Icebreaker resources Updated

This or That questions for work and teams

Bring an easy either-or question to your next team warm-up, working-style conversation, or retrospective. All 60 choices are work-safe.

01

Quick This or That questions

  1. 1Coffee or tea?
  2. 2Sweet snack or salty snack?
  3. 3Sunrise or sunset?
  4. 4Mountains or beach?
  5. 5Book or podcast?
  6. 6Board game or movie night?
  7. 7City break or nature escape?
  8. 8Music or silence?
  9. 9Early start or late finish?
  10. 10Window seat or aisle seat?
  11. 11Summer or winter?
  12. 12Plan the trip or decide as you go?

02

This or That questions about work style

  1. 1Plan first or prototype first?
  2. 2Chat message or quick call?
  3. 3Written update or live stand-up?
  4. 4Deep-work morning or meeting-free afternoon?
  5. 5Whiteboard or shared document?
  6. 6Pair first or investigate solo first?
  7. 7Feedback in writing or feedback in conversation?
  8. 8Detailed agenda or flexible outline?
  9. 9One big goal or three small goals?
  10. 10Customer story or product metric?
  11. 11Demo early or polish longer?
  12. 12Quiet focus or background music?

03

This or That questions for remote teams

  1. 1Camera on or camera optional?
  2. 2Async update or live meeting?
  3. 3Home office or coworking space?
  4. 4Short daily check-in or longer weekly sync?
  5. 5Screen share or written walkthrough?
  6. 6Digital whiteboard or structured document?
  7. 7Team chat or project comments?
  8. 8Calendar block or status indicator for focus time?
  9. 9One shared time zone or flexible handoffs?
  10. 10Remote social or in-person meetup?
  11. 11Headphones or quiet room?
  12. 12Recorded demo or live demo?

04

This or That questions for retrospectives

  1. 1Celebrate a win or solve a friction point first?
  2. 2Start Stop Continue or Sailboat?
  3. 3More experiments or more consistency?
  4. 4Fix a rough edge or add a new capability?
  5. 5Small release or big launch?
  6. 6Fewer handoffs or clearer handoffs?
  7. 7More automation or simpler process?
  8. 8Discuss one theme deeply or three themes briefly?
  9. 9Anonymous cards or named cards?
  10. 10Vote first or discuss first?
  11. 11One ambitious action or two small actions?
  12. 12Review the sprint goal or review the workflow first?

05

Playful This or That questions for coworkers

  1. 1Office dog or office cat?
  2. 2Unlimited sticky notes or unlimited whiteboard space?
  3. 3Perfect keyboard or perfect chair?
  4. 4Team breakfast or team lunch?
  5. 5Trivia night or escape room?
  6. 6Time travel to the past or the future?
  7. 7Super speed or perfect memory?
  8. 8Robot assistant or personal chef?
  9. 9Work from a cabin or work from a sailboat?
  10. 10Always find a parking spot or skip every queue?
  11. 11Speak every language or play every instrument?
  12. 12A four-day week or shorter workdays?

Use these questions well

How to run a This or That round that works

Put both choices where everyone can see them and collect every vote at once. Keep things moving. When a split points to something the team can use, pause for a short conversation.

Keep binary questions work-safe

Choose two low-stakes options that feel equally acceptable. Anyone can skip any question and keep their reason entirely to themselves. A winning answer belongs to the game and carries no weight as a team rule.

Frequently asked questions

What are good This or That questions for work?

Good workplace questions pair two harmless, equally acceptable choices, such as written feedback or spoken feedback. People should be able to answer in seconds or skip comfortably.

How many This or That questions should a team use?

Four to six questions fit comfortably into a two-to-four-minute warm-up, with time to discuss one useful or surprising split before returning to the meeting.

Can remote and hybrid teams play This or That?

Yes. Share the same room link with every participant and let each person vote on their own device. That works for remote colleagues and for people sitting together in a meeting room.

Is This or That the same as the Yes or No game?

They are different games. This or That asks every player to choose between two options. In the Yes or No challenge, one person answers rapid-fire questions while avoiding the words yes and no.

Related resources

Put the next question to a live team vote

Open a free This or That room and invite the team with one link. Everyone votes, then you reveal the split together. There is no login to complete first.

Play This or That