120 morning meeting questions plus 15 quick activities
Warm-ups, check-ins and would you rather questions for work teams, plus activities that fit in ten minutes. Everything works in the office and on Zoom or Teams.
A good morning meeting question takes ten seconds to answer and tells you something about the person answering. Pick one a day, go around the room, and move on to the work. Below are 120 questions in six groups, 15 morning meeting ideas for days a question isn’t enough, and a short agenda. Want a bigger pool? Browse our questions of the day for work.
120 morning meeting questions
Six groups of 20. Start with the quick ones and work toward the thoughtful ones as the team gets comfortable.
Quick warm-up questions
One-line answers for a fast round. Good for big groups and early starts.
1. What did you have for breakfast?
2. Coffee, tea or neither?
3. What's one word for how you feel this morning?
4. What song is stuck in your head right now?
5. What's the weather like where you are?
6. How did you sleep, from 1 to 10?
7. What's the last thing that made you laugh?
8. What's on your desk that probably shouldn't be?
9. Early bird or night owl?
10. What's the best snack in your kitchen right now?
11. What's one small thing you're looking forward to today?
12. What's the last show you binge-watched?
13. If today had a theme song, what would it be?
14. What's your usual coffee shop order?
15. What can you see out of your window right now?
16. Which emoji sums up your morning?
17. Sweet or savory breakfast?
18. What's one thing you're grateful for this morning?
19. What's something you learned yesterday?
20. What's the first thing you do when you start work?
Work check-in questions
For standups and team syncs, when you want the warm-up to be useful too.
21. What's your top priority today?
22. What would make today a win?
23. Is anything blocking you right now?
24. Who could use a hand today?
25. What are you working on that you're excited about?
26. What's one thing you finished yesterday?
27. What's one task you'd love to hand off?
28. Who helped you out recently?
29. What do you want to learn this month?
30. What's a small win from last week?
31. What's the hardest part of your current project?
32. What tool or shortcut saved you time lately?
33. When is your focus time today?
34. What's one question you'd like the team's help with?
35. What would you like more of in our meetings?
36. Where do you do your best thinking?
37. What's one thing you'd change about how we work?
38. What customer story stuck with you recently?
39. What's your energy level today, from 1 to 5?
40. What do you need from the team this week?
Get-to-know-you questions
For new teams, new hires, or any group that only talks about work.
41. Where did you grow up?
42. What was your first job?
43. What's a hobby you picked up recently?
44. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday?
45. What's the best trip you've taken?
46. What's a food you could eat every day?
47. Do you have any pets? Photos welcome.
48. What's a skill you'd love to learn?
49. What's the best book you've read in the last year?
50. What was your favorite subject in school?
51. Where would you love to travel next?
52. What's something most people here don't know about you?
53. What's your favorite spot in your town?
54. What did you want to be when you were a kid?
55. What's a talent you have that has nothing to do with work?
56. What's your favorite holiday tradition?
57. What's the best concert or live show you've been to?
58. What's your comfort movie?
59. What small thing always makes your day better?
60. What's your favorite season, and why?
Would you rather and this or that
Pick one, say why in a sentence. Quick to answer, easy to argue about.
61. Would you rather work from a beach or a mountain cabin for a week?
62. Would you rather have a four-day week or a two-hour lunch every day?
63. Would you rather talk to animals or speak every language?
64. Would you rather never cook again or never clean again?
65. Would you rather have a personal chef or a personal driver?
66. Would you rather give a speech to 500 people or sing karaoke for 20?
67. Would you rather give up music or movies?
68. Would you rather visit the past or the future?
69. Would you rather have unlimited books or unlimited flights?
70. Would you rather only work mornings or only work evenings?
71. Morning workout or evening workout?
72. Mountains or ocean?
73. Pizza or tacos?
74. Text or call?
75. Books or podcasts?
76. Sunrise or sunset?
77. City break or countryside?
78. Dogs or cats?
79. Window seat or aisle seat?
80. Planner or improviser?
Thoughtful questions
A little deeper, still safe for coworkers. Save these for smaller groups and calmer mornings.
81. What's the best advice you've ever received?
82. What's something you've changed your mind about?
83. Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
84. What's a mistake that taught you something useful?
85. What does a great workday look like for you?
86. What are you proud of from this past year?
87. What's a goal you're working toward outside work?
88. What's one habit you'd like to build?
89. What keeps you going on a tough day?
90. What are you curious about right now?
91. What's the most useful thing you learned in your first job?
92. If you could master one skill overnight, what would it be?
93. What's a small act of kindness you still remember?
94. What would you tell yourself on your first day here?
95. How do you recharge?
96. What's a challenge you're glad you took on?
97. Who on the team would you like to learn more from?
98. What would you like to be known for at work?
99. What book, talk or podcast changed how you work?
100. What makes a team good to be part of?
Monday and Friday questions
Ten to start the week, ten to wrap it up.
101. What was the highlight of your weekend?
102. What's one thing you want to get done this week?
103. Did you try anything new this weekend?
104. What are you looking forward to this week?
105. What would make this week easier?
106. What did you eat this weekend that was worth it?
107. What's your Monday survival strategy?
108. From 1 to 10, how Monday is your Monday?
109. What are you carrying over from last week?
110. Who do you want to catch up with this week?
111. What are your plans for the weekend?
112. What was your biggest win this week?
113. What's something you learned this week?
114. Who deserves a shout-out for this week?
115. What would you do with a surprise day off?
116. What's one thing you'll leave at work this weekend?
117. What was the best part of your week, work or not?
118. What will you do differently next week?
119. What's your ideal Friday night?
120. What are you reading, watching or listening to this weekend?
15 quick morning meeting ideas and activities
For days when a question isn't enough. Each fits in ten minutes or less, with no prep beyond reading this list.
1. One-word check-in
Everyone says one word for how they're arriving today. No explanations needed, and nobody comments.
3 minutes
2. Rose, bud, thorn
Each person shares a win (rose), something they're looking forward to (bud) and one challenge (thorn).
8 minutes
3. Two truths and a lie
Two people a day share three statements. The team guesses the lie. Rules and 100+ examples.
10 minutes
4. Shout-out round
Each person thanks one teammate for something specific from the last few days.
5 minutes
5. Desk show-and-tell
Grab one object within reach and explain why it's there. It works best on video.
7 minutes
6. This or that vote
Read a pair like “mountains or ocean.” In the room people step left or right; on a call they react with an emoji.
5 minutes
7. Would you rather debate
Read one would you rather question, take a vote, then let one person from each side make a 30-second case. Would you rather questions.
5 minutes
8. Emoji weather report
Everyone posts one emoji in the chat for their mood. The host reads out the forecast.
3 minutes
9. Five-question trivia
Five quick questions, answered in pairs. Keep a running score for the week and crown a winner on Friday. Trivia questions.
10 minutes
10. Hot seat
One volunteer answers rapid, light questions from the team for two minutes. Rotate daily. Hot seat questions.
10 minutes
11. Guess who
Collect one fun fact from each person in advance. Read one a day and let the team guess whose it is.
8 minutes
12. Word of the day
Someone introduces an unusual word. Anyone who uses it naturally in a meeting that day wins.
5 minutes
13. Gratitude round
Each person names one thing they're grateful for, at work or outside it.
5 minutes
14. Two-minute stretch
A different person leads a short stretch each day. Cameras optional, laughing allowed.
5 minutes
15. Goal out loud
Everyone names one goal for the day. At the end of the day, people post a check mark in the chat.
5 minutes
Need more? Our team meeting games and icebreaker questions have plenty.
Morning meeting topics: a 15-minute agenda
Five parts, in this order. The warm-up question goes first, so everyone has spoken before the work starts.
- Warm-up (2 to 5 minutes). One question from this page, answered by everyone in a sentence.
- Priorities (5 minutes). Each person shares today's top task and anything blocking it.
- News (2 minutes). One announcement, a customer win or a date to remember.
- Shout-outs (1 to 2 minutes). Thank someone for something specific.
- Close (1 minute). Who needs to talk after the meeting, then everyone back to work.
Running morning meetings on Zoom or Teams
- Post the question in the chat before the call so people can think while they join.
- Call on people in a set order (alphabetical works) so nobody talks over each other.
- Let people answer in the chat if the group is bigger than about 12.
- Keep it to 15 minutes, and end on time even when the conversation is good.
- Rotate who picks the question each week.
Want someone to run a longer one?
Once a month, swap the 15-minute standup for an hour of hosted fun. A live host runs trivia or a game show on Zoom by default (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request), and nobody on the team has to plan a thing. See virtual trivia and virtual game shows.
Two team favorites, with live prices. Book about 2 weeks ahead or get a free quote.
