The Most Interesting Small Talk Questions To Ask in Any Situation

Many people need help with small talk. There’s a fine line between discussing something boring, like the weather, and deep diving into the person’s intimate thoughts and feelings.

If you’ve ever wondered what questions to ask to start an interesting conversation, this list covers everything.

What is small talk and why is it important?

Small talk is the practice of using easy questions to quickly build rapport with new people.

It's important because it lays the foundation for future interactions. I used to think that making a random comment to someone waiting in the checkout line behind me counted as small talk, but it was simply an offhand remark. Speaking just to say something doesn’t count as small talk.

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It took me a lot of practice to realize that small talk is about connecting, not the words you speak. You want to ask questions that let you get to know someone bit by bit. You don’t need to open the door to a deep conversation immediately, but small talk is the ideal way to work toward that goal. Small talk is a social skill, and these topics will make it easier for you.

5 topics for interesting small talk questions

These five topics give you plenty of opportunities to have exciting conversations with other people. They are broad concepts that will naturally lead to follow-up questions and a genuine back-and-forth conversation.

Each topic has a few starter questions you can use with anyone. From there, you can continue down the list to get more information. However, keep an open mind during small talk. You might ask one question and get interested in the person’s response, which can send you off on an organic conversation path.

Career

Asking someone about their career interests is an excellent way to learn about their passion and purpose. Even in a social situation, it seems like most people lay the groundwork by getting information about other people’s daily lives, primarily work.

• What is your job title? What made you choose that path?
• What do you like most about your job?
• What is the strangest thing a boss has asked you to do?
• Would you rather work a standard office schedule or non-traditional shifts?
• What work would you do if you could do anything?

You can also ask career-oriented questions of your coworkers. Even though you know what they do for a living, you can ask deeper questions to get insight into their purpose.

• What would you do for work if you didn’t work here?
• How did you get your position?
• What was your first job? Did you enjoy it?
• What do you like to do with your time off?
• What’s the best career advice you’ve heard? What was the worst?

Family

People love to talk about their family, whether it’s their parents and grandparents, children, or furry friends. Asking open-ended questions about someone’s family will give them plenty of space to share information they feel comfortable sharing. Each answer will help you get to know them better and open up the chance for further conversations.

• What three words would you use to describe your family?
• What was your family like as you were growing up?
• Who do you live with? What are your relationships with them?
• Do you have any traditions from childhood?
• Where are your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents from?

Questions about family can also broaden the conversation’s scope to include information about places people have lived and their life stories.

• Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Did you go away to school? What made you settle in this city?
• If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Why?
• If you could move to any other location, where would you pick? Why?
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• Who has been the biggest role model in your life?

Food

Food is a fruitful topic of conversation, no pun intended. You can ask people about the food they love or dishes related to their heritage or childhood. Learning more about people’s tastes and history is a fun way to get to know them.

Some questions might lead you to follow-up questions. For example, maybe someone ate a great meal on a trip, so you can ask more questions about that experience. These questions help determine whether someone prefers to cook or go to restaurants. Best of all, you can get ideas for new recipes or delicious places to visit for meals.

• What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? What were the circumstances that led you to eat it?
• What’s your favorite restaurant in this area? What do you order off the menu?
• Does anyone in your family have a secret recipe they won’t share with anyone else?
• What’s your comfort food? Have you tried different versions of it?
• Which restaurant in this city is the one where you take your out-of-town visitors?

Entertainment

Entertainment encompasses a broad range of activities and interests. Here are a few high-level areas to guide your questions.

Consider asking questions about movies and TV shows.

• What was the last movie you saw in the theater?
• What’s one movie that made you cry?
• What movie made you laugh out loud?
• Are you watching any TV series?
• Do you prefer drama or comedy?
• What’s your favorite streaming service?

Books, music, and other media are also great ways to get to know people. You can get recommendations for yourself in the process.

• What is the best concert you’ve seen live?
• Who’s your favorite band?
• What’s your favorite album?
• Who was your favorite band in high school?
• Do you listen to any podcasts? What’s your favorite?
• Are you reading any good books right now?
• What’s one book you’d recommend to anyone?
• What required reading book from school did you actually enjoy? Which did you hate? Why?

Asking people about their hobbies is another great way to get to know them. Hobbies are something they make time for on top of the busyness of a job, family, and social life. Learning about what they prioritize in their downtime will give you insight into their true personality.

• Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How did you get started?
• Do you play music? Do you play sports?
• Do you collect anything? How did you start your collection?
• If you could learn one new skill, what would it be?
• What do you do to relax?

Style

Many people don’t think to ask small talk questions about style because you can see someone’s style when you look at them. However, this is why it’s such a great topic of conversation. It seems natural to ask someone about their clothing or jewelry, so you have an organic opening to start talking.

Open with a compliment and follow up with a question, like these examples.

• I love your dress. Where did you get it? Is that your typical style of dress?
• Your piercings or tattoos are so interesting. What made you decide to get them? What do they mean to you?
• Did you have to wear uniforms for work or school?
• What’s your favorite color to wear? Is it the same as your favorite color in general?
• Who is your style icon?

3 small talk topics to avoid

The general guidance on small talk is to avoid any subject that can make someone uncomfortable. When you see the topics in this section, you’ll understand why you don’t want to have this type of conversation with any random person you meet.

Money

Talking about money is uncomfortable because you never know how much people have, and if they might be in a trying period. You don’t want to flaunt your wealth or make someone feel bad for you because you don’t have as much as them. You should especially stay away from money conversations in the workplace on most occasions.

Politics

Politics are always a hot issue, but with so much division in most countries, it’s best to leave this topic alone. You don’t want to risk offending someone who doesn’t share your beliefs. This concept is especially crucial in a work environment, whether in a job interview or talking to coworkers.

Religion

Religion is deeply personal. You don’t want to ask about someone’s religion because they might prefer to keep it to themselves due to a history of persecution or they might not be religious. You also don’t want to share too much about your religion because it could come across as preachy or insensitive.

Final thoughts on small talk

Small talk might seem intimidating, but with these guidelines, you’ll have an easier time with these conversations. While you start with general topics like career, food, family, style, and entertainment, you’re working towards a deep connection with another person. Avoiding uncomfortable topics will give you the small talk skills you need to network and connect.