A collection of questions that will liven up conversations with friends. Talk themes to deepen your bond.
Looking for conversation starters that naturally liven up chats with friends? With social media everywhere, there should be plenty of shared topics.
Still, it’s not always easy to think of them, and figuring out how to ask the first question can be tricky.
So this time, we’re introducing a set of classic questions that can help deepen your conversations with friends or even spark them in the first place.
These are all questions that can reveal new sides of the other person, help you share values, and bring you closer.
Give them a try in your next conversation!
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Classic conversation topics that get friends excited (11–20)
What’s your favorite dagashi (cheap Japanese candy/snack)?
When it comes to topics anyone of any age can enjoy, talking about the snacks we were obsessed with as kids—especially our favorite dagashi (cheap candies and snacks)—is sure to get everyone excited! Not only which dagashi you liked, but also stories like how you’d get another one if you got a “winner” stick, or how there was always that one snack you could never leave out of your field trip treats! Depending on the region or generation, there might even be dagashi some people don’t know.
You could also talk about how much those small bagged snacks that are still sold at convenience stores cost back then, or share stories about the lady who ran the neighborhood dagashi shop—there’s plenty to keep the conversation going.
Who is your favorite manga or anime character?
Learning what each other likes is essential for deepening your relationship going forward.
Among those topics, the easiest to ask about casually—and the most exciting—are favorite manga and anime.
If you find out you like the same series or the same character, the conversation is sure to heat up.
And if you don’t know the work the other person likes, you can ask, “Could I borrow the manga?”—which also gives you a perfect excuse to hang out again!
What games did you play when you were a child?
This session is about talking about the games and play activities we enjoyed as children and exploring the trends that emerge from them.
Through games, we can reminisce about those days, and if others share similar memories, the sense of connection will make the atmosphere livelier.
If there are many participants, it could also be interesting to look for trends based on the types of games people played.
You might discover things like, “People who played this kind of game tend to have this kind of personality,” or “They share these common traits.”
If you could be invisible for just one day, what would you do?NEW!
Psychic powers are a staple element in stories, and many people have probably imagined abilities they admire.
Among such powers, let’s focus on the ability to become invisible and try to predict what someone would want to do with it.
It could be exciting to consider this not only from the questioner’s personality but also to see how close it is to what the respondent wants to do.
You could also segue into topics like other possible uses, making it a fun conversation starter as well.
What’s a song you always sing at karaoke?NEW!
If you’re a music lover, here’s a question you should definitely try asking: have them guess your go-to karaoke song.
If it’s someone you’ve been to karaoke with many times, they might get it right.
Otherwise, they’ll likely have to deduce it from your generation and musical tastes.
What makes this question tricky is that the songs you usually listen to aren’t necessarily the ones you sing.
Even younger people sometimes have a surprising Showa-era classic as their signature number.
If you’ve got an unexpected go-to song like that, try asking this question and surprise everyone.
What is something you’d like to try eating at least once?NEW!
There are rare delicacies from around the world, bizarre foods, and ultra-luxury ingredients that are hard to get—things you don’t normally eat and don’t necessarily want to eat every day, but might want to try at least once in your life, right? Think of those slightly unusual foods and turn them into a quiz! Even people who know you well probably won’t guess the answer easily…
Which is why everyone will likely throw out all kinds of guesses, making it a lively, fun question to get the conversation going.
What’s your favorite onigiri filling?NEW!
One of the charms of the rice balls you see at convenience stores and supermarkets is their variety of flavors.
How about having people think about which ones they prefer among these many variations to deepen their understanding? You can also sense how their food preferences have changed—what they’ve eaten in their lives so far and how that has evolved.
Whether it’s a classic flavor that everyone knows or a unique option, it’s a topic that can spark excitement and introduce new tastes.
What subject did you like when you were a child?NEW!
Different people tend to have different strengths and weaknesses in the various subjects they studied at school.
This activity asks you to guess which subjects someone was good at and which ones they liked, so you can sense differences in their personalities.
Since being good at a subject doesn’t always match liking it, the prediction can be tricky when there’s a gap.
Using that as a starting point, it’s also a great idea to shift the conversation to topics about the subjects themselves—like what aspects they enjoyed.
It might be a chance to look back on the time when you were learning.
What happens when you fall in love?NEW!
Isn’t it quite common for people to act differently from their usual selves when they’re in love? Someone who’s normally outgoing might get fidgety in front of their crush, while a quiet person might surprisingly become proactive…
In the end, the only ones who really know how you deal with romance are the people closest to you.
So try posing this question and see if the other person can guess how you change.
Some might even nail it with a pinpoint prediction like, “When you’re in love, you totally become the type who does XX!” It might be a little embarrassing, but it sounds like a quiz that would really liven things up.
What are you into lately?NEW!
What people consider a hobby in their daily lives varies from person to person, and the trends in our own interests can shift over time, too.
This is a challenge where you have someone guess what you’re currently into, so they can understand the direction of your hobbies.
If you’re into the same thing, it becomes a shared point in common; if not, it’s a great opportunity to get excited about discovering something new.
It also sounds fun to trace what each person has been hooked on up to now as a sort of personal history.