60 Roundtable Discussion Questions That Get People Talking

A table leader does not need a speech. They need a handful of good questions, asked at the right moment. Good questions get people talking to each other instead of to the leader, and that is when a roundtable comes alive.

Here are 60 roundtable discussion questions, sorted by when to use them. Pick two or three per stage and put them on the leader's one page script.

Questions to open the table

Use one of these in the first five minutes, right after introductions. The goal is to get every person to say something early.

1. What brought you to this table?
2. In one sentence, where are you with this topic today?
3. What would make the next 30 minutes worth it for you?
4. What is the one question about this topic you want answered?
5. What has worked for you here, even a little?
6. What is the biggest thing getting in your way?
7. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well is this going for you right now?
8. What did you try last year that did not work?
9. Who here has solved this, even partly?
10. What made you pick this table over the others?

Questions to go deeper

Once people are talking, these move the conversation from opinions to specifics.

1. Can you walk us through exactly how you do that?
2. What did it cost you, in time or money, to set that up?
3. What would you do differently if you started over?
4. How did your team react when you changed it?
5. What surprised you once you tried it?
6. What is the first step someone here could take next week?
7. How do you know it is working?
8. What did you have to stop doing to make room for it?
9. Where does it break down?
10. What would happen if you did nothing?
11. What is the smallest version of that someone could test?
12. How long did it take before you saw a result?
13. Who else had to agree before you could do it?
14. What tool, template or habit made the biggest difference?
15. What advice would you give someone just starting?

Questions to connect people

The best tables are a conversation between attendees, not a series of answers to the leader. These link one person's idea to another's.

1. Has anyone else run into that?
2. How does that compare to what you are doing?
3. Who sees this differently?
4. What would you add to what she just said?
5. Has anyone tried the opposite?
6. Is that true in a bigger company too, or only a smaller one?
7. Who has a question for the person who just spoke?
8. Does anyone want to push back on that?
9. What is the common thread in what we have heard so far?
10. Who has not had a chance to weigh in yet?

Questions to draw out quiet people

Quiet people often have the best ideas. Invite them in by name, gently, with a question that is easy to answer.

1. Sam, what has your experience been with this?
2. Is that similar to what you see in your work?
3. What is one thing you would want to try from what you have heard?
4. Which of these ideas fits your situation best?
5. Is there anything we are missing?

Questions to bring the table back on track

Every table drifts. These steer it back without making anyone feel shut down.

1. That is a great point. How does it connect to our topic?
2. Let us park that one and come back if we have time.
3. We have about ten minutes left. What do we most want to cover?
4. Can we get specific about how that would work?
5. What would you need to make that happen?

If the talk drifts toward prices, fees, wages or bids between competitors, the leader steers away. Those are off limits at any table. See our roundtable ground rules.

Questions to close and capture

Leave the last five to seven minutes for these. They turn a good conversation into something people take home.

1. What is your one takeaway from this table?
2. What is one thing you will do in the next 30 days?
3. What did you hear today that changed your mind?
4. Who here do you want to keep talking to after this?
5. What should the next table on this topic cover?

Questions for sponsor hosted tables

When a sponsor hosts a table, the rep joins the conversation but does not pitch. These keep it useful for everyone.

1. What are you trying to solve this year?
2. What would good look like six months from now?
3. What have you already tried?
4. What makes a solution worth switching to?
5. What do you wish vendors understood about your work?

Questions for customer roundtables at a user conference

1. What do you use this for that we might not expect?
2. What took longest to learn?
3. What is one workaround you have built?
4. What would make you recommend it to a peer?
5. If you could change one thing, what would it be?

How to use these questions

Pick one opener, three or four deepeners, and two closers per table. Write them on the leader's script in the order you expect to use them, and leave room to skip. A leader who asks fewer, better questions and then listens will run a better table than one who works through a list.

For the full method, see how to moderate a roundtable discussion.

Want professionals to run your roundtables?

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