Conversation starters: 100 for parties, dates and new people

The hardest part of meeting someone is the first line. Here are 100 conversation starters, sorted by situation, plus a simple trick to keep things going once you’ve started.

Easy openers for anywhere

1. How do you know the host?

2. What brought you here tonight?

3. Have you been here before?

4. What’s been the highlight of your week?

5. Are you from around here?

6. What are you drinking? Is it good?

7. What do you usually get up to on weekends?

8. Have you seen anything good lately?

9. Any plans for the holidays?

10. What’s the best thing you’ve eaten this week?

11. How’s your day been so far?

12. What kind of music are you into?

13. Do you have a favourite spot in the city?

14. Is this your kind of crowd?

15. What’s keeping you busy these days?

Conversation starters for parties

1. What’s the best party you’ve ever been to?

2. Who here would you trust to plan a trip?

3. What’s your go-to dance move?

4. Which song gets you on the dance floor instantly?

5. What’s the best party game you know?

6. Are you a stay-till-the-end or an Irish-exit person?

7. What’s the most fun you’ve had on a night out this year?

8. What would your perfect night out look like?

9. What’s a song you never skip?

10. Do you prefer house parties or going out?

11. What’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?

12. What’s a party trick you can actually do?

13. Which friend is always the last to leave?

14. What’s your favourite drink to order?

15. What’s the best concert you’ve been to?

Conversation starters for a first date

1. What does a great weekend look like for you?

2. What’s something you’re really into right now?

3. What’s the best trip you’ve ever taken?

4. What were you like as a kid?

5. What’s a small thing that makes your day better?

6. What’s on your bucket list this year?

7. Are you closer to your family or your friends?

8. What’s your comfort film?

9. What’s a skill you’d love to learn?

10. What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

11. Which place would you move to tomorrow if you could?

12. What’s something people often get wrong about you?

13. What’s your idea of a perfect Sunday?

14. What are you most looking forward to this month?

15. What’s the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

Fun conversation starters

1. If you could have any superpower for a day, what would it be?

2. What’s your most controversial food opinion?

3. Which fictional world would you live in?

4. What would you name a boat?

5. What’s the strangest thing you believed as a kid?

6. If you could master one instrument overnight, which?

7. What’s your most used emoji?

8. What would your walk-on song be?

9. Which celebrity would you want as a neighbour?

10. What would you do with an extra hour every day?

11. What’s the weirdest thing you own?

12. If your life was a film, what genre would it be?

13. What’s the most useless fact you know?

14. What’s your zombie-apocalypse plan?

15. Which animal would you be, and why?

16. What’s a hill you’ll die on?

17. What’s the best name for a pet you’ve heard?

18. Would you rather time travel to the past or the future?

19. What’s your karaoke song?

20. What’s a trend you secretly love?

Deeper conversation starters

1. What’s something you’ve changed your mind about?

2. What are you most grateful for right now?

3. What’s a goal you’re quietly working on?

4. Who has shaped you the most?

5. What’s something you’re proud of that nobody asks about?

6. What does home mean to you?

7. What’s the bravest thing you’ve done?

8. What do you wish you’d learnt earlier?

9. What makes you feel most like yourself?

10. What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

11. What’s a memory you go back to often?

12. What do you value most in a friend?

13. What would your ten-year-old self think of you now?

14. What’s something you’re still figuring out?

15. What’s a question you love being asked?

Conversation starters for new friends

1. How long have you lived in this city?

2. What do you miss about where you grew up?

3. What’s your favourite way to spend an evening?

4. Have you found a good group here yet?

5. What’s one place in this city everyone should try?

6. What do you do to unwind after work?

7. Are you into any sports or games?

8. What’s a hobby you’ve been meaning to start?

9. What kind of events do you usually go to?

10. Want to check out something together next week?

How to keep a conversation going

• Ask a follow-up, not a new question. “What made you pick that?” beats moving on.

• Share something back. Conversations die when only one person answers.

• Notice what lights them up. Go deeper there, not wider.

• Have an easy exit. “I’m going to grab a drink, want one?” keeps it friendly.

Find your plan on 8club

• Find something to do. Search Hotspots happening near you this week.

• Check the guest list. Every Hotspot shows who’s going, and people you know show up first, so you can see if your friends are in before you join.

• Follow hosts you like. You’ll hear the moment their next Hotspot goes live.

• Build your Circle. When you and a friend follow each other, you’re in each other’s Circle.

Quick answers

What is a good conversation starter?

An open question about the moment or the other person, like “What brought you here tonight?” It’s easy to answer and easy to follow up.

How do you start a conversation with a stranger at a party?

Comment on something you share right now, like the music or the host, then ask an open question.