Navigating the initial hurdles of deciding on first date plans and choosing the perfect outfit, the next challenge often lies in maintaining an engaging conversation with someone new. Preparing a few first date questions to break the ice in advance can be a useful strategy to ease into a natural flow of dialogue, helping to avoid those awkward pauses where you find yourself nervously sipping your drink or clearing your throat, searching for the next thing to say. It’s important not to bombard your date with questions, but rather to have a few questions , to break the ice, in mind to gently steer the conversation back on track if it begins to falter.

To assist with this, we’ve curated a list of 30 first date questions that are light and playful, yet insightful enough to give you a meaningful glimpse into your date’s personality and their compatibility with you as a potential partner.

1. If you could travel anywhere instantly, where would you go?
2. Are you an early bird or a night owl?
3. What’s currently on your TV watchlist?
4. Can you share a highlight of your week?
5. What’s a trait you love about yourself?
6. Who are your favorite music artists right now?
7. Who’s your go-to person for advice?
8. What’s a movie that you can recite from start to finish?
9. Would you consider yourself more introverted or extroverted?
10. Tell me about your family. Do you have any siblings?
11. What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long day?
12. Do you have any talents that most people don’t know about?
13. What would be your dream career?
14. If you could relive any day in your life, which one would you choose?
15. How important is having a daily routine to you?
16. Have you read any great books recently?
17. What are some things on your bucket list for this year?
18. When you’re having a tough day, how do you turn things around?
19. What’s your favorite cuisine?
20. If you weren’t living here, where else could you see yourself living?
21. What qualities do you value in a close friend?
22. What’s something about you that might surprise others?
23. How long have you been friends with your oldest friend?
24. What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?
25. What topic could you spend hours talking about?
26. How do you like to spend your days off?
27. Is there a skill you’ve always wanted to learn?
28. What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?
29. If you could have a superpower for a day, what would it be?
30. What’s a fond memory from your childhood?

For now, think of a first date as playing the classic 21 questions game and simply enjoy the company of this new person with some prompts that will spark laughter and nostalgia and hopefully have them reciprocating with some fun questions of their own!