140 Best Open-Ended Questions to Ask at Work

You found our list of open-ended questions examples for work.

Open-ended questions are types of questions that do not have a simple “yes” or “no” answer and elicit a more personal response. For example, “if you wrote a book, what would it be about?” or “what motivates you to keep growing and improving in your career?” The purpose of these prompts is to spark meaningful conversation that helps folks get to know each other. These ideas are also known as “exploratory questions,” “loose questions,” or “unstructured questions.”

These questions are subsets of get to know you questions, random questions, icebreaker questions, and rapidfire questions.

This list includes:

• open ended interview questions
• open ended questions for kids
• open ended questions for sales
• open ended survey questions
• open ended questions to get to know someone
• fun open ended questions
• open ended discussion questions
• open-ended questions examples for friends
• deep open ended questions

Let’s go!

Open ended interview questions

1. What motivates you to keep growing and improving in your career?
2. Can you share a time when you turned a failure into an opportunity?
3. If you had unlimited resources, what kind of project would you want to tackle?
4. What’s a skill you’ve mastered that might surprise people?
5. How do you typically approach challenges that seem impossible at first?
6. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone starting in your field?
7. How do you balance sticking to a plan versus adapting to new circumstances?
8. What would a “perfect workday” look like for you?
9. Can you share a moment in your career that fundamentally changed how you think about work?
10. How do you like to celebrate personal or professional milestones?
11. What’s a project you’ve worked on that made you feel deeply satisfied?
12. If you could redesign a role in this company, what would it look like?
13. Tell me about a time you had to navigate conflicting priorities. How did you decide what to focus on?
14. What’s the most unexpected lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
15. If you could pitch a new idea to the CEO tomorrow, what would it be and why?
16. How do you define success in your work?
17. What’s a piece of feedback you received that changed how you approach your job?
18. What’s the most rewarding collaboration you’ve ever been a part of?
19. If you could shadow anyone in this company, who would it be and why?
20. What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in this industry right now?

Here are more interview questions ideas.

Open ended questions for kids

1. If you could invent a new holiday, what would it be like?
2. What’s something you’ve learned recently that made you go, “Wow”?
3. If you could talk to animals, what would you ask them?
4. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re bored?
5. If you were in charge of your school for one day, what would you change?
6. What’s the most exciting dream you’ve ever had?
7. If you could live in any storybook world, where would you go?
8. What’s the best question you’ve ever asked a grown-up?
9. If you could make a rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
10. What do you think makes a person a good friend?
11. If you could make a toy come to life, which one would you pick and why?
12. What do you think the clouds would say if they could talk?
13. If you could swap places with your teacher for a day, what would you do?
14. What’s your favorite thing to imagine when you’re playing pretend?
15. If you could design your own playground, what would it look like?

Open ended questions for sales

1. What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing in your business right now?
2. How do you currently measure success for your team or company?
3. If you could improve one thing about your current solution, what would it be?
4. What made you decide to explore new options at this time?
5. How does your team typically evaluate new products or services?
6. If budget weren’t an issue, what would your ideal solution look like?
7. What trends in your industry are you most excited about?
8. How do you ensure your company stays competitive in your market?
9. What does a “win” look like for you in this process?
10. What other goals or priorities should we keep in mind as we move forward?
11. What’s the one feature you wish existed in your current solution?
12. How does your team typically handle unexpected challenges?
13. What’s the biggest win your company has achieved this year?
14. How do you decide which vendor relationships to prioritize?
15. What would you want your ideal partner to understand about your business goals?

Here are games to play with sales.

Open ended survey questions

1. What do you like most about working here?
2. How could we improve your day-to-day experience at work?
3. What’s one thing we could change to better support your professional growth?
4. If you could redesign a team process, which one would it be and why?
5. What’s a new initiative you’d like to see us try?
6. How do you feel about the current communication within the team?
7. What’s something you’ve seen another company do that you wish we did here?
8. How do you feel about the tools and resources available to you?
9. What’s one thing you’d like leadership to know about your experience?
10. How would you describe our workplace culture in one word, and why?
11. What’s one change you think would make a big difference in team morale?
12. What’s something you wish you had more time to focus on?
13. How do you feel about the way we celebrate achievements here?
14. What’s a process or tool that you feel slows you down?
15. How would you describe our company’s vision in your own words?

Here are employee engagement survey questions.

Open ended questions to get to know someone

1. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be and why?
2. What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?
3. Who has had the biggest influence on your life so far?
4. What’s a personal tradition or ritual that’s really meaningful to you?
5. If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?
6. What’s a memory that still makes you laugh out loud?
7. If you had to describe your life as a movie summary, what would it be?
8. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned recently?
9. What’s something you’re really passionate about that might surprise people?
10. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
11. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
12. If you had a free day with no plans, how would you spend it?
13. What’s something you’ve done that pushed you outside your comfort zone?
14. If you could instantly learn any language, which one would it be and why?
15. What’s a moment from your life that you’d love to relive?

Fun open ended questions

1. If you could have any fictional character as a best friend, who would it be?
2. What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever Googled?
3. If your pet could talk, what do you think they’d say about you?
4. If you could rename yourself, what would your new name be?
5. What’s the weirdest food combination you secretly love?
6. If you could have a superpower for one day, what would you do with it?
7. What’s the funniest prank you’ve ever pulled (or had pulled on you)?
8. If you could create your own emoji, what would it look like?
9. What’s a silly fear you had as a kid that still makes you laugh?
10. If you could star in a reality show, what would the theme be?
11. If you could swap lives with a cartoon character, who would it be?
12. What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you in public?
13. If you had a theme song that played whenever you walked into a room, what would it be?
14. What’s the wackiest idea you’ve ever had that actually worked?
15. If you could make one silly law that everyone had to follow, what would it be?

Open ended discussion questions

1. What does success mean to you in both your personal and professional life?
2. How do you balance taking risks with playing it safe?
3. What’s a change you’ve recently made that had a big impact on your life?
4. How do you typically handle disagreements in a group setting?
5. What’s something you’ve learned from someone with a very different perspective than yours?
6. How do you think technology is changing the way we connect with others?
7. What role does creativity play in your everyday decisions?
8. What’s a recent moment of kindness that stood out to you?
9. How do you decide when to stick with something versus let it go?
10. What’s a value you think everyone should prioritize more?
11. How do you think travel changes the way people see the world?
12. What’s a moment in history you wish you could have witnessed?
13. How do you decide what’s worth fighting for in life?
14. What’s a habit or mindset that you think has made the biggest difference in your life?
15. How do you think people can best support each other during tough times?

Open-ended questions examples for friends

1. If we could take a dream trip together, where would we go?
2. What’s a hidden talent you’ve never told me about?
3. If you wrote a book, what would it be about?
4. What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
5. What’s your go-to comfort food when you’ve had a rough day?
6. If you could relive any day from our friendship, which one would it be?
7. What’s something we’ve never tried together that you think we should?
8. What’s a song that always reminds you of a good memory?
9. If you could have dinner with three people from history, who would they be?
10. What’s a goal or dream you’re working on right now?
11. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
12. What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
13. If we could create a tradition together, what would it be?
14. What’s the best advice you’ve given someone else?
15. What’s a memory of us that still makes you smile?

Deep open ended questions

1. What do you think your younger self would be most proud of about you today?
2. How do you define true happiness?
3. What’s something you’ve had to unlearn as you’ve grown older?
4. If you could ask the universe one question and get an answer, what would it be?
5. What’s a belief or value you hold that shapes the way you live?
6. How do you handle moments when you feel completely overwhelmed?
7. What’s the most meaningful compliment you’ve ever received?
8. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
9. How do you know when you’ve made the right decision?
10. What legacy do you hope to leave behind?
11. How do you personally define a life well-lived?
12. What’s a moment in your life that you think shaped who you are today?
13. What’s a question you’ve always wanted to ask someone but never have?
14. How do you process and learn from failure?
15. If you could know one thing about your future, what would you want to know?

Final Thoughts

Open-ended questions are the key to sparking curiosity, fostering connections, and uncovering fresh perspectives. Whether you’re interviewing a potential hire, engaging kids’ imaginations, or diving into deep conversations with friends, the right questions can create moments of insight and discovery.

By moving beyond the surface, you open the door to stories, creativity, and meaningful dialogue that can inspire and strengthen relationships.

Next, check out our posts on conversation starter questions, what is your favorite questions, question games, or this and that questions.