Conversation Starters

UNZIP-it!™ and start talking about topics that matter!

The Emotional Intelligence UNZIP-it!™ Set puts almost 150 content-rich discussion prompts at your fingertips.

Emotional Intelligence is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one's goal(s).

We've specifically chosen this set card decks with more than 150 discussion topics to stimulate conversations around Emotional Intelligence. Choose a card that will help stir up simple conversation or develop deeper understanding about the world around you. 

These six thematic decks make it easy to talk about meaningful topics in a fun and casual way. You'll be able to:

1. Find COMMON GROUND with others in your group -- The Common Ground Deck prompts help players discover shared experiences and interests. As you try to generate conversation to build new friendships and relationships, a key challenge is finding "common ground." This ball offers a fun way to uncover these commonalities.
2. Open your group up to more meaningful sharing with SESSION OPENERS -- The Session Openers Deck is a great way to set the groundwork for deeper conversations. It was developed to help groups scratch below the surface and explore motivations, goals, and what makes you tick.
3. GET TO KNOW friends, family or colleagues a little better -- The Getting to Know You Deck asks probing questions that get to your phobias, wishes, and favorite moments. For individuals who know each other pretty well already, it's an excellent way to dig a little deeper and learn something more!
4. With the DIVERSITY Deck, tackle a difficult topic with smarts and sensitivity. We live in a diverse world. Some differences are visible, like skin color, gender, height or weight, physical challenges and age. Others may not be visually apparent but still affect how individuals feel or are treated: ethnicity, socio-economic position, sexual orientation, use or non-use of alcohol, allergies, intellect, depression and other emotional diseases.
5. The FAVORITES Deck prompts are specially selected to help your groups explore one another's favorite people, places, things, experiences, preferences, and more. Talking about favorites is a delightful way to get conversations going and build relationships.
6. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ) Deck helps develop your teams’ EQ by facilitating conversations that help participants grow more aware of their motivations, measure their reactions to difficult situations, and hone techniques to manage those emotions.

Pocket: 8” x 6”
Cards: 3.5” x 2.5”

What Makes You Unique?

What? What? What? Asking and answering questions helps build rapport, camaraderie, and understanding. Sharing information builds relationships and fosters trust. The What Makes You YOU? Thumball is loaded with 32 "what?" questions to help players learn more about the people around them and dig a little deeper than typical, superficial icebreakers questions.

Thumballs look like soccer balls but are are soft and safe for indoor use at work, school, and home.

WHAT MAKES YOU YOU THUMBALL PROMPTS

Through this thoughtful array of "What...?" conversation prompts, learn what makes each person special. Prompts cover:

• Skills and interests
• Quirks, wishes and facts
• Motivations & fears
• Likes & dislikes
• Goals and contributions

©Trainers Warehouse – Trainers Warehouse holds the copyright for this set of questions. Reproductions cannot be made without express approval.

This ball is part of Trainers Warehouse's exclusive Silver Series Thumballs.

[NOTE: Silver Series Conversation Prompts are available as Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Pocket & Deck, and Virtual/Remote PPT.]

MORE RESOURCES

• All about Silver Series Thumballs
• Tips & Suggestion on Facilitating Thumball Experiences
• How Deep to Discuss
• 7 Tips to formulate great questions
• More tools for great conversations
• Discover Your Thumball Style

Star talking about topics that matter with What Makes You YOU UNZIP-IT Conversation Deck.

WHAT MAKES YOU YOU PROMPTS

This deck of 35 conversation starters contains a thoughtful array of What?-style questions. The conversation prompts will help you learn what makes each person special.

Prompts cover topics such as:

• Skills and interests
• Quirks, wishes and facts
• Motivations & fears
• Likes & dislikes
• Goals and contributions

PLAYING WITH CONVERSATION DECKS

Pairs of 2 or 3

To play, deal a card to each participant. Have participants stand, find a partern, and discuss the questions on each of their cards. When their conversation has run its course, invite them to swap cards and hold their arm in the air, indicating to other players that they're ready to find a new partner. Repeat this process as time allows.

Table Talks

If your group isn't too big or you want to build camaraderie at a table, have each person in the group choose a card and answer the question. If you have enough time, ask each speaker a couple of follow-up questions. Alternatively, have others at the table answer those same questions for themselves. Then, swap cards, or pick new cards from the top of the deck.

[NOTE: Silver Series Conversation Prompts are available as Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Pocket & Deck, and Virtual/Remote PPT.]

Explore ethical guidelines and discuss right-from-wrong decisions.

Workplace Ethics Thumball focuses on how you distinguish right from wrong. Is your idea of ethical obligations and responsibilities the same as your colleagues, friends and family? The Ethics Thumball raises questions and fosters discussion about individual and organizational norms and ideals, regarding making and breaking rules, fostering ethical leadership, whistle blowing, bending the truth, and more.

Look under your thumb and share your reaction to whatever prompt lies beneath it. Thumball™ is a soft 6" stuffed ball with loads of applications!!

Have rich conversations about the types of people you look to as a moral compass; how you'd handle different situations; what integrity, rules, ethics, and fairness mean to you; and how your organization or team handles ethical issues.

WORKPLACE ETHICS THUMBALL PROMPTS

The Workplace Ethics Thumball prompts will foster discussion around these important topics:

• Role models for ethical leadership
• Meaning of integrity, ethics, "rules," and "doing the right thing"
• Dealing with lies or behaviors you disagree with
• The impact of broken promises, disagreement, and transparency
• Costs of speaking up or blowing the whistle
  
  

[NOTE: Silver Series Conversation Prompts are available as Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Pocket & Deck, and Virtual/Remote PPT.]

** TIPS **

FACILITATION SUGGESTIONS:

Your goal is to make conversations about ethics interesting and productive, without judgement or finger pointing. To explore these touchy questions most effectively, remind your group that there are no right answers. Be transparent about these goals and explain your interest in opening discussion and having rich conversations -- about morals, handling sticky situations, evaluating fairness, and exploring the organizational practices that enable or inhibit ethical behavior.

Take turns circulating the ball by passing, rolling, tossing and catching. Ask recipients to respond to the prompt under their right thumb. Because each prompt can lead to an interest dialogue, you may choose any one of these facilitation techniques:

1. Have each recipient answer the question with the first thought that comes to their mind.
2. After one recipient responds, invite others to share their replies to the same prompt.
3. Toss the ball to select one on discussion prompt to focus on for your entire meeting.
4. Ask players to anticipate what answer will be given by another player.

©Trainers Warehouse – Trainers Warehouse holds the copyright for this set of questions. Reproductions cannot be made without express approval.

MORE RESOURCES

• All about Silver Series Thumballs
• Tips & Suggestion on Facilitating Thumball Experiences
• How Deep to Discuss
• 7 Tips to formulate great questions
• More tools for great conversations
• Discover Your Thumball Style
• How Deep to Discuss Infographic
• Ground Rules Signs
• Tips for facilitating difficult situations

UNZIP-it!™ and start talking about topics that matter!

It's time to open up the conversation and talk about the unspeakable! Pop a bunch of pertinent questions into the UNZIP-it!™ zipper mouth and pass the pouch from player to player. Unzip the playful pocket and pull out a discussion topic to spark conversation and build relationships. Invite recipients to pull out a topic, read it to the group and respond.

Stuff the pocket with the following deck of 30 pre-printed cards. Each deck contains the same prompts as it's namesake Thumball (you can customize any blank cards with your own discussion prompts)

Pocket: 8” x 6”
Cards: 3.5” x 2.5”

MEETING ZEST PROMPTS

The Meeting Zest prompts help you to learn how to spice up your meetings and be more productive. It is the perfect conversation starter for teams to become stronger, more effective and more efficient.

• Me - Share highs and lows, ah-ha moments, mood boosters, favorite activities, and more
• We - Consider workplace norms you love and hate, plus opportunities to improve meetings, communications, and processes
• Me & We - Discuss individuals roles within the organization, what's working, and what causes stress

[NOTE: Silver Series Conversation Prompts are available as Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Pocket & Deck, and Virtual/Remote PPT.]

©Trainers Warehouse – Trainers Warehouse holds the copyright for this set of questions. Reproductions cannot be made without express approval.

The inscription on the back says it all:

Feeling shy about speaking out?

Or, not sure what to talk about?

It's easy now to start the flow,

And have discussions bloom and grow.

Unzip the pouch and pick a topic,

Big and broad, or microscopic,

A prompt that doesn't dig too deep,

Or one that makes you take a leap.

Go ahead, reach in and pick it,

Read the prompt and then UNZIP-it!

It's time to open up the conversation and talk about the unspeakable! Pop a bunch of pertinent questions into UNZIP-its™ zipper mouth and pass the pouch from player to player. Unzip the playful pocket and pull out a discussion topic to spark conversation and build relationships. Invite recipients to pull out a topic, read it to the group and respond.
Stock the pocket with a deck of 30 pre-printed cards. Customize the blank cards with your own discussion prompts.

The inscription on the back will get you started:

Feeling shy about speaking out?
Or, not sure what to talk about?
It's easy now to start the flow,
And have discussions bloom and grow.

Unzip the pouch and pick a topic,
Big and broad, or microscopic,
A prompt that doesn't dig too deep,
Or one that makes you take a leap.

Go ahead, reach in and pick it,
Read the prompt and then UNZIP-it!

FAVORITES PROMPTS

Although this refers to "favorites," we always recommend asking for "one of your favorites." Somehow, that seems to make it all a bit easier to answer the question. On this deck, which is one of our favorites, you'll find a range of topics including:

• Locations and destinations
• Ways to spend time
• Cuisines
• Art forms
• Preferences

Because every prompt is about YOU, a topic that most people can answer pretty easily, dialogue and sharing come quickly and easily.

[NOTE: Silver Series Conversation Prompts are available as Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Pocket & Deck, and Virtual/Remote PPT.]

New! – The EQ Game for Healthcare – Virtual Build 

This new game contains 20 all-new situations unique to health care environments—medical office, hospital, health care teams.

Emotional Intelligence—wherever you are! Whether you're running a team meeting, virtual classroom, or remote training session, this online version of The EQ Game for Healthcare makes it easy to build emotional intelligence skills from anywhere.

THE EQ GAME * OVERVIEW

• Purpose: Build emotional intelligence by exploring real-world challenges and identifying skills to navigate them. Foster deep conversations and team connection. EQ Game makes learning the skill of emotional intelligence fun, interactive, and memorable.

• Format: Online/virtual game—perfect for Zoom, Teams, or other video platforms

• Time Required: Up to 90 minutes for Parts 1 and 2 combined. However, those with less time can use just a handful of the situations, adapting to their specific needs.

EQ GAME FOR HEALTHCARE VIRTUAL EDITION * INCLUDES

These 7 files (conveniently compressed into a single .ZIP file) will give you all you need to conduct the game as a single large group experiences, or in the format of 4 breakout groups:

FACILITATING THE EQ GAME VIRTUAL EDITION

The game is facilitated in two parts. Part 1 builds the first two Emotional Intelligence skills and Part 2 helps develop the second two skills.

PART 1: SELF-AWARENESS & SELF-MANAGEMENT

Focusing on the first two pillars of emotional intelligence, PART 1 presents 20 typical situations that anyone might encounter at work. Each situation includes two slides:

• Slide 1: shows a scenario with two questions—

  • How are you feeling?
  • What will you do to manage your feelings?—plus sample responses.

• Slide 2: answers the questions - by offering additional answers for both questions, players can compare their answers to other typical responses. Reiterate that the answers shown on the slides are there as suggestions. There are never "right" feelings. The goal instead is to grow more familiar with noticing and labeling feelings.

PART 2: SOCIAL AWARENESS & RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Part 2 adds to Part 1 by asking participants to focus on the second two skills associated with Emotional Intelligence: Social Awareness and Relationship Management. Part 2 presents 20 typical work situations, with the goal of moving from identifying and managing feelings to taking action in ways that reflect social awareness and strengthen relationships.

• Introduction slides
• Slide 1: shows a scenario with four questions
  • How are you feeling?
  • What will you do to manage your feelings?
  • How can you tune into your co-worker?
  • What relationship skills can you use?
• Slide 2: answers the questions - as noted above, suggested answers are offered for guidance, not as "final say."

FACILITATING & SCORING THE GAME

FLOW OF THE GAME

1. Show the first slide and ask participants to put themselves in the scenario. Read the sample feelings and actions.
2. Then ask, “What else are you feeling?”, empahsizing that feelings are one-word emotions (e.g., angry, happy), not thoughts or interpretations.
3. After players list their feelings, ask: “How will you manage those feelings?” Read the example.
4. Then ask, “What else can you do?” Keep the focus on Self-Management, not problem-solving the situation itself.
5. Finally, have teams self-score the round, based on the scoring protocols below.

PLAY AS A GROUP OR IN BREAK-OUTS

LARGE GROUP - If you're playing as one big group, you'll present the Situations one at a time. You can either follow the game sequence or pick and choose your favorites.

BREAKOUTS - Alternatively, participants can work through a subset of Situations in small groups. Each of the four groups will get 5 situations in Part 1 and 4 situations in Part 2.

SCORING THE EQ GAME

• Each time a participant names a feeling or a self-management technique, they get 1 point.
• Each time a participant provides a social awareness action or relationship management technique, they get 1 point.
• Participants can win additional points by:
  • Giving an example of a situation they have experienced – 2 points
  • Giving an example of an empathetic statement – 2 points
• Participants keep track of their own points.

Some of the best conversations start with a simple question. This deck of 60 cards gives your team 10+ ready-to-run activities designed to get people talking — not just about where things are, but about where they're going.

No prep. No facilitator required. Just questions that actually go somewhere.

• Open up new thinking — prompts designed to surface ideas and perspectives you didn't know you were missing
• Get everyone on the same page — activities that help teams align around shared goals and what it'll take to reach them
• Move from talk to action — questions built to close the gap between vision and next steps

3 COLOR-CODED QUESTION CARDS:

• 20 Possibility Questions (purple cards) — Big-picture prompts that dig into purpose, values, and vision. The kind of questions that make you think differently about what's actually possible.
• 20 Process Questions (blue cards) — Questions about how things get done: the habits, methods, and systems that turn good intentions into real progress.
• 20 Practical Questions (green cards) — Action-first prompts that take ideas off the whiteboard and into the real world.

What's on the Flip Side? One word. Creatively illustrated. Designed to spark reflection and make every conversation feel like it was made for you.

WHY We Connect Cards?

Provide a fast-paced, fun way to move beyond ice breaking to real connections:

• Offer a suite of activities to cross-pollinate different departments across your company
• Arm employees and management with a set of questions to break down communication barriers and management hierarchies
• Give employees permission to have fun and be excited about work

AUDIENCE

Leaders, connectors, facilitators, trainers, teachers, event organizers, project directors, program directors, and anyone who wants to foster meaningful, future-focused conversations.

FEATURES

• 1 deck of 60 durable cards
• 10+ activity descriptions anyone can setup and run
• Box is 3"x3"

How to use We Connect Cards 

Watch the videos below to see how you can use the cards to reinvision your future.

Designed to spark meaningful conversations with the kids in your life, the Little Talk Deck is your perfect companion for creating lasting family memories. This unique card game for kids helps children express their thoughts, fosters self-confidence, and strengthens family bonds.

Now includes an envelope with special cards for Reflect and Connect at the end of the game. Plus, you can use it to take your favorite cards wherever you go!

Categories:

• Life
• Deep
• If You Could
• Random
• Experiences
• Would You Rather
• Reflect & Connect