Phone conversations are an amazing way to stay in touch with friends, crushes, and significant others. If you’ve decided to give online dating a chance, talking over the phone is the best way to get to know someone better before deciding to meet in person. However, keeping a phone conversation going can feel awkward since you can’t see the other person. Here are some phone conversation topics to give you some ideas and help you have some fun and memorable conversations.
Small Talk
It’s usually a good idea to start a phone conversation by making small talk. Talking about trivial things will help you and the other person get comfortable and ease into the conversation.
Small talk shouldn’t take over the entire conversation, but it’s a good introduction, especially if you’re talking over the phone for the first time.
You can start a conversation by asking the other person how their day has been so far. They can choose to describe their day in a broad manner or might decide to go into more detail. You can then move on to another topic, or ask more questions about their day.
Talking about the weather is another way of making small talk. You can make a broad comment about the weather, or ask the other person what kind of weather they’re having if you live in different areas. Talking about the weather can seem cliché, but it’s something you can use to break the ice, and you can use that topic to start talking about your recent activities or plans.
You can make small talk by commenting on how you feel about the phone conversation. Tell the other person that you were excited to call them, or that you’ve been looking forward to the conversation. You can comment on being nervous or excited about the call, or ask the other person what they were doing when you called them.
Get the Other Person to Start Talking About Themselves
The best way to get to know someone better or to catch up with someone you haven’t seen in a while is to get them to talk about themselves. Avoid asking questions that feel too personal, especially if you are talking with someone you don’t know well.
Here are some phone conversation topics you can use to get the other person to talk about themselves:
- Tell me about yourself.
- How would you describe yourself?
- What have you been working on lately?
- What was the best part of your day?
- What is the most interesting thing that happened to you this week?
Those simple questions can make a fun introduction to your phone conversation. You can select one, or ask a series of questions to find out more about the other person.
Using those questions will help you find out more about the other person, their mood at the moment, and what is going on in their lives. They can be as specific as they want with the answers, which is why you can ask those questions even if you don’t know the other person well.
Asking About Plans
You should talk about plans for two reasons. First of all, it’s an excellent way to find out more about the things the other person enjoys doing and gets excited about. Secondly, you can get some fun date ideas or get a general feel for the things the other person would enjoy doing once you decide to meet in person.
Here are some questions you can ask:
- What are your plans for the weekend?
- What did you do for fun today?
- What do you usually do on the weekends?
- Do you have any plans that you’re looking forward to?
- Do you usually make plans in advance, or are you more of a spontaneous person?
- What kind of plans are you usually excited about?
The other person’s answers should provide you with opportunities to ask more about their likes and dislikes or their usual activities.
You can introduce the topic of upcoming plans and activities, and ask if those activities are things they usually do. You can also ask specific questions about activities to find out if the other person enjoys them. Examples include live music events, museums, art galleries, dancing, sports, reading, and many more.
Pop Culture
If you’re not sure what to talk about over the phone, pop culture can be a fun way to keep the conversation going. Pop culture topics make for a light-hearted conversation, and it should be easy to find some common ground.
Here are some examples of pop culture topics you can bring up:
- Find out which shows the other person is watching at the moment.
- Ask them what they think of a popular show.
- Ask if they’ve seen any movies lately.
- Find out if they enjoy reading and what kind of books they usually read.
- If a popular artist recently released an album recently, ask the other person if they listened to it.
Those questions will give you a better idea of the other person’s tastes and interests. If you know they have been watching a show or are a fan of a musical genre, don’t hesitate to ask more specific questions about those things.
You can also ask for some recommendations. Check out the movie, book, or music the other person recommended and bring up that topic during your next conversation.
Pop culture is an excellent way to keep a conversation going, but you can easily find things you’re both familiar with and have opinions about. You don’t have to focus on the things you’re passionate about. Sharing your opinions about popular things can be enough to get to know each other better!
Work
Talking about work can sound dull, but there are some interesting questions you can ask to find out more about what the other person is passionate about. Work can be a crucial aspect of a person’s life and can reveal what their goals and values are.
Those questions will help you turn conversations about work into thought-provoking chats:
- What do you do for a living?
- What do you like the most about your job?
- Why did you pick this industry?
- If you could change anything about your job or industry, what would it be?
- Is it a job you would like to keep in the long-term?
- What was your dream job growing up?
If you know the other person well and are aware of any specific projects or goals, you can ask about those things.
Social Life and Friends
Find out more about the other person’s social life and their group of friends by asking some simple questions. Asking about a person’s social life is an original way of catching up if you haven’t seen them in a while!
Asking about a person’s favorite ways of socializing will give you an idea of how compatible you and your crush are.
You should ask about those things:
- Ask if they have a large group of friends or a few close friends.
- Find out about their favorite social activities.
- Ask their opinion on social media.
- Find out about the qualities they think matter in a friend.
If you know the other person well and have met their friends, you can ask more specific questions. You shouldn’t ask for gossip, but asking a few questions to find out how their friends are can be a fun conversation topic.
Family
If you have a romantic interest in someone, it’s important to find out more about their family. You can learn a lot about someone by asking a few questions about their relationship with their relatives.
You will get to find out more about their background and get an idea of how close they are to their family with those questions:
- Do you have any siblings?
- Do you have any nieces or nephews?
- Do you have a large family?
- Do you live close to your parents?
- Do you see your relatives often?
- What does your family usually do when you get together?
- What is your favorite thing about your family?
- Who is your favorite relative?
- Would you say you are close to your family?
If you have met the other person’s family, you can ask specific questions about the relatives you know to find out how they are doing.
Food
Talking about food is fun. You can use that topic as an introduction to discussing personal tastes and preferences. Finding out more about a person’s food preferences will also help you find some great date ideas.
You can learn a lot about someone’s personality by asking about their favorite cuisines or culinary experiences. Here are some fun questions you can use to talk about food:
- Do you have a favorite cuisine?
- Do you have a favorite restaurant? What is your usual there?
- Do you enjoy home-cooked meals?
- What is your favorite street food?
- Do you have a favorite fast-food chain?
- What makes for a great restaurant experience?
- Do you enjoy trying new dishes?
- Would you consider yourself a foodie?
- What is the one food you don’t like at all?
- What is the weirdest food you have tried?
- What is the food you can’t live without?
- What is the most memorable restaurant experience you’ve had?
Food is an amazing conversation topic because you can explore likes and dislikes and talk about experiences. You can ask more questions about a specific experience, and use those topics to start planning your first date by picking a restaurant you will both enjoy.
Find out More About Their Background
Asking about somebody’s background shouldn’t feel like an interrogation or a job interview, but you should ask a few questions about key aspects of their lives to get to know the other person better.
Keep it fun, and ask one or two questions about their background before moving on to another topic. Here are ideas of topics you could ask about:
- Where did you grow up?
- What was it like living there?
- Where did you go to school?
- What was your favorite subject?
- What did you major in?
- What was your first job?
- Have you always lived in your current city?
- Have you moved around a lot?
Travel
Talking about travel and vacation can be a fun way of sharing some unique stories. You will get an idea of how adventurous the other person is, and talk about some experiences that are meaningful to you.
The great thing about bringing up travel in a phone conversation is that you can share a few stories, and have fun imagining what the perfect vacation would look like!
Here are some topics you can explore:
- When was the last time you took a vacation?
- What is your most memorable travel experience?
- Have you ever visited another country?
- How many states have been to?
- Do you have a usual vacation spot?
- Do you enjoy road trips?
- Have you ever been camping?
- Would you rather go on an adventure or plan a luxury vacation?
- What does the perfect travel experience look like to you?
- If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
You can mix questions about actual travel experiences and what the ideal trip looks like. You can share some fun stories about your travel experiences, or talk about some plans you have for future vacations.
Relationships and Dating
If you are planning on having your first phone conversation after chatting online, it’s a good idea to ask a few questions about relationships and dating. Don’t get too personal during your first phone call, and don’t make the conversation entirely about love and dating.
If you noticed something interesting on the other person’s dating profile or if they mentioned something while texting or chatting, bring that topic up during the phone conversation. Tell them that you would like to know more about that aspect of their lives, hobbies, or topic they mentioned.
Those topics can be a good way to find out more about how the other person feels about dating and relationships:
- What does the perfect date look like to you?
- What do you think matters most in a relationship?
- Do you believe in love at first sight?
Those open-ended questions allow the other person to share as many or as few details as they want.
Funny Questions
Laughing together is an original way of creating a connection. Funny topics will help you keep the conversation going without being too serious.
Asking a few funny questions will help you keep the conversation light-heart while avoiding topics that could feel too personal, especially if you are still getting to know each other.
You will be able to laugh about the silly answers and might find some more serious conversation topics as you learn more about each other’s personality traits and sense of humor.
Here are some funny and original questions you can ask during a phone conversation:
- If there was a TV show about your life, what would the theme song be?
- What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?
- What is the weirdest date you have ever been on?
- What is the worst lie you have ever told?
- What is the weirdest dream you have ever had?
- What is the funniest thing you have ever seen?
Hobbies and Interests
If you know about the other person’s hobbies and interests, use those topics to keep the conversation going. Hobbies make great phone conversation topics because the other person will enjoy talking about the things they’re passionate about.
Exploring hobbies and interests will help you find some things you have in common and some activities you could try together.
Here are some examples of questions you could ask:
- Do you enjoy working on DIY projects?
- Do you have a favorite video game?
- Are you a competitive person?
- Do you like sports?
- What is your favorite outdoor activity?
- What do you do to relax?
- Is there a hobby that gives you energy?
- What is a hobby that you’ve always wanted to try?
- Do you have an artistic side?
- What is your go-to activity after a long day at work?
Playing Phone Games
Playing phone games is a fun alternative to talking and asking questions. Those games will bring you closer together if you’re in a long-distance relationship.
Playing phone games might feel awkward if you don’t know the other person well. It’s best to have a few conversations before you bring up that idea.
Here are a few phone games you can play:
- Play 21 questions. One person chooses a person or a thing, and the other has to guess what it is by asking questions.
- Never have I ever is a fun game to play over the phone. The first player makes a statement about something they’ve never done, and the other player loses a point if the statement applies to them.
- You can play truth or dare to get to know the other person better and have fun with silly challenges.
- Just a minute is a game where you pick a topic and talk about it for an entire minute.
Useful Phone Conversation Tips
Talking over the phone can be awkward or intimidating if you don’t know the other person well. Take a few minutes to prepare yourself, and write down a few questions or topics you can use if the conversation seems to die off.
It’s best to keep phone conversation short at first. You can make small talk, ask a couple of questions, and agree to talk again the next day. Keeping your calls short will make you both feel more comfortable, and you won’t run out of things to say.
Keep in mind that some topics are too personal for a phone conversation, especially if you’ve never met in person. It’s best to avoid topics like politics, religion, sex, or finances.
Use a mix of open-ended questions and yes/no questions to keep the conversation going. Asking a yes/no question will usually provide you with an opportunity to come up with another question.
For instance, you could ask the other person about a specific experience and find out if it’s something they’ve ever done. If the other person says yes, ask them how the experience made them feel and find out if it’s something they would ever do again. If the other person says no, you can ask if it’s something they would consider doing in the future.
Active listening will help you come up with more things to say. Don’t focus on figuring out what you will say next when the other person talks. Listen closely to what they say, pay attention to the words they use, and the intonation of their voice.
Ask more questions to clarify, rephrase what they said to make sure you understood, and ask more specific questions to get more information.
Miscommunication can happen during phone conversations because you can’t see the other person’s body language. Don’t hesitate to ask some questions to clarify. Sum up what your impressions are after discussing a topic for a while, and ask the other person if you’re impressions are correct.
For instance, you could tell the other person that you get the impression that they’re adventurous after you talked about travel or trying new foods. Ask them if that is a correct assumption, and keep the conversation going by asking more questions about their personality.
Look for common ground and things you have in common. It’s a simple technique you can use to get closer to someone. It can be something simple, like commenting on the weather if you live in the same area or an opinion you share. You can also bring up a shared experience, like a previous phone conversation or a chat you had online.
Those different topics and questions will help you find fun and interesting things to talk about. Write down a few questions you can use to keep the conversation going, but don’t hesitate to improvise and ask more questions as you learn more about the other person. Keep your first conversation short if you are worried about running out of things to talk about, have fun, and remember to use active listening!
