Easy openers for the first ten seconds
Low-pressure questions anyone can answer on the spot. Good for the moment the call connects.
- Where are you calling from right now?
- What time is it where you are?
- What was the best part of your day so far?
- Is it a good day or a long day?
- What are you drinking right now?
- What were you doing right before this?
- What is the weather like there today?
- What is one thing you could talk about for hours?
- What small thing made your day better today?
- What are you looking forward to this week?
- How would you spend a completely free afternoon?
- What have you tried recently for the first time?
Getting-to-know-you questions
For when the first answer lands and you want to keep going without it feeling like an interview.
- What do you do when you are not on your phone?
- What is something people are often surprised to learn about you?
- What is a skill you are quietly proud of?
- What did you want to be when you were a kid?
- Morning person or night person?
- What is the last thing you got really excited about?
- What is your comfort food?
- Do you have a favourite word in your own language?
- What is the best advice you have ever been given?
- Which three things would your friends say describe you?
Travel and places
Random video chat connects people in different countries, which makes place one of the easiest topics there is.
- Which place would you happily visit twice?
- Would you rather explore a city or disappear into nature?
- What is a local food everyone should try once?
- What place surprised you more than you expected?
- What is your idea of a perfect weekend away?
- What would a visitor get wrong about where you live?
- Beach, mountains or a big city?
- Where is the furthest you have ever been from home?
- If you could live anywhere for one year, where would it be?
- What is the best street food where you are?
Music, films and shows
Taste questions work because there are no wrong answers, only ones to argue about.
- Which song instantly puts you in a better mood?
- What would be the first song on your road-trip playlist?
- Which artist would you love to see in a tiny venue?
- What was the last song you listened to twice in a row?
- Do you listen to the lyrics or the melody first?
- What show are you watching at the moment?
- Which film could you watch again tonight?
- What is a song from your country I should hear?
- Which series deserved a better ending?
- What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Playful and funny questions
For when the conversation is relaxed enough to be a little silly.
- What completely harmless thing are you weirdly competitive about?
- Would you rather be great at cooking or great at dancing?
- Which fictional world would you visit for one day?
- What ordinary skill deserves its own world championship?
- What is your most defensible unpopular food opinion?
- If your pet could talk, what would it complain about?
- What is the strangest thing in the room you are in right now?
- Which emoji do you use way too much?
- Pineapple on pizza: yes or absolutely not?
- What would your talk-show entrance song be?
- What is the worst gift you have ever received?
- If you could instantly master one language, which would it be?
Deeper questions, for when it clicks
Save these for a conversation that is already going well. They land badly in the first minute and very well in the tenth.
- What is something you changed your mind about recently?
- What are you working towards right now?
- What does a really good day look like for you?
- Who has influenced you the most?
- What is a small risk you are glad you took?
- What do you wish more people asked you about?
- What are you most grateful for this year?
- What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
Questions for a conversation across languages
When you and the other person do not share a first language, simple and visual works best.
- How do you say "hello" in your language?
- Can you teach me one phrase I should know?
- What is a word in your language that has no translation?
- Can you show me something in your room and tell me what it is called?
- What do people your age do for fun where you live?
- What is a holiday you celebrate that I might not know?
How to start a conversation on a video chat
The first seconds of a 1v1 video chat decide most of it, and they are mostly not about words. Look at the camera rather than the screen, smile before you speak, and say hello by name if you can see one. Then ask something they can answer from where they are sitting: the time, the weather, what they were doing. Easy questions get easy answers, and easy answers get the conversation moving.
Skip the line you would not say to someone in person. A compliment is fine; an opener that only works as a compliment is not a conversation.
What to do when the conversation stalls
- Go back to something they said. "You mentioned you were cooking; what was it?" beats any new question.
- Switch to the room. Ask about something you can see behind them.
- Swap to a playful question from the list above. Silliness resets awkwardness fast.
- End it kindly. Not every match clicks. "It was nice meeting you" and Next is a perfectly good ending; on 1v1Roulette nobody owes anyone a longer conversation.
What to avoid in a first chat
- Asking for a phone number, social handle or address early on.
- Questions about money, or anything that sounds like a request for it.
- Pushing a topic after the other person has changed it.
- Anything you would not want screenshotted. One-on-one is a format, not a privacy guarantee; the safety page explains why.