Before we discuss the best speed dating questions, let’s first dive into what speed dating really is and how different it is from regular or casual dating. Think of it this way – casual dating is more prolonged, relaxed, and easygoing. Speed dating, on the other hand, is the type of dating with a force and a purpose.
Sounds confusing, we know, but hear us out. The difference isn’t all that big, really. The end goal is the same but the route in speed dating is just more rapid. During casual dating, one tries to ease into the dating world with one or two dates a week but with speed dating, one is sort of in a rapid-fire mode. Read on to understand more.
50 Best Speed Dating Questions To Start A Conversation and Keep It Going
Table of Contents
A speed dating event is a formalized affair that is sort of a mix between a game of raffle and musical chairs. It is an event that you can sign up for beforehand. When you arrive at the speed dating soiree, you are introduced to and get to go on a mini date with everyone else who has also willingly signed up.
There’s an array of tables laid out and one gets about three to eight minutes on each mini date to determine whether they are interested in the person or not. If it’s a heterosexual setting, the women stay put at their tables and the men take their turn from one table to the other. Once the buzzer rings, your date is over and it is time for you to move on to the next person. Think of it as swiping on Tinder but in real life.
Later, every person writes down the names of the people they felt connected to and would like to meet again. After the event is over, the organizers tally all the names and look for mutual interest. If two people have written each other’s names on the cards, they will receive each other’s contact details to set up a date on their own.
Speed dating is evidently an effective way to meet a bunch of people without spending a lot of time from your busy schedule. Plus, it eliminates any awkward conversation and the pressure of tactfully running away from a bad date. Also, you don’t have to figure out a way to dismiss a person if you have no intention to go on a second or third date with them. The only concern that remains here is regarding the speed dating questions.
So, when the rules are so rigid and you only get a short span of time to talk to a person who could potentially be the perfect partner of your dreams, what kind of speed dating questions should you ask them? Since you need to make the best of the limited time that you have on your hands, you must come up with unique and insightful questions to take a closer look into the person you’re on a date with. Asking “What’s your favorite color?” – umm no. You do not have time for a trivial question like that.
You should go for solid, meaningful speed dating game questions to gauge the personality of this person as quickly as you can. Here are the 50 best speed dating questions to choose from. Feel free to mix and match!
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Personal Speed dating questions
Now that you are sitting opposite a potential future partner, your major aim is to know them better. Some of your speed dating questions must run around this idea to understand their lifestyle, family background, future plans, and opinions on important matters like religion and politics. Keeping that in mind, we have gathered these interesting speed dating questions that will give you a peek into your date’s life and personality:
1. Where did you grow up?
This is an obviously good way to start off your speed dating questions. Before prying too much and asking if someone has weird kinks in bed, it is probably safer to keep it a little formal at first and ask them a little about their background and their heritage.
2. Are you close to your family?
One does not have to go deep into the trenches of one’s relationship with their parents or siblings but it is nice to understand what kind of family one comes from. Do they live alone or do they still live with their parents? Do they come from more of just a Thanksgiving dinner meet-up kind of family or will you be meeting them every Saturday on fishing trips if you do end up dating them?
3. How do you spend your time after work?
Or you can say “How do you unwind at the end of a long day?” to really understand what are the things that help them de-stress. Are they into working out, spending time with their dog, or simply putting on some music and dancing away the blues?
4. Do you like children?
If you are someone who is dating for marriage or is interested in having children with a long-term partner, best to make that intention clear on your date. That way, you can sift quickly and find someone who is willing to settle down soon and enjoys children as much as you do!
5. What does your ideal date sound like?
Now this is a fabulous way to understand how they like to spend time with people and get to know them. Are they into fun activities like hiking or horse riding or do they prefer talking over a cup of coffee? Either way, if you’re interested, now you know how to ask them out.
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6. What are your political inclinations?
One of the deep speed dating questions, especially if you are politically aware. It will be nice to get an outline of what your date thinks of some essential political themes. Are they right-oriented, centrist, or do they support the left?
7. Are you religious?
If you are somebody with a strong faith and belief system, it will not hurt to throw that out there and use this as a follow-up question. These deep speed dating questions are necessary to gauge what might be the possible fundamental differences between you two.
8. What is your greatest strength?
Isn’t it important to date someone who is at least self-aware? Are they proud and conscious of their abilities or borderline vain and saying/doing things that narcissists do? If your company is organizing such a team-building event at the office, this is one of the suitable speed dating questions for work.
9. Do you drink or smoke?
For those of you who are teetotalers or have never picked up a cigarette in your life, this is one of the very important speed dating questions for you. If you are the kind of person who might be uncomfortable with such a lifestyle, better to get this one out of the way first.
10. Are you into fitness?
If you’re a fitness nerd, do not forget to pop this question. Find out if they’re into exercising or eating healthy as much as you are. You do not want to plan a future cycling date for them that they might just end up hating completely! Also, workouts guarantee better sex, did you know that? So you’ll definitely want to know the answer to this.
Ice breaker speed dating questions
Ice breakers always work wonders when you are on a date with a stranger. It’s an amazing way to strike up a conversation and make the other person comfortable in your presence. These ice breaker speed dating questions will definitely keep your date hooked for five minutes and give you an edge to be on the top of their list. Check them out:
11. How long have you been speed dating?
One of the perfect speed dating questions is to find out how committed they are to this gam. It’s always helpful to know whether they’re a veteran or a newbie so you can perhaps show them the ropes or let them take over the controls.
12. What makes you laugh really hard?
This trick question is for you to know how to impress them. Use this as one of your funny speed dating questions by following up with a banter that would make them laugh. Since you know what makes them giggle happily, you can use the same to charm them away!
13. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?
Now, this is a nice and roundabout way to get a perspective of their goals and desires. This will also speak volumes about their relationship goals in general. Money, happiness, family, love – there could be lots. But what are their specific top 3?
14. What qualities do you admire the most in people?
Personally, I like to judge potential partners by how they see and treat other people. Do they like people for their drive and passion or for their kindness? Use this question to determine what it is that they find attractive and admirable. If you need speed dating questions for friends, this will be a great shot.
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15. What is the worst idea you’ve ever had?
To keep it fun, use this question to find out if they have a naughty or spontaneous side to them. We are sure some really fun stories are going to bubble up, thanks to this one!
16. Tell me about your worst date
What a genius way of understanding their pet peeves or things that make them uncomfortable. Hopefully, you can also share a few good laughs about this one. Ask them about their worst dates so you know what not to do wrong.
17. Which is your favorite spot for a getaway?
Even the way a person spends their time indulging in some R&R is important when you’re trying to ascertain whether you want to date them or not. Hawaii or the hills, bed and breakfast or the Radisson, find out how they like to spend their time off. This information might come in handy if you start dating and you want to plan an overnight trip to surprise them.
18. What is the quickest way to your heart?
If they say “Dogs and eating cupcakes in a park”, cuff them. Because how sweet is that? But seriously, this is a way of understanding what kind of affection and love they’re seeking. It will go a long way in helping you understand their nature in relationships.
19. Do you have any dorky habits?
Funny speed dating questions like these help keep the process humorous, and this one certainly tops the list. Do they eat ketchup with their pizza or religiously wear socks to sleep? These cute quirks, no matter how silly they seem, are actually the real reasons we fall for people. So ask away!
20. Do you believe in ghosts?
This appears to be one of the deep speed dating questions, but really, it can go either way. You might end up talking spirituality and God or end up discussing which of the Paranormal Activity movies you two should watch together.
21. What’s a superpower you really want?
A question like this can open up a can of worms about someone’s personality and proclivities. Do they want an invisibility cloak to sneak up on people or do they prefer time traveling to go back to spending time with their mother as a child? A simple question like this can lead to some really interesting conversations.
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22. What’s your favorite TV show?
People bond over their favorite TV series like nothing else. Trust me, if I know a Game Of Thrones fan in the room, I can talk to them for hours. You can discuss fan theories, unmissable moments, and heartbreaking endings when you ask them about what shows they enjoy. Among all the speed dating questions for work, this one is the most suited for office speed dating events.
23. Do you like animals?
This is a great question to ask if you are a pet owner yourself or are really fond of animals in general. It can be nice to gauge if there is a possibility of you two adopting a furry friend one day! Couples with pets are way cuter, just saying. Plus, you get to know if they are a dog person or a cat person.
24. Are you a good texter or do you prefer calling?
One of the speed dating questions icebreakers, find out beforehand if they’re going to be double texting you all day or would they rather just call you when you get off work. Either way, it’s a nice way to understand somebody’s habits and conversation style.
25. What can you eat for the rest of your life?
Whether you’re thinking of good speed dating questions or an actual first date conversation starter, you cannot go without talking about your favorite foods at least once. Food really seems to bring people together, so use this one generously with all your dates!
Interesting speed dating questions
We can’t let your date have the opportunity to say “OMG! That person was such a bore” after meeting you. So, we have listed a plethora of interesting speed dating questions. Now it’s your job to use them wisely and confidently:
26. What kind of things do you geek out about?
Are they a nerd about Harry Potter, video games, comics, anime, or The Bachelor? Want to know if you have common interests? This is one of the perfect speed dating questions icebreakers to have something interesting to talk about on your mini date. If you will indeed be dating a gamer of sorts, you want to know beforehand.
27. What is one cause in the world that you want to support?
This is one of the good speed dating questions to really understand what drives a person. There are issues that we all care about deeply but what is it that fires them up? It could be anything from political to personal. This question can tell you a lot about a person’s nature.
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28. Do you have any crazy fantasies?
To keep things interesting while speed dating, pop a fun question like this every now and then. Because of the nature of this method, speed dating questions can quickly start feeling like aggressive interviews. Use some fun questions in the middle to keep it light.
29. How would your best friends describe you?
This question might seem small but is a huge way to understand somebody’s personality and what they’re all about. Since their best friends know them most closely, find out how exactly their best buds think of them because that will indeed be the most accurate reflection of who they are.
30. What do you think makes a relationship good?
What are the things they value most in relationships and what do they aim to work toward with a partner? Fantastic communication, spending quality time together, or trust in a relationship – what do they value the most? Find that out through such intimate speed dating game questions.
31. What’s the con of dating you?
This is a simple way of asking straight up about the potential area of concern in your relationship. There are pros and cons to dating everyone, but it is nice to see it is coming from that person directly and beforehand. Is it that they’re loud while fighting or that they are extremely choosy about what they eat?
32. Do you have any controversial opinions?
This is a great way to gauge if there is something you might disagree on. For example, they are totally against capital punishment, or they think the movie Parasite should not have won an Oscar. From intense to frivolous, this question can really go anywhere.
33. Is there anything you’d never do again?
‘Regret’ can be a heavy word to use among speed dating questions so this is a simpler way of putting across the same thing. Our regrets can determine a lot about who we are as people. So use such deep speed dating questions to find out more about who they are on the inside.
34. Do you get angry easily?
Whether it’s full-fledged anger management issues or minor temper tantrums that can be placated with Ben and Jerry’s, it is good to know beforehand if they react impulsively to uncomfortable situations.
35. Nightclub or Netflix?
This is a creative way of asking whether they like a night out or prefer a night in. Everyone has phases and enjoys both every now and then, but this is a good way of understanding how you might be spending most of your nights together.
36. What’s the first thing you’d do as President of the country?
Legalize marijuana in all 50 states, create a universal healthcare system, or make beer free all over the country – use this funny speed dating question to have a great laugh! Such hypothetical questions are a great way to enjoy your mini date.
37. Which artist’s music resonates with you?
If it’s Taylor Swift, wow, they’re super passionate about love! The kind of music we listen to can be a reflection of who we are, whether you like it or not. Enjoying hip hop is one thing but listening to The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights on repeat can tell a whole different story about you.
38. How would your ex describe you?
The nature of one’s past relationships can definitely throw light on how that has shaped and changed them in the present. Try to be a little open-minded with this one because you may not always hear the best things – just know that their history does not necessarily define everything about them.
39. What topic are you always willing to debate?
This is basically a paraphrased version of “What are you most passionate about?” I personally am most passionate about debating whether one should break spaghetti before boiling it or not, but there’s a whole array of things that you will hopefully get to talk about. Get into some controversial questions with this one.
40. Would you be doing your job if you did not need money?
A good way to find out if someone is satisfied with their work or not. You can really look into them with this one and you’ll know if they are following their passions in life or not. If you meet a friend at a speed dating event, such speed dating questions for friends will help you dig a little deeper into their life journey.
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41. What do you fear the most?
Is it snakes or do they have a fear of abandonment? What we are scared of can give away a lot about us. Ask such deep speed dating questions to let them know that you’re really putting an effort into understanding them emotionally.
42. What do you enjoy the most about being single?
Are they into hooking up, is it about the independence, or having time to themselves every single night? Whatever it is, you can know when you ask them this question.
43. Are you a risk taker?
Whether one is cautious or spontaneous, it can give away a lot about the kind of decision-making skills they use in their life. If you are serious about finding somebody long-term and want to ensure they are on the same wavelength about things, this question is your go-to.
44. What do you see in an ideal partner?
This is one of the perfect virtual speed dating questions to get a glimpse of what they might be expecting from you. Sort of like a clear checklist that they will be evaluating you against. Use this cheat sheet to determine where your connection might or might not go.
45. Which is your favorite spot around town?
With such questions, you can gain an insight into how they like to spend their time. They might prefer to hit the local coffee shop every day or feed the ducks by the river in the evenings. In this simple way, you can know what their day looks like.
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Flirty speed dating questions
Yes, you are just getting to know this person and you should come out as a decent human. All of that is true. But you are there hoping to initiate a romantic relationship after all. So, a little flirting won’t do any harm. Make a quick note of these flirty and dirty speed dating questions to spice up your conversation:
46. What is your favorite sex position?
If you’re looking for dirty speed dating questions, this is one. But we have a tip. Tread cautiously with this one and only put it out there if you’ve established a rapport with them already. You don’t want to spring any uncomfortable questions because that will immediately make your date go downhill.
47. What is a weird thing you find attractive?
Kinks, fetishes, you catch my drift. Such flirty speed dating questions encompass everything, from different types of kissing to finding someone’s voice attractive or the science of scent for attraction. What is it that really turns them on but is considered understated?
48. Are you a good flirt?
With this question, find out how confident they are in their abilities to woo and attract others. Are they the type to go after what they want or do they prefer to sit alone at the bar and wait to be chased?
49. What do you think of PDA?
Since you might potentially go out with this person in the future, use your speed dating questions time wisely to understand how comfortable this person is with PDA. Will a kiss on the cheek freak them out or make them pull you in? Now you’ll know if they are willing to indulge in PDA or not.
50. If you had to take me out for dessert, where would we go?
Consider ending your speed dating round with such flirty speed dating questions to know whether they’d be interested in going on a date with you or not. The point here is to not find out their favorite dessert, but to figure out if they’re interested!
Does this solve your ‘speed dating questions’ dilemma now? If you have just entered the speed dating game, you should try your hand at a few of these questions to impress your date and keep them hooked. This experience can be exhilarating but only if you do it right. Good luck!
FAQs
Speed dating is an event where a group of single people gathers at a venue like a café. In a heterosexual setting, the women stay put at their table and the men take turns shifting from one table to another, and meeting and talking to each woman. But they only get 3-8 minutes to converse with one person. Toward the end, everyone writes down the names of the people they felt connected to and the organizers share their contact details based on mutual interest for further meetings.
While the clock is ticking, you don’t have much time for an elaborate introduction. Begin with a “Hi, I am…It’s so nice to meet you” and move on to your first question. Of course, let your date introduce themselves as well.
You should approach speed dating with an open mind to meet a bunch of new people to learn about their personalities and life journey. Remember, it’s important to enjoy the whole process instead of stressing about how to impress them all.
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