Injecting Fun into Your Meetings with Quirky Questions
Meetings can often feel routine, especially when they follow the same format over and over. But as a leader, you have the power to change that dynamic by introducing fun, quirky questions into your sessions. Adding a bit of intelligent humour helps energise the room, spark creativity, and, most importantly, build stronger relationships within your team.
While methods like WWW (What Went Well) and EBI (Even Better If) are effective for reflections and improvement, quirky questions can take your meetings to the next level by making them more engaging, human, and enjoyable. The combination of traditional reflection tools and these light-hearted questions helps maintain balance between seriousness and levity, ultimately driving more productive and innovative team outcomes.
Why Quirky Questions Work
Break the Ice: Quirky questions surprise team members, drawing them in and breaking any awkward silences that may hang at the start of meetings. It helps people feel comfortable, even in high-pressure environments.
Foster Creativity: Asking out-of-the-box questions stimulates the brain in ways that typical meeting agendas can’t. For example, a question like “If you could swap lives with any fictional character, who would it be and why?” engages a different kind of thinking and can inspire new perspectives on existing work challenges.
Promote Team Bonding: Humorous or personal questions create an environment where team members feel safe sharing their experiences or quirks. Something as simple as “What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?” can help colleagues get to know each other better, building stronger interpersonal connections.
Build Trust and Engagement: When people laugh and share, trust grows. By injecting some fun into the meeting structure, you open up room for vulnerability. This is especially important in high-performing teams where collaboration and open communication are key to success.
Example Quirky Questions to Try
Below are some meeting goals with some practical, ready-to-use quirky questions that will inject a bit of fun and energy into your next meeting:
Build Connection
- “If you were a kitchen appliance, which one would you be and why?”
- “If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be and what would you ask them?”
- “What’s the weirdest talent you have that no one knows about?”
Celebrate Wins
- “Who would like to give a shoutout to a teammate who has gone above and beyond since our last meeting?”
- “What were the team’s biggest wins since the last meeting? What behaviors contributed to that success?”
Creative Problem Solving
- “Pick an image and tell us how it connects to a challenge or success we are facing as a team.”
- “If you could instantly become an expert in something, but it had to be totally useless, what would it be?”
Encourage Feedback
- “Let’s go around and share ne piece of constructive feedback from the last cycle. What worked and what could we improve?”
- “If you were the manager right now, what’s one thing you would do to improve team culture?”
Adapt for Remote Teams
- “On a scale of emojis, from 😃 to 😔, how are you feeling about the week ahead? Let’s share why.”
- “What does your morning routine look like when working from home? What’s one tip you can share to help us all stay productive?”
Team Bonding
- “What’s the funniest text message or email you’ve ever sent by mistake?”
- “If you had to swap lives with a cartoon character for a week, who would it be and why?”
- “If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?”
Boost Productivity
- “If you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine or our team’s process, what would it be and why?”
- “What does your morning routine look like when working from home? How do you stay productive?”
Fun and Quirky
- “Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?”
- “If you had to be handcuffed to one person for an entire month, who would it be and why?”
- “If you could be a fly on the wall in any room in history, which one would you choose and why?”
Spark Creativity
- “If you could live in any fictional universe, which one would it be and why?”
- “What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?”
Personal Reflection
- “If you could wake up tomorrow with any superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?”
- “What’s a failure that you’ve learned the most from, and how has it shaped how you approach challenges today?”
Team Fun
- “The zombie apocalypse is coming - name three people from this team you’d want on your survival team and why.”
- “If you were stranded on a deserted island for a year and could only bring one type of food, one drink, one music artist, and one TV show, what would they be?”
Reflection and Growth
- “If your life were a movie, what genre would it be, and who would play you?”
- “What’s something you believed as a child that makes you laugh now?”
Fun (Personal Insight)
- “If you had a theme song that played every time you walked into a room, what would it be?”
- “If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your future, or anything else, what would you want to know?”
Challenge the Status Quo
- “If you could switch jobs with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be and why?”
- “What’s the most hilarious childhood memory that you can think of?”
How to Use These Questions in Meetings
Set the Tone: Start your meeting with a quirky question to set a positive, relaxed tone. This is particularly useful in tense or high-stakes meetings where lightening the mood can help break down barriers to communication.
Integrate with Traditional Methods: Combine these questions with more formal approaches like WWW and EBI. For example, begin the meeting with “What went well since our last meeting?” then follow it up with a quirky question like, “If you could switch jobs with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be and why?” This balance allows for both reflective learning and engaging conversations.
Mix and Match: Use different types of questions depending on your team’s energy levels and the type of meeting. For brainstorming sessions, try questions that promote creativity. For informal team meetings, lean more into the fun and bonding prompts.
The Power of Intelligent Humour in Leadership
In leadership, the ability to inject humour into everyday work environments is invaluable. It helps ease tension, fosters innovation, and encourages open communication. The beauty of quirky questions is that they allow teams to relax while still remaining engaged in the work at hand.
By incorporating these questions into your meetings, you not only make them more enjoyable but also help your team form deeper connections. A bit of laughter goes a long way in promoting a positive work culture, and it makes the tougher moments in business a little easier to navigate.