like your home?
How Slides with Friends makes Q&As super-easy
Slides With Friends makes it so quick and simple to put together your own Q&A for your next meeting. Start by logging into your account and creating a New Slide Deck. From here, making a Q&A deck will depend on the size of your group.
If you have a smaller group, try the “Pass the Mic” slide. Not only will this give everyone a chance to talk, even the introverts!, it also keeps the focus on who should be talking when.
For medium-sized, lighthearted groups, try a “User Vote” slide. Similar to Cards Against Humanity, this slide allows people to answer anonymously. Then, everyone votes for their favorite answer.
Finally, if you have a larger group, try a “Text Answer” slide. These answers aren’t scored, but shared with the group as a whole, allowing you to go over interesting answers. Larger groups might also prefer a “Word Cloud” which showcases the most common answers in larger fonts.
For more information on how to create your own Q&A session on Slides With Friends, check out our Tutorial videos in the top bar.
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