Hot seat questions: how to play at work, plus 100 questions
How to play the hot seat game at work, then 100 questions that are fun to answer in front of coworkers. From quick-fire to a bit deeper.
In the hot seat game, one person answers questions from the whole group for a couple of minutes, then hands the seat to someone else. It takes no setup and works for 4 people or 40. The trick at work is picking questions people enjoy answering out loud, which is what the lists below are for.
How to play the hot seat game at work
- Pick who goes first. A volunteer, the newest person or whoever has the next birthday. Everyone gets a turn, so order doesn't matter much.
- Set a timer for two minutes. Two minutes fits four to six questions. Short turns keep the energy up and stop anyone feeling grilled.
- Everyone else asks. Teammates take turns asking questions from the lists below, or their own. One question at a time, no follow-up pile-ons.
- Give everyone two passes. The person in the seat can skip any two questions, no reason needed. Say it out loud before you start.
- Pass the seat. When the timer ends, thank them and the next person takes the seat. The last person in the seat picks who starts next time.
How long it takes
- 4 to 6 people: two minutes each, about 12 minutes in total.
- 7 to 12 people: 90 seconds each, about 15 minutes.
- More than 12: split into groups of six, or seat three people per meeting over a few weeks.
- First time with a new team: start with the quick-fire round, about 60 seconds each.
Ground rules that keep it fun
- No questions about looks, dating, money, health, politics or religion.
- Anyone can pass, and nobody asks why.
- Questions are for the person in the seat, not about someone else in the room.
- Laugh with people, never at an answer.
- What's said in the seat stays light: nobody brings it up later to tease.
How to play hot seat on Zoom, Teams or Slack
- Spotlight or pin the person in the seat so everyone sees them full screen.
- Have people type questions in the chat; the host reads the next one out.
- Keep a shared list of who has gone, so nobody gets skipped or picked twice.
- On Slack or Teams, run it slow: one person a day answers three questions in a thread.
- Big call? Use breakout rooms of five or six and a two-minute timer in each.
Quick-fire hot seat questions
One-word or one-line answers, fired fast. A good first round for a new team or a 60-second turn.
1. Last song you listened to?
2. Go-to snack?
3. Favorite season?
4. Best movie ever made, in your opinion?
5. Most-used emoji?
6. Dream vacation spot?
7. Last thing you bought just for fun?
8. A food you'll never eat?
9. Your karaoke song?
10. Favorite board game?
11. First concert you went to?
12. The app you open most?
13. Favorite word?
14. A TV show you could rewatch forever?
15. Your hidden talent, in three words?
16. Favorite smell?
17. Best gift you've ever received?
18. Favorite sandwich?
19. The last book you finished?
20. Your ideal Saturday, in five words?
Funny hot seat questions
Light questions with a story behind them. Most people will be glad you asked.
21. What's the strangest food combination you secretly love?
22. What's a skill you're weirdly proud of?
23. If you came with a warning label, what would it say?
24. What's the most useless thing you know a lot about?
25. What would your walk-up song be?
26. What's the funniest thing that's happened to you on a trip?
27. What's a famous movie you've never seen?
28. What phrase do you say way too often?
29. What's the best costume you've ever worn?
30. If your life were a sitcom, what would it be called?
31. What's a hobby you tried once and quit right away?
32. What's the most unusual job you've ever had?
33. Which fictional character would you want as a roommate?
34. What's the worst advice you've ever been given?
35. What would you do with a free afternoon tomorrow?
36. Who would play you in a movie about your life?
37. What's your go-to dance move?
38. What's a small thing that annoys you more than it should?
39. What's the best prize you've ever won?
40. What's something you'd never do again, even for $1,000?
41. If you could be world-class at one useless skill, what would it be?
42. What's the most impressive thing you can cook?
43. What's your favorite clean joke?
44. Which animal is most like you?
45. What's something you believed as a kid that turned out to be wrong?
46. If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be?
47. What's the most fun thing on your bucket list?
48. What's a TV show you'd be embarrassed to admit you love?
49. If you opened a restaurant, what would be on the menu?
50. What would you name a boat?
Hot seat questions for work
Questions about careers, habits and how people like to work. Useful well beyond the game.
51. What did you want to be when you grew up?
52. What was your first job?
53. What's the best career advice you've ever received?
54. What part of your job would surprise people?
55. What's a work habit you swear by?
56. What's your favorite tool or app for getting work done?
57. What's the best meeting you've ever been in, and why?
58. What do you do in the first 30 minutes of your workday?
59. What project are you most proud of?
60. What's a skill you want to learn this year?
61. Who's had the biggest influence on your career?
62. What's the best team you've been on, and what made it great?
63. How do you like to get feedback?
64. What's one thing you'd change about how our team works?
65. How do you like to celebrate a win?
66. What could you teach a workshop on?
67. What's the most useful thing you've learned from a mistake?
68. What does a perfect workday look like for you?
69. What's your work-from-home essential?
70. How do you recharge after a long week?
71. What's something you do here that you wish more people knew about?
72. What's a job you'd be terrible at?
73. What's the best part of your role right now?
74. What's a small thing a coworker did that made your day?
75. What's your favorite question to ask in an interview?
76. What's something you've changed your mind about at work?
77. Whose job here would you like to shadow for a day?
78. What's your best tip for staying focused?
79. What's on your desk that has a story behind it?
80. What's the best compliment you've had at work?
Hot seat questions that go a bit deeper
For teams that already know each other. Still nothing private, just more thoughtful.
81. What's a moment that changed the direction of your career?
82. What's something you're learning right now?
83. What's a value you won't compromise on at work?
84. What's the hardest thing you've done that you're glad you did?
85. What does success mean to you?
86. Who's someone you'd love to thank but never have?
87. What would you tell yourself on your first day of work ever?
88. What's a goal you have outside work?
89. What's a risk you're glad you took?
90. What's something people often get wrong about you?
91. When do you feel most confident?
92. What's a book or talk that changed how you think?
93. What's a tradition with friends or family that you love?
94. What would you do with a year off?
95. What's the best thing a manager ever did for you?
96. What's a small habit that made a big difference for you?
97. What are you proudest of outside work?
98. What would you like to be known for on this team?
99. What's a piece of feedback that stuck with you?
100. What always makes you laugh, even on a bad day?
5 hot seat variations
Once the team knows the basic game, mix it up.
1. Speed seat
Only quick-fire questions, 60 seconds per person, and the group tries to fit in as many as possible. Count them; the record holder gets bragging rights.
2. New hire hot seat
In a new teammate's first week, they take the seat for five minutes, and then they get to put one person of their choice in the seat. Faster than any welcome slide.
3. Leader in the seat
A manager or executive takes the seat and the team asks anything work-appropriate, in person or through anonymous questions collected ahead of time.
4. One answer is a lie
The person in the seat must slip one made-up answer into their turn. When the timer ends, the group votes on which answer was invented.
5. Team in the seat
At an offsite or a cross-team meeting, a whole team takes the seat and answers together. Good for getting to know another department.
For the lie-spotting version, borrow from our 100 two truths and a lie examples.
Need a different kind of question? Try our get to know you questions, icebreaker questions, would you rather questions and what if questions.
Want someone to run this for your team?
Hot seat fills 15 minutes. For a full hour where the whole team plays at once, a live host runs a virtual game show or a Family Feud-style game, on Zoom or at your office. Book about 2 weeks ahead, or get a free quote.
Hosted games, two ways: on Zoom for remote teams, or live at your office in 17 US cities. Today’s prices below.
