When introducing a team to one another, or even just breaking the ice among a team that has worked together for years already, you want to take an approach that will be effective, but still comfortable for all involved.

Breaking the ice can be quite awkward and uncomfortable, but it’s really important to do in order for individuals to perform really well as a team. You want to introduce ice breakers as early on as possible to create a common ground among team members and really help everyone to feel comfortable in their roles.

When it comes to breaking the ice, usually keeping it simple is best! Especially in the beginning… it can be quite intimidating or difficult to answer a really deep question among a group of individuals you have never met before. Our guide to this or that questions meant for ice breakers won’t throw anyone straight into the deep end. Rather, it will ease your teammates into answering some deeper questions and getting to know each other on a more personal level. 

What is a “This or That” Question?

When we say “this or that”, we are talking about a question that provides an individual with two different options to choose from. 

Rather than being open ended or giving participants multiple answer possibilities, these questions are usually pretty simple to answer (although sometimes the options can leave people feeling torn–that’s part of the fun!). You must choose one or the other, hence the name “This or That”! 

How Can I Incorporate This or That Questions?

The best time to utilize fun this or that questions is during a team-building event. 

Some team leaders like to incorporate team building into their workplace’s day-to-day activities. This can mean at a morning meeting, at a quick afternoon meeting, or even just at a company lunch with a couple of pizzas.

If this sounds like something that your group may enjoy, take note of some of the this or that questions we have listed below and set aside some time to have your colleagues answer them amongst themselves. It’s pretty simple–and the benefits of incorporating these easy team-building activities will go extremely far within the workplace!

Maybe you want to do something that is a bit more formal. Throw a dedicated time slot onto your team’s calendars so that you can all gather together and answer some fun questions as you get to know each other better. This might look like a dedicated office game, a lunch at a local restaurant, or a full-blown team-building event.

Team Building Unlimited specializes in planning and executing unique team building events. You can rest assured that your team is in great hands as we guide them through different fun and exciting team-building activities that bring them closer together. The best part of all? You can sit back and relax, we will have it all covered for you. Check out the locations we serve to begin planning an event for your team today.

How extensive you decide to make your event is totally up to you–what do you think will work best for your team? A planned and scheduled event on the calendar or a quick “team-building meeting” in the morning? We’re here to help either way, but we know that you know your team best! 

Introducing Your Team to This or That Icebreakers

One of our favorite things about this or that icebreakers is that they are arguably some of the easiest and least-awkward questions to answer. It’s like opening your final exam in college and finding out that the entire test is multiple choice instead of open-ended essay questions. Talk about a sigh of relief!

For this reason, you don’t have to worry too much about participants feeling extremely weird or uncomfortable… as long as you are starting with some of the easier questions and avoiding anything that can be deemed as inappropriate for the workplace.

You will want to make sure that your team members are in a good mood and get them excited to have a conversation with one another. There is nothing worse than being asked to answer silly this or that questions when you just got bad feedback from your boss or an angry phone call from your biggest client.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a “this or that” icebreaker activity will move a lot faster than your average icebreaker activity. This is because it’s generally a lot easier for people to respond with an answer. It usually doesn’t require much thinking to choose one of the other out of a list of two options. To prolong the activity a bit, you can require participants to give a reason why they picked their response. If this is the case, you should choose questions that require a bit more thought and reasoning!

Easy This or That Questions

Just to get the team comfortable in the beginning, you should begin your exercise with some easier this or that questions. These questions are a bit more basic, easier to give a quick answer, and don’t require much thought. However, they can surely be lots of fun and give lots of insight into how your teammates think about the world around them!

• Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?
• Are you a cat or dog person?
• Do you prefer vanilla or chocolate?
• Do you like to drink coffee or tea in the morning?
• Do you like dark chocolate or milk chocolate better?
• Do you use an Apple or Android cell phone?
• Do you like pop music or rock music better?
• Do you prefer crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
• How do you hang your toilet paper: over or under?
• Do you like going to sleep early or late?
• Breakfast time! Are you ordering bacon or sausage?
• Do you like action movies or rom-coms better?
• Do you prefer Chinese food or Mexican food?
• Do you use Facebook or Instagram more?
• Do you prefer pizza or burgers?
• What’s the better side dish–French fries or salad?
• Do you prefer to dance or sing?
• Do you like your eggs scrambled or over-easy?
• Which dipping sauce is better–ketchup or honey mustard?
• Do you like ranch or blue cheese with your chicken wings?
• Do you prefer horror movies or comedies?
• Do you prefer cake or cookies?
• Do you prefer shopping at Target or Walmart?
• At the movies, are you ordering a popcorn or candy?
• Do you prefer drinking soda or juice?
• When you go to the gym, do you like using the weights or doing cardio?
• Do you fold your clean laundry as it comes out of the dryer or wait for days until folding?
• When at the bar, are you ordering a beer or a glass of wine?

Simple This or That Questions that Provide Some More Insight

If you do want to make your “this or that” activity a bit more prolonged, these might be great options to include! These questions, while also quite basic and surface-level, are better for asking “Why?” at the end. Yes, this does diminish the simplicity and ease of answering “this or that” questions, but if you want to have a really well-rounded and informative icebreaker activity, then having participants explain why they chose their answer is a great idea. Besides, some of these can be so polarizing that we would bet a lot of your team members will surely want to have the opportunity to express their reasoning behind their choice!

• Do you like shopping in stores or online?
• Are you a morning or a night person?
• Which holiday do you like better: the 4th of July or Halloween?
• Do you prefer the warm summertime or the cold winter months?
• Do you prefer long road trips or quick flights?
• Do you tend to root for the hero or the villain?
• Would you prefer to watch the sunrise or sunset?
• Would you prefer to be extremely strong or extremely smart?
• Do you like hanging out with large groups of people or small groups of close friends?
• Which chore do you hate doing more: laundry or the dishes?
• Do you think that life would be better in a city or on the country side?
• Which US coast do you like better: East Coast or West Coast?
• Do you like traveling to hot, tropical destinations or snowy mountains?
• Do you like watching TV shows or movies more?
• Does your ideal vacation look more like a relaxing getaway or an adventure-packed itinerary?
• For the holidays, would you prefer to go away on a trip or spend the time at home?
• Do you prefer home-cooked meals or ordering out?

This or That Questions Specific to the Workplace

Want to keep your icebreaker activity completely work-focused? No problem! These questions are all related to the workplace, and they are just as useful as the rest as they will help team members to better understand how their colleagues operate best in the office.

• Do you like taking hand-written notes or virtual notes?
• Do you like bringing lunch from home or ordering out?
• Do you prefer using black or blue pens?
• Do you work better in silence or with some background noise (music, podcasts, audiobooks, etc.)?
• Do you prefer working remotely or in the office?
• Do you like working on a laptop or on a desktop computer?
• Would you prefer to spend the day working on the beach or in a cozy ski lodge?
• Do you prefer to commute to work through public transportation or your own vehicle?
• Do you prefer eating your lunch in the breakroom or at your desk?
• What’s more efficient for your style of work–two computer monitors or one?
• Post-it notes or spiral notebooks?
• Do you prefer in-person meetings in the conference room or virtual meetings on Zoom?
• In the workplace, do you prefer a dress code that is more business casual or casual?
• Do you prefer working individually or on a team?
• What do you like to prioritize: getting organized or getting work done?
• Do you prefer stopping by colleagues’ desks to chat or messaging on Slack?
• When it comes to taking phone calls: headphones or hand-held?
• Do you prefer getting emails or phone calls?
• Would you prefer having the office lights turned on and bright or dimmed?
• When it comes to working at your desk throughout the day: sitting down or standing up?

Deep This or That Questions

Now it’s time to get deep! These are the “this or that” questions that require some more thought. Some of these questions you may have never even thought to ask someone before. But one thing is for certain–you WILL get to know the people you are working with on a level that you never thought you would!

• When listening to a new song, do you listen more closely to the lyrics or the instruments?
• When it comes to handling difficult situations, do you think it’s better to tell the truth and hurt someone’s feelings or lie to keep the peace?
• What’s more important to you: being rich in money or being rich in friends?
• What is more important to you: having lots of money or having lots of free time?
• What is more important to you in friendships: loyalty or patience?
• You have to give up one: Love or success?
• Do you think it’s more important to live a lifetime of happiness or a lifetime or achievement?
• Do you tend to have a more logical or more creative mindset?
• What is more important to you: being wealthy or being happy?
• What do you think is more impressive: having lots of charisma or lots of luck?
• What do you think is more impressive: fame or an abundance of friends?
• What is more important to you in romantic partners: intelligence or sense of humor?
• Do you feel that you are more of an introvert or an extrovert?

Your Next Meeting or Event is Bound to be a Hit!

With all of these new “this or that” questions in your arsenal, you are sure to have an awesome team-building focused meeting or event. Not only is this activity sure to be effective, but it will also be tons of fun to hear how everybody answers. You will be bringing your colleagues closer together than ever before in no time.

For more tips and tricks regarding ice breakers, check out our complete guide to ice breaker questions.

Plan an Event that No One will Forget

Team Building Unlimited understands exactly how important corporate bonding is. That is why we work so hard to plan unforgettable events that will help to bring corworkers together, all while having lots of fun and learning to communicate with one another. Want us to help plan your next big (or small!) event? Give us a call at 609-443-6550 or contact us through our site at any time.