If you could decide whether you'd rather spend time waiting on video calls in awkward silence or chatting about cheesy icebreaker topics, which one would you choose? Neither sounds great. Luckily, there's a third option— icebreaker questions with more substance.

As teams go remote, there is less possibility of casual interactions outside work meetings. As a remote team at Gather, we are big on substantive icebreaker questions, so we decided to create an internal list of our top 20 favorite questions. Here they are:

Icebreaker questions for personal development

‍What's one thing you're currently trying to make a habit of?
What is one important skill every person should have?
What was the last book you read? Next book you're reading?
What is the most challenging job you can think of?
What's your favorite way to unwind after a busy day?

Icebreaker questions for thought-provoking conversations

‍If you had your late-night talk show, who do you invite as your first guest?
If you had to pick one era to be in permanent, which era would you choose?
Would you go to space if you knew that you could never come back?
What's the one topic you could give a 20 min TED Talk on right now?
If you could only have 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would it be?

Icebreaker questions that are fun, but insightful too

‍What is your most-used emoji?
Have you ever won a contest?
What "old person" things do you do?
What's one item you want to own that you don't?
Would you like to be famous, in what way?

Icebreaker questions that tell you a bit about the person outside of work

‍If you had to choose one movie to watch until the end of time, which movie would it be?
Have you ever traveled alone – why yes, why not?
What's your favorite seat on an airplane?
If you could only listen to The Beatles or Coldplay from now on, which band would you choose?
What is your favorite animal, and why?

If you are looking for an interactive solution for your online meetings try this generator created by the team over at Range.co!