Conversation starters that open a story: 50 questions with no wrong answer

The best conversation starters ask about something a person likes, did, or saw, so there is no wrong answer. Here are fifty of them, grouped by topic, and sixteen come straight from the coloring pages they were written for.

Each of those sixteen is a Story Starter, the one question printed with a Tablewell drawing. The drawing's name sits beside it, so you can see which picture it goes with.

How to use these at a table

Pick one question, not ten. Read it once, aloud, to the whole table. Then go back to your own page. A list read out in a row starts to feel like a quiz.

The either-or questions are the easiest way in. "Pie or cake?" can be answered with one word, and one word is often where a story starts.

Keep a follow-up ready. Nearly every Story Starter in the library comes with two. The one for Clothesline asks, "Did you hang laundry on a line, or use a dryer?" Its follow-ups are "What did sheets smell like after a day outside?" and "Who taught you to hang them, and was there a right way?"

Then give it time. Count to ten before you say anything else. Quiet at a coloring table means people are thinking. For more on this, read How to ask about the past without putting anyone on the spot.

Food and the kitchen

Food is the safest place to start. Everyone has eaten, and everyone has an opinion.

• What went into jars at your house: jam, pickles, or flowers? (Mason jar bouquet)
• Crisp and tart, or soft and sweet: how do you like apples? (Apple tree and basket)
• Who was the best cook you ever knew, and what did they make?
• Pie or cake: which is the better dessert?
• What smell from a kitchen would bring you running?
• What did you like for breakfast on a Sunday morning?
• What's a dish you could eat every week and never tire of?

Home and family

Ask about the house, not the dates. Rooms, chairs, and chores are there on any day.

• Did you hang laundry on a line, or use a dryer? (Clothesline)
• Are you a front-porch sitter, or a backyard person? (Farmhouse by the fence)
• Who sat where at the supper table?
• Who was the storyteller in your family?
• What chore did you not mind doing?
• What color was the kitchen where you grew up?
• What sound makes you think of home?

Gardens and the outdoors

• What did you grow, or wish you'd grown, in a garden? (Wheelbarrow of flowers)
• Who raked the leaves at your house, and who jumped in the pile? (Autumn tree, leaves falling)
• What's the best thing to eat outside on a warm day?
• Which season would you keep all year if you could?
• What flower would you put on every table?
• What do you like to do on a rainy afternoon?
• What's the best view you've ever had from a porch or a window?

Work and handy things

Work means any work: a job, a farm, a kitchen, a family. Ask about the tools and the skills, and everyone has an answer.

• Needle and thread, or hammer and nails: which were you handier with? (Ornamental butterfly frame)
• Was there a shed, garage, or workbench where you liked to putter? (Garden shed and tools)
• Who taught you to do something with your hands?
• What's a job you were good at that nobody paid you for?
• What's a job you'd like to try for just one day?
• What did you wear to work: an apron, a uniform, boots, or your Sunday best?
• What's the best lunch to pack?

Music, dancing, and fun

• Did you like to dance, or watch from the side? (Lilies and sparkles)
• Bells, birdsong, or rain on the roof: which sound do you like best? (Butterfly in the garden pattern)
• Radio, records, or a live band: how did you like your music?
• What song would you sing along to in the car?
• Cards, checkers, or a game outside: which did you like best?
• What kind of movie would you pick for a Saturday night: a western, a musical, or a love story?
• Who could tell a joke better than anyone you knew?

Seasons and holidays

Holiday questions work best when they ask about food, doors, and weather. Those have no wrong answer.

• Did you like snow days, or were you glad when it melted? (Snowy cottage)
• For your birthday, did you like a big party or a quiet one? (Party balloons and a drum)
• What's the one dish that had to be on the Thanksgiving table? (Scarecrow and pumpkins)
• What went on your front door for the holidays? (Holiday wreath)
• Which holiday had the best food at your house?
• What tells you summer has really started?
• What's the best part of a fall afternoon?
• Which holiday did your town go all out for?

Just for fun

• Are you a night owl or an early bird? (Owl in the tree)
• On a trip, did you like to drive, take the train, or fly? (Palm island)
• Mountains or seashore: where would you spend a free week?
• What color do you reach for first?
• What's the best thing about a Saturday?
• If you could have any view out your window, what would it be?
• What advice would you give someone starting their first job?

Why a picture helps

A question asked across an empty table can feel like a spotlight. The same question asked about a drawing is easier. Eyes have somewhere to rest, hands have something to do, and the talk is about the picture, not the person.

That's why sixteen of these come with a drawing. Each drawing is in the Tablewell library in Regular and Bold. Bold has thicker lines and fewer tiny details, easier to see and easier to finish. Print both, and let people pick.

If you'd like to try it, the First Pack is six drawings with a Story Starter on each, free, with your organization's name on the cover.