187 Thought-Provoking Questions For Any Conversation

Plenty of topics and things could be used as good conversation starters. Take, for instance, basic get-to-know-you questions. These babies are as universal as they can get!

Then, of course, a conversation might start with your cowboy boots worn to a UN assembly or something. And although the last one seems like a fun idea, we know an even better one – thought-provoking questions! Not to be confused with provocative questions, though. So, if you’re looking for some interesting questions to ask your S.O., your friends, your granny, or anyone, really, you’ve come to the exact right place. Yup, this is our list of thought-provoking questions, and with them, you’ll never run out of things to discuss!

Yeah, we know that it is sometimes hard to keep a conversation going, especially if you find yourself digging through your cranium, which suddenly seems as empty as a decorative vase placed in your granny’s cupboard for god knows how long. And since we know the situation painfully well, we’ve gathered these smart questions to ask in one place, so neither of us will have to endure the embarrassment, not once again.

Also, if a more dreaded situation occurs, one where it is expected from you to provide some comedic relief, there are also some pretty funny thought-provoking questions here, too. This way, you can provide those lusted-for ha-ha’s and start a conversation. Win-win!

So, ready to check out our list of meaningful questions suitable for any occasion? Let’s get going, then! The questions are just a bit further down, and once you read them all, give your vote to the ones you’d like to answer the most. After that’s all done, share this article with your friends!

#1 Thought-Provoking Questions About Life, Purpose, And Meaning

Do you have a voice inside your head?

#2

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

#3

Which is worse, failing or never trying?

#4

Would you rather have more time for yourself or have more money?

#5

If you could travel back in time, what would you change?

#6

Is intentionally harming one for the good of the majority ethical?

#7

If the average human lifespan was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

#8

Does fate exist?

#9

According to you, what are the three main disadvantages of the modern world we live in?

#10

What job would you never accept (regardless of the salary)?

#11

Would you break the law to save a loved one?

#12

When do you feel most alive?

#13

Does social media have a positive or negative impact on you?

#14

Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

#15 Thought-Provoking Questions To Spark Deep Conversations

Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?

#16

Do you think in pictures?

#17

If a doctor gave you five years to live, what would you try to accomplish?

#18

When you close your eyes what do you see?

#19

Would you ever choose immortality if you could?

#20

Where do you find peace?

#21

What is the one thing that you do today but you couldn’t do two years ago?

#22

Do you think conflict is a bad thing?

#23

Would you rather choose to be in an asylum or prison?

#24

What hard truths do you prefer to ignore?

#25

Have you ever regretted something you did not say or do?

#26

Why must you love someone enough to let them go?

#27

Do you exist before you were born?

#28

If actions speak louder than words, is speaking an action?

#29

Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

#30

If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow this person to be your friend?

#31 Personal Growth Through Thought-Provoking Questions

When you are 80-years-old, what will matter to you the most?

#32

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

#33

Is it ever OK to hurt someone?

#34

What small act of kindness were you once shown that you will never forget?

#35

Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to make new ones?

#36

What does love feel like?

#37

When was the last time you had a brilliant idea that you couldn’t stop thinking about?

#38

If you had an opportunity to make one thing illegal, what would it be?

#39

What is your opinion on cheating?

#40

If you could receive a million dollars under the condition that one stranger becomes poor, would you accept it?

#41

What would be the best remedy for healing the entire world?

#42

When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

#43

Would you want to remember every detail of your life? Why or why not?

#44

What are your top five personal values?

#45

If you could ask one person, alive or dead, only one question, who would you ask and what would you ask?

#46

Why do you matter?

#47

What makes a person beautiful?

#48

What are your top three priorities?

#49

What are your favorite simple pleasures?

#50

Do you think you can cry underwater?

#51

What are the three most important things on your bucket list?

#52 Emotionally Charged Thought-Provoking Questions That Dig Deeper

What is your most improved character trait?

#53

What activity makes you feel happiest?

#54

If you had a chance to change the world, how would you do it?

#55

What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

#56

Do you ask enough questions or do you settle for what you know?

#57

How would your life change if the internet ceased to exist?

#58

Would you ever sacrifice yourself to the greater good?

#59

If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?

#60

Do all people deserve respect, no matter what they have done?

#61

What is the difference between falling in love and being in love?

#62

What do you love most about yourself?

#63

How long would you survive in a zombie apocalypse? What’s your plan?

#64

If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

#65

What does it mean to allow another person to truly love you?

#66

When you think of ‘home,’ what, specifically, do you think of?

#67

What are the primary components of a happy life?

#68

How do you think evolution will impact humans in the future?

#69

Imagine that your pet could talk. What do you think it would say to you?

#70

If you were arrested, what would your family and friends think you had done?

#71

What is the meaning of life?

#72 Thought-Provoking Questions That Go Beyond Small Talk

What is the most life-changing decision you’ve ever made?

#73

Is suffering an inevitable part of our personal development and growth?

#74

When you meet someone for the first time, what is the first thing you notice about them?

#75

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

#76

What are the things you’re most grateful for?

#77

If you could do anything you wanted right now, what would you do?

#78

When was the last time you tried something new?

#79

Would you like to be famous? In what way?

#80

If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30 year old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

#81

What is your most terrible memory?

#82

Have you done anything lately worth remembering?

#83

Which activities make you lose track of time?

#84

When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards and just do what you know is right?

#85

What’s something you know you do differently than most people?

#86

Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

#87

Where do you find inspiration?

#88

Is there such a thing as evil people? What makes them evil?

#89

If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

#90

What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

#91

Why do we think of others the most when they’re gone?

#92

Who do you think stands between you and happiness?

#93

Can there be happiness without sadness? Pleasure without pain? Peace without war?

#94

Is there such a thing as perfect?

#95

Do you believe in reincarnation?

#96

What are three moral rules you will never break?

#97

When you help someone do you ever think, “What’s in it for me?”

#98

How do you define success?

#99

Is there ever a time when giving up makes sense?

#100

If you could take a single photograph of your life, what would it look like?

#101 Creative And Unusual Thought-Provoking Questions To Inspire New Ideas

Is honesty always the best policy?

#102

What is the easiest way to catch your attention?

#103

Do you see crying as a sign of weakness or strength?

#104

Are you grateful for everything you have?

#105

What are two life lessons you learned the hard way?

#106

What are the three main ingredients that make a perfect relationship?

#107

What has been the most challenging period of your life?

#108

Do you think emotional affairs and texting are more harmful than physical affairs?

#109

What makes your life worth living?

#110

What is your vision of utopia (in this instance, a perfect society)?

#111

What are the things that you do for the sake of becoming your best self?

#112

Have you ever been a victim of stereotyping?

#113

Do you listen to your gut?

#114

Do you think your high school friends influenced your behavior?

#115

What are the things you like to daydream about?

#116

What makes you feel appreciated and loved?

#117

What gets you excited about life?

#118

If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?

#119

What is the difference between living and existing?

#120

What do you value most in a friendship?

#121

If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?

#122

What does your joy look like today?

#123

Would you rather have less work or more work you actually enjoy doing?

#124

Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?

#125 Introspective And Reflective Thought-Provoking Questions

Does someone’s name influence who they become?

#126

What impact do you want to leave on the world?

#127

Do all animals deserve the same rights? Why or why not?

#128

Has your greatest fear ever come true?

#129

Which superhero would improve the world the most if they were real?

#130

Do you believe in aliens?

#131

What personal prisons have you built out of fears?

#132

Do you believe in coincidence?

#133

How many of your friends would you trust with your life?

#134

If today was the last day of your life, who would you call and what would you tell them?

#135

How would the world be different if you were never born?

#136

Do you feel respected and appreciated by me?

#137

Do you think free will is real or just an illusion?

#138

According to you, what is the most important event in the history of the human race?

#139

What do you think is keeping you from experiencing complete happiness?

#140

Do we judge and gossip about other people for the sake of feeling better about ourself?

#141

Do you think you’re living your life to the fullest?

#142

Who is your greatest role model?

#143

What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

#144

When was the last time you listened to the sound of your own breathing?

#145

Where does your self worth come from?

#146

What is your most beloved childhood memory?

#147

To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?

#148

Where would you most like to go and why?

#149

When does silence convey more meaning than words?

#150

What is your favorite song and why?

#151

Does your zodiac sign have any real influence in your life?

#152

Do you think it’s possible to lie without uttering a single word?

#153

What is something trending now but will probably be considered stupid a few years from now?

#154

When you’re feeling ill, do you have a tendency to go online and diagnose your symptoms?

#155

What is the worst name you could give your son or daughter?

#156

Have you ever sent a text message to the wrong recipient?

#157

What are the top three things you like about me?

#158

Where do you tend to spend most of your time during the day?

#159

If you were able to teach something, what would it be?

#160

What is your greatest strength?

#161

How do you imagine your life in the future?

#162

If you could invite anyone in the world to dinner, who would it be?

#163

When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

#164

What do you wish you spent more time doing five years ago?

#165

What’s a belief that you hold with which many people disagree?

#166

Do you celebrate the things you do have?

#167 Timeless Thought-Provoking Questions With No Easy Answers

What roles do love and affection play in your life?

#168

Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of?

#169

How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s?

#170

Can you describe your life in a six word sentence?

#171

Are people born good, or do we learn moral virtue?

#172

If it all came back around to you, would it help you or hurt you?

#173

What do you have that you cannot live without?

#174

How would you describe ‘freedom’ in your own words?

#175

What does it feel like to remember something?

#176

Why do religions that advocate unity divide the human race?

#177

Do you feel uncomfortable talking to me about anything?

#178

What three words best describe you?

#179

Who is your favorite cartoon character and why?

#180

Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

#181

If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

#182

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

#183

What do we all have in common besides our genes that makes us human?

#184

Do you believe in fifth-dimensional beings and reality?

#185

If you could live the next 24 hours and then erase it and start over just once, what would you do?

#186

What’s the difference between settling for things and accepting the way things are?

#187

Is war ever ethical?