Conversation Starters

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

45 science-backed practices to move a room from stressed to steady

Your learners walk in carrying whatever the morning handed them — the tense commute, the hard conversation, challenges at home, the inbox they didn't finish. Before any real learning lands, their nervous systems have to feel settled enough to engage. Calm Cards give you a fast, credible way to help them get there.

Developed by Holstee with nervous-system specialist Jonny Miller, each of the 45 cards distills one evidence-based practice — breathwork, somatic techniques, mindfulness, reflection — into something a person can actually do in two to five minutes. The through-line is real physiology: these practices help activate the parasympathetic "rest-and-digest" response, ease the cortisol surge that comes with fight-flight-freeze, and bring the thinking brain back online. Which is exactly the state you want people in before you ask them to learn, collaborate, or lead.

The deck sorts into five entry points — Body, Awareness, Emotions, Connection, and Reflection — so you can match the practice to the moment instead of hoping one generic "take a breath" works for everyone.

What's in the box

• 45 practices on oversized 4" × 6" cards
• Five categories: Body, Awareness, Emotions, Connection, Reflection
• Soft-touch box that travels well and lives easily on a desk
• Folded guide with five core principles and a plain-language glossary
• Bonus access to Jonny Miller's guided-audio app for practices you can extend beyond the room

Put them to work

Resilience training. Resilience isn't the absence of stress — it's how fast you recover from it. Have participants use the Awareness cards to name their own early warning signs, then build a personal "reset kit" of three or four Body or Emotion cards they'll genuinely reach for. In a multi-session program, revisit the kit each time: what did they actually use, what worked, what do they swap in? You're teaching recovery as a trainable skill, not a mindset poster.

Stress management. Skip the lecture on the amygdala and let them feel it instead. Deal a Body or Awareness card to each table, give everyone three minutes to try the practice, then debrief: what shifted, what didn't, what surprised you? The physiology teaches itself. Leave cards on the tables as between-session resets, or send people home with one to test-drive before the next module.

Team building & leadership. The Connection cards are built for co-regulation — and a team that can down-shift together handles conflict and pressure far better than one that can't. Use a draw-and-share card as a meeting or workshop check-in ritual. For leaders, the move is modeling: open a high-stakes conversation with a grounding practice, and coach them to read their own state before they react. A leader who can catch their own fight-flight-freeze is a leader people stay calm around.

One facilitation note: these practices are trauma-informed by design, so keep participation invitational. Offer the practice, never require it — and let people opt out of body-based or sharing exercises without explanation. That "you choose" framing is what keeps the room feeling safe enough to actually try.

104 questions for building trust, connection, and real conversation in a group

Every facilitator knows the opener that dies on the vine — the forced icebreaker nobody wanted, the round-robin that stays firmly at "fine, thanks." Reflection Cards fix that by giving people a way in that never feels like an interrogation.

Each of the 52 cards carries two questions: a light, easy icebreaker on top and a deeper reflection underneath. That structure is the whole trick. You — or your participants — decide how far to go: ease in with something playful, then drop a layer when the room is ready. No one gets ambushed into vulnerability, which is exactly why people actually open up.

The questions are grounded in mindfulness and positive-psychology research: thoughtful, personal questions engage the brain's empathy circuitry and help people genuinely tune in to one another — the neural version of getting on the same wavelength. For a trainer, that's the raw material of psychological safety, and it's what has to exist before a group will risk a hard conversation, honest feedback, or a new idea.

The deck is color-coded across twelve themes — Intention, Kinship, Wellness, Compassion, Simplicity, Adventure, Creativity, Passion, Resilience, Integrity, Gratitude, and Reflection — plus a Wildcard category. That color-coding is a quiet facilitation gift: you can pre-sort the deck to match your learning objective and deal only the cards that fit the session in front of you.

What's in the box

• 52 cards, 104 questions (an icebreaker plus a deeper reflection on each)
• 12 color-coded themes — Intention, Kinship, Wellness, Compassion, Simplicity, Adventure, Creativity, Passion, Resilience, Integrity, Gratitude, and Reflection — plus a Wildcard category
• Pocket-sized and durable — made by the makers of Bicycle® cards
• Five suggested ways to play
• Abstract card backs that assemble into a single connected artwork
• Sustainably made in the USA on forest-friendly paper

Put them to work

• Session openers that actually land. Skip the tired icebreaker. Deal one card per person or per table and run the top question as a two-minute round to warm the room. When you want more, have people flip to the deeper question — same card, more depth — so the opener doubles as a bridge into your content. Pull the theme that matches your topic: Resilience to open a change-management or stress session, Creativity before an innovation workshop, Intention to kick off goal-setting or a new program, Adventure for a risk-taking or growth-mindset module.
• Team building & psychological safety. "I never knew that about you" is the sound of a team getting safer. Give each pair or small group a different card and use the layering move Holstee's own facilitators favor: answer at the surface, go a layer deeper, then deeper still. In twenty minutes, colleagues who've worked side by side for years surface something real about each other — the foundation everything else in your program is built on. Reach for Kinship and Compassion cards to build belonging on new or cross-functional teams, and Integrity cards when you're doing values or trust work.
• Coaching, 1:1s & self-reflection. The same cards work one-on-one and solo. Use them to open a coaching conversation when a client is stuck, seed a manager's 1:1s so they move past status updates, or hand them out as journal prompts for a self-awareness or leadership module. Match the theme to the growth edge: Reflection and Gratitude for end-of-program integration or a year-in-review, Wellness for burnout and well-being conversations, Passion and Intention for career and purpose coaching. A single card a week makes a simple, repeatable reflection ritual between sessions.
• Working the Wildcard. The Wildcard cards are the facilitator's improvisation slot — a built-in prompt to ask your own question, tuned to the room in front of you. Use them to pose something tied directly to your session ("What's one thing you want to be different by the time we finish today?"), to let a participant author the question for their group, or as a debrief bridge that carries a general reflection straight into your specific content. When a discussion opens a door you didn't plan for, the Wildcard is your permission to walk through it.

One facilitation note: keep it invitational — always let people pass on a question, no explanation needed. Start with the lighter prompts and let depth build on its own. Paradoxically, giving people a clean way out is what makes them willing to go in.

52 illustrated symbols for metaphor-driven reflection and review

Ask a group "what did you take away today?" and you'll get the tidy, rational answer everyone thinks they're supposed to give. Hand them an image and ask "which one captures it?" — and you'll get the real thing.

That's the move this deck makes possible. It's sold as an affirmation deck, but its quieter superpower is the other side of every card: 52 hand-illustrated symbols drawn from nature and human creativity — a lighthouse, a phoenix, a compass, a vine, an hourglass, an ocean. Set the words aside and each image becomes a projective prompt: open enough that people read their own experience into it, specific enough to draw out a story they wouldn't have volunteered on their own.

Why it works

Metaphor does an end-run around the analytical brain. Ask a direct question and people reach for the answer they think is expected. Ask them to choose an image and explain it, and there's no "right" answer to perform — so what surfaces is honest, particular, and often surprising. The picture gives people a little distance to say the true thing — "this was the phoenix: we crashed in week two and had to rebuild" — and it hands the rest of the room a vivid shared reference. It's the same principle behind our Tarot for Training kit and the Climer Cards: the image carries what plain words won't.

What's in the box

• 52 illustrated symbol cards (plus tips cards; 56 total), playing-card size (2.5" × 3.5") — easy to shuffle, deal, and spread across a table
• Bold, modern, one-of-a-kind artwork on every card — no two alike
• A first-person affirmation on the reverse of each card, for an optional second layer (more on that below)
• Durable coated stock, sustainably made in the USA and recyclable at end of life

Put them to work

Opening check-ins. Spread the deck image-side up and have each person grab the card that matches how they're walking in. Quick, revealing, and a far better temperature read than "so, how's everyone doing?"

Learning reviews & debriefs. Close a session by asking each participant to pick the image that captures what they're taking away — or two cards for "where I started / where I am now." You'll hear insights a verbal go-round never surfaces.

Project retrospectives. Deal a card per team member and ask them to choose the metaphor for how the project actually felt. It's a fast, honest way to get real sentiment on the table without anyone having to be the first to say the hard part out loud.

Closing & commitment. End with "find the image for what you'll carry forward," and let people name a next step through the metaphor. The picture makes the intention stick.

The words on the back — your call. Because each card also carries an affirmation, you get a choice most image decks don't offer. Keep the deck image-side up for pure projective work, so no one's led by the text. Or use the words as a reveal: have people interpret the image first, then flip the card to see whether the affirmation echoes or challenges what they saw. In coaching or solo reflection, that second layer can be a gift; in a group debrief, you'll usually want it face-down. Either way, you decide how much the words are in the room.

One facilitation note: keep it invitational. Let people pass, and resist interpreting anyone's card for them — the meaning belongs to whoever chose it. Your only real job is to ask "what made you pick that one?" and give them room to answer.