This or That questions are the fastest meeting warm-up that exists. There is no correct answer, no explanation needed, and no way to feel exposed — everyone just picks between two everyday options and the room instantly sees the split.
Unlike hypothetical dilemma questions, This or That uses real, daily preferences. That makes it the safest possible opener for a cold standup, a team that does not know each other yet, or a Monday-morning call where nobody is warmed up.
Why This or That works so well in meetings
A meeting warm-up fails when it costs more energy than it returns. This or That fails that test never. The host shares a link, everyone taps A or B, and the reveal creates the conversation. There is no thinking required before participation — which is exactly what a cold room needs.
The other reason it works is the reveal. When a team sees that 80% of the room is team "coffee" and 20% is team "tea", it creates an instant, safe talking point. The split does the work of starting conversation without anyone having to volunteer.
50+ This or That prompts for work
Work preferences
- Coffee or tea to start the day?
- Meetings in the morning or meetings in the afternoon?
- Remote work or in-office work?
- Video calls or phone calls?
- Camera on or camera off in meetings?
- Email or instant message?
- Detailed planning or learning by doing?
- Fix it yourself or ask a teammate?
- Quiet focus work or collaborative brainstorming?
- Inbox zero or thousands of unread emails?
- Work in a team or work alone?
- Own the whole task or share it evenly?
- Back-to-back meetings or open calendar time?
- Send the message now or wait for perfect wording?
- Early deadline or flexible deadline?
- One big project or several small ones?
- Give feedback in public or in private?
- A short lunch break or a long lunch break?
- Routine tasks or unpredictable challenges?
- Finish work early or start work early?
Tech and tools
- Laptop or desktop for daily work?
- iPhone or Android?
- Dark mode or light mode?
- Tabs or bookmarks?
- Mouse or trackpad?
- Physical keyboard or on-screen keyboard?
- Cloud storage or local files?
- Notifications on or notifications off?
- Newest gadget or well-tested classic?
- Wireless or wired everything?
- Autocorrect on or autocorrect off?
- A huge monitor or a compact laptop screen?
Food and drink
- Sweet breakfast or savory breakfast?
- Pizza or burgers?
- Sushi or tacos?
- Ice cream or cake?
- Home-cooked meal or takeout?
- Crispy or chewy cookies?
- Spicy or mild food?
- Soda or sparkling water?
- Fruit or chocolate for a snack?
- Thin crust or thick crust pizza?
- Smoothie or milkshake?
- Coffee shop or bakery?
Everyday life
- Shower in the morning or at night?
- Exercise in the morning or after work?
- Wake up early or stay up late?
- Plan your day or go with the flow?
- Read books or watch movies?
- Music or silence while working?
- Walk or drive short distances?
- Inside activities or outside activities?
- Texting or calling a friend?
- Paper books or e-books?
- A short nap or a strong coffee?
- Dress up or stay comfy?
How to run a This or That round
The setup is the same as any browser-based meeting game:
- Open This or That and create a room.
- Share the link in the meeting chat.
- Say: "Join with any nickname. We will do three quick rounds of this-or-that."
- Run the rounds. Everyone votes at the same time.
- Reveal each split and make one quick observation.
- Move into the agenda.
For a standup, run one round. For a weekly sync, run three to five. For a team social or offsite, run eight to ten rounds and let the room react after each reveal.
When to use This or That vs Would You Rather
Use This or That when the room is cold, the agenda is tight, and you need participation in under two minutes. Its everyday prompts feel effortless.
Use Would You Rather when the team is ready for a bit more personality and hypothetical debates. It is still fast, but the prompts invite a little more reaction.
Both work as quick meeting games, and both can run in a browser room beside Zoom icebreakers or Google Meet games.
Start your next meeting with a This or That room → — one link, ten seconds of setup, and the whole team participating at once.