So you’re on a date, or maybe you’re chatting to someone new on a friendship level. Either way, you want to drive the conversation forward. But what questions do you ask someone you just met? What’s “natural” and “normal” but also fun, engaging and interesting? How can you make conversation flow? Well my friends, we’re here to fill you with inspiration! Here’s 50 fun questions to ask someone you just met!
Questions To Ask Someone You Just Met
So before we get into our mighty list, what are the “guidelines” when it comes to questions to ask someone you just met?
After all, the average American hasn’t made a new friend in 5 years and we all know that first-date nerves are a thing, so it’s perfectly normal to feel “out of touch” for how to get into this.
The good news is – the guidelines aren’t too strict when it comes to questions to ask someone you just met. It’s simply worth remembering to:
1) Start With Things That Are Simple
We’re going to cover the “basics” to get you started here, and these are the kind of questions you usually want to begin with. These are the “natural” / “normal” ones we referred to. They’re easy ones to ask – especially when it comes to a complete stranger!
2) Share As You Go Along
Remember, this shouldn’t be an interview! It should be a two-way thing!
So as you ask questions, and listen to their answers – also respond with your own thoughts / feelings / stories related to what they say.
Then (where relevant) answer your own question yourself too – let them into your answer to that. It helps them to get to know you better that way, too.
3) Dig Deeper As You Get To Know Them
As the conversation flows further, you can then move into more of the fun, different questions to ask someone you just met. This is where it really becomes interesting, as there’s actually more you can talk about with a (near) stranger, than you perhaps may think!
4) Don’t Push Anything That’s Too Personal
Now it’s worth bearing in mind that – because these are questions to ask someone you just met – there’s got to be a limit to how personal you get!
Remember, you don’t need to find out everything in one go, and it’s important to get to know someone better to understand them and what they’re comfortable with.
If you ask a relatively “risky” question and they respond openly and positively to it, then sure – you can build on it further from there.
But really try to read the person to better understand where the limits are initially, and if you’re not sure – play it safer!
5) Enjoy & Appreciate It!
Getting to know someone new is fun and exciting – so relax and enjoy it!
Don’t worry about the right or wrong things to say. Just use this article to get ideas and inspiration, then see how conversation flows.
Be inquisitive, take a genuine interest and simply see how well you can connect!
50 Fun Questions To Ask Someone You Just Met
Let’s get stuck in with 100 fun questions to ask someone you just met.
Have a read, familiarise yourself with the kind of conversation starters you might like to go for, and then have confidence!
Not everyone you’ll instantly click with – and that’s okay. But these questions will help you to get to know them better. So let’s start from the top…
Standard Questions To Ask Someone You Just Met
Let’s begin with the safer, more standard questions to ask someone you just met.
With each of these questions, I’m going to also type out some additional prompts, because you can expand on these quite easily.
When you do this, it makes it a more interesting and in depth conversation. So…
1) What do you do for work?
It’s the standard work question, right? But this one can actually be pretty interesting too!
If they tell you a job and you’re not quite clear on what exactly that entails – ask about it. Don’t just say “cool.” Prompt further with things like:
- So what does that entail?
- What sort of things do you have to do?
You can also ask how long they’ve done it for, how they got into it and if they enjoy it. Take a genuine interest!
2) Did you go to college / uni?
Another good question to ask, is if they went to college / university. What did they do once they left school and how did they find that adjustment?
This one can create some pretty wild and funny stories, especially when it comes to Uni-life.
You can also then share your own too (if you went!) and find out what the experience was like for them, relating it to your own.
This is good to do, even if you took slightly different paths – as it’s interesting!
3) How long have you lived here?
Next up – ask them how long they’ve lived in the area. You may also like to ask if they like the area and what they think of it.
If they’ve not lived here all their life – ask them where they lived before and what it was like there. How was it different? Do they like it more or less here?
You can also find out what they think of it – whether they like living in the area and why / why not. Where did they live before? And how is it different?
Do they have many friends here, compared to back home? (Another very interesting one!) This actually leads me onto my next question…
4) Do you know many people here?
Do they have the same friendship group as they had at school if they haven’t moved away? Do they have a busy social life?
And how about their family? Do they live close by? Are they close with their family?
Family is a great topic of conversation when it comes to getting to know someone as the relationship they have with them, can be very revealing.
Just bear in mind that it can become a touchy subject as not everyone is lucky enough to have parents still around – or the relationship that they’d like with them.
So you can ease into this conversation by asking about people as a whole, then develop it from there, based on their answer.
It’s just a less direct, more sensitive way to ask, that also creates countless avenues for different conversations to come out of it.
If they do seem comfortable speaking about their family however:
BONUS: Do you have any brothers or sisters? Are you close with your parents?
There’s heaps you can talk about on the family front!
5) Do you have any pets?
This is a nice, light, easy topic. You can also ask to see pictures and it will lead onto a pretty big question… “Are you more of a cat or dog person then?!”
(Some may say this could be a deal-breaker, right?!)
6) What do you do in your free time?
Another standard question to ask someone you’ve just met, is to find out about their hobbies – what they’re into and enjoy doing.
With this one, think about other ways you can phrase it however. So you could ask:
- Do you ever play [this sport] or do you like doing [this thing?]
- What are you up to this weekend?
[And] is that what you usually do? Is that what you enjoy then? - Do you get much free time? [And] how do you usually spend it?
- What do you like getting up to then?
It’s just a lighter and more casual way of asking.
7) What kind of shows are you into?
Asking what a person enjoys doing can actually lead on pretty nicely to the topic of tv shows, series or movies.
You could say something like:
- Are you watching anything good right now?
- Have you seen [this]?
- So I just started watching [this]? Have you seen it?
- What kind of things do you watch on tv?
- Have you heard that [this show] is coming back again?
You could also talk about books, podcasts, blogs – like this one! 😉 – or YouTube channels. See how conversation flows!
8) What kind of music do you like?
Music is another good topic to talk about with someone new too – especially if you’re into it and have a fairly good knowledge of different types of music.
You can talk about genres, artists, specific songs, what’s in the charts, and even things like live music gigs or concerts.
Play any instruments yourself? Or like the odd karaoke? Then this too, can be tied in!
9) What’s your favourite kind of food?
Next up – one for the foodies! Or, even if you’re not a massive foodie, talking about food (and related topics), is always a nice easy conversation topic with people you’ve never met before. Why? Because everyones got to eat! You can ask things like…
- So what’s your favourite kind of food?
- Are you more of a sweet or savoury guy?
- Do you like cooking?
- What’s your favourite meal?
You may also like to open it with, “Have you tried [restaurant name]?”
This is a great question to ask someone you just met if you’re a bit of a foodie and want to find out what kind of food they like too… but want to do so more casually / subtly.
When it comes to dating, it’s also creates an easy opening for them to say something like…
“Oh we will have to go soon!”
Recommended Read: How To Tell If Someone Is Flirting With You
10) Where do you like to go out?
Last but not least then, in our first section for the more “standard” questions to ask someone you just met – you can always ask where they like to go out.
- Where do you usually go on the weekend then?
- What’s your favourite pub / bar?
- Are there any cool places or hidden gems you recommend?
Now let’s just get this clear – you’re not asking because you’re going to follow them there! (Creepy, or what?) Instead, it’s more to see how similar they are, and what sort of “vibe” appeals to them.
You may even realise you hang out in the same places. (Oh how crazy it is that you haven’t bumped into each other before now!) Or, it can lead onto the topics of the best things to do in your town / city, and other activities that you both enjoy.
Questions To Ask Someone You Just Met
So once you’ve warmed up with some of the standard questions to ask someone you just met, you can then start to step it up a notch! For example…
11) Have you done much traveling? What’s been some of your favourite places so far?
12) What places are on your bucket-list? Where would you most like to go next?
13) Are there any experiences or activities you’ve always wanted to do?
14) What’s one thing that would absolutely terrify you? (We’re talking adrenaline activities etc!) And what’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
15) Are you quite a skilful person? What do you think you’re good at? Let’s compare! On the flip side, what are you absolutely terrible at?! (Like DIY for example!)
16) If you could do any job in the world, what would it be?
17) Do you have any crazy life goals? What are you passionate about? What kind of things do you want to do? / Who do you want to be? (This is a potentially deep question but it still suits many conversations – depending on the kind of person you are and the kind of person they are!)
18) What did you used to want to be when you grew up? (Oh, those were the days!)
19) Do you have any siblings, and how well do you get on with them? Did you used to get on with them well, growing up?
20) Who do you think you’re the most similar to – your Mom or your Dad?
Let’s Keep Them Coming…
21) Are you a sporty person? What’s your favourite sport? To both watch and play?
22) Are you more of a countryside or city guy?
23) What do you do to relax? Or switch off?
24) What are you most scared of? (And early days, when you’ve just met someone – it’s okay if they go for something light and funny like “spiders!”)
25) What do you think is the BEST way to spend money? And what do you probably spend the most money on?
26) What would you do if you had unlimited money? Dream car? Dream home? What would you get?!
27) What’s your go-to alcoholic drink? Let’s talk about drinks! (You could also lead this on to talk about shots, and challenge each other to having one of those if you’re at a bar, getting to know each other!)
28) Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to food?! Or any weird food combinations you actually love?! (Come on, don’t be shy confessing! This is always a fun question to ask someone you just met!)
29) Would you ever go out to a bar or restaurant on your own?!
30) How do you feel about alone time? Love it? Hate it? And do you have much of it?!
Interesting Questions To Ask Someone You Just Met
31) How long have you been single and how do you find it? (Or if you’re looking for questions to ask a new friend, equally, asking questions about dating or talking about their relationship status, is just as interesting!)
32) Do you think you’re a flirty person? And good at reading signs?
33) What’s your dating history like? Have you been on many dates?
34) Do you have any crazy or funny dating stories? Share your best ones!
35) What do you think is the most attractive quality in a person?
36) Who’s your biggest celebrity crush? (Or crushes – hey, they might have quite a few!)
Psst, like these types of questions? Then here’s 50 Questions About Love to keep them coming!
37) What are your friends like? And how are they the same / different to you?
38) How confident would you say you are as a person? (Lead into this one by sharing how you think you are!)
39) What were you like as a kid, and how do you think you’ve changed as you’ve grown up?
40) What do you miss most about childhood? (Let’s reminisce!)
Onto The Last Ones…
41) If you could go back to any age of your life for a year, what age would you go back to and why?
42) How did you find school – both socially and academically? What was that like for you?
43) Are you a religious or spiritual person at all? (Make sure you’re completely respectful with this one.)
44) Would you say you’re more of an introvert or extrovert? And how do you find it, meeting new people?
45) How would you best describe yourself? And how do you think others would describe you?
46) What kind of person are you at a party? The dancer? The drinker? The wild one?! Let’s talk about that!
47) Are there any wrong assumptions that people often make about you, based on how you look or how you act? Or anything that people often find surprising about you / only realise in time?
48) Are there any conspiracy theories that you believe in? (Yes, we are getting into this! It’s certainly an interesting discussion piece!)
49) Do you have any pet peeves? (The funnier, more entertaining these are, the better – and remember to share your own… without coming across as negative of course!)
50) What motto do you live your life by? (Let’s see how positive a person they are!)
So There We Have It!
That’s it – 50 questions to ask someone you just met to get the inspiration flowing! Has this filled you with heaps of question ideas? I hope so!
Want to start a conversation with a stranger? Click here for the first steps, then follow it up with some of these questions to then keep conversation flowing!
- Want to keep it nice and light? Then here’s 50 Funny First Date Questions.
- Getting to know someone on a friendship level? Then here’s 100 Interesting Questions To Ask Friends.
- And if things are starting to progress here’s the Top 20 Most Important Questions To Ask When Dating. (Uh huh, I know, you’re fully equipped with questions after all of this!)
The key with all of this is to have courage and confidence! So keep working on that.
Take care. Wishing you all the best.
Love,
Ell_xx
