Liven up your drinking party! Fail-safe conversation topics and talk themes
For anyone who struggles to find topics at drinking parties and ends up with conversations that fizzle out quickly, we’ve picked out some perfect conversation starters for those occasions! Liking anime or music can make for lively discussions with the right crowd, but if someone isn’t interested, the conversation can stall.
So in this article, we’re sharing conversation topics that are easy for anyone to join and likely to spark interest.
Some may seem commonplace, but you might be surprised how rarely you’ve really talked them through.
We hope this serves as a helpful reference—and as a catalyst to liven up your next drinking party!
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Liven up the drinking party! Go-to conversation topics and surefire talk themes (11–20)
current events topic
Every day, something is happening somewhere in the world, ranging from major headlines to small stories.
Let’s have conversations themed around these happenings and exchange impressions and opinions from our own perspectives.
If we only focus on major incidents, the mood can get serious, so it’s a good idea to mix in lighter topics as well.
By layering a variety of viewpoints, you’ll likely gain new perspectives and knowledge you might not have noticed on your own.
Beauty & Fashion
I’ve been hearing a lot lately that sales of men’s grooming and cosmetics are steadily rising.
As we’ve moved through the Heisei and Reiwa eras, men wearing makeup has become far from unusual.
Beauty has become a lively topic for everyone, regardless of gender.
And it’s not just about outward appearance—talking about what you do for beauty and health is great too.
For example, “That cartilage supplement has been good for my overall condition,” or “A 10-minute stretch every morning has improved my circulation.” Simply sharing what you practice is perfectly fine.
It also sounds fun to talk about fashion magazines you subscribe to: “The editor-in-chief of that magazine changed,” “The designer of that brand retired,” and so on—fashion is a topic you can talk about endlessly!
A story about messing up
The bigger and more embarrassing the blunders you’d rather not remember, the more they liven up a drinking party.
Stories that have mellowed into fond memories for you over time can be laugh-out-loud funny to someone hearing them for the first time—and most people have at least one.
Plus, when you’re cheering up someone who’s down about a mistake, if everyone shares their own slip-ups, it helps them realize they’re not the only one and feel more positive.
It’s a talk theme perfect for a get-together with close friends—you can even have fun competing over who messed up the most.
Drinking mishaps
When alcohol is involved, emotions can sometimes swing more wildly, and many people have probably had experiences where that led to mistakes.
How about sharing those alcohol-related mishaps as talk topics, openly revealing the embarrassing parts to build a strong sense of togetherness in the moment? If it’s a story where your memory went blank, you can pair it with the account of someone who was there and saw what happened—contrasting those perspectives will likely make the conversation even livelier.
For those who haven’t had any major slip-ups yet, reflecting on these stories can also be a great way to think about how to approach drinking more thoughtfully.
About the future
Many people wish to walk toward a happy future, but the ideal image of that future varies from person to person.
The theme here is to talk about the vision each of us considers ideal and to share dream-like visions of the future.
Since everyone has their own strengths and areas of expertise, by sharing worries and ideals, you might also receive advice on how to move toward them.
Perspectives will likely differ depending on whether it’s about the near future or a lifelong ultimate goal, too.
complex
A topic everyone can probably come up with when asked is their complexes; even though each person’s worries are different, it can make for lively conversation.
Things you normally wouldn’t want to say might work as a funny story in the atmosphere of a drinking party.
By talking about them, you may realize they’re not such a big deal, or you might bond with someone who has the same complex—there can be plenty of positives.
However, at a drinking party with people you’re not yet close to, this kind of topic might be unwelcome, so be mindful of the distance before bringing it up.
romantic talk
The days when school trips meant staying up all night gossiping about romance are a thing of the past; apparently, most school trips now use private rooms.
Whether married or single, everyone has one or two bittersweet love stories, so romance talk is a surefire way to liven things up.
It’s a topic that gets everyone going regardless of gender, so it works great in big groups, too! If it’s a gathering of classmates, things like “I had a crush on so-and-so in elementary school” or “I liked Mr./Ms.
so-and-so in junior high” are mostly stories that have long passed their statute of limitations, so they’re good for a laugh.
Surprisingly, the better-looking someone is, the fewer love experiences they might have!?
current events topic
It’s only natural that current events come up in conversation.
Topics like the Baseball World Cup, the World Athletics Championships, tax hikes, or the Korean boom—stories that dominate the front page—are easy, casual material to chat about.
Entertainment news is fun to talk about too: a famous actress dating a popular singer, a hit band’s new single, the Monday 9 p.m.
drama—broadly speaking, there’s no end to current topics.
Politics and religion, however, can easily stir things up, so it’s better not to dig too deep into them.
Interesting videos or YouTube channels I’ve seen recently
In the past, when someone asked “Did you see that TV show?”, TV was the only source of funny videos.
Since smartphones became widespread and social media took off, funny videos have become much more accessible on platforms like X and TikTok.
If you’re not great at small talk, why not break the ice by asking, “Did you see that funny video?” and showing it to everyone on your phone? I’m sure everyone has their own favorite clips, so you’ll probably kick off an all-out ‘funny video show-and-tell.’ It’s a great idea to use digital tools as a spark to get the conversation going!
Hometowns and where you’re from
At a university or company drinking party, talking about your hometown can be a great idea.
If someone is from the same region or from nearby, you’ll instantly feel closer.
You might even find your local dialect slipping out naturally, like, “I had no idea you were from Hakata, bai.” At a gathering of people from the same area, reminiscing is a guaranteed hit.
You’ll probably get excited talking about shared spots—how you used to go to the candy shop down a back alley, or how the ramen place by the station was delicious.
It might even turn into an unexpected exchange of updates, like, “That diner closed down,” or “They built a supermarket on the empty lot behind the station!”