What to Talk About Over FaceTime (60+ Conversation Starters)

There are a lot of amazing things about modern technology: the internet, smartphones, and GPS are just a few of our favorites. But with those cool modern conveniences come some pretty weird ones too. Enter FaceTime. 

Video chatting really hit the mainstream with the introduction of Skype, but it didn’t become a casual, unscheduled activity until the popularity of FaceTime in the mid-2010s. Now, we’re all used to those awkward video calls complete with grainy images and endless questions of: how are you? 

FaceTime can sometimes make a regular conversation much more awkward than it needs to be, especially given the nature of the up close and personal view of your face. 

However, if you keep a few conversation starters in your back pocket, you’ll likely be able to avoid the worst of the awkwardness. There’s no need to be afraid of a little conversational lull, but these conversation starters will help smooth over the cracks in your video calls so that FaceTime can help make your life better, not worse. 

Conversation Starters for Friends

When you’re face timing with your friends, chances are they know you decently well. You are probably beyond the just getting to know you stage of things and can get a little deeper. FaceTime is a great way to do that. If you’re too new to each other, a video call can emphasize all of the awkwardness that may lie between you in a drawn-out silence. 

But for those who have known their friends for a good chunk of time, FaceTime can be a low-stakes way of bonding with your friends even more. Check out some of our favorite conversation starters for friendships below. 

1. Do you think your Zodiac sign reflects your personality? 
2. What is one aspect of your life that you want to work on more? 
3. Would you ever see a therapist? 
4. What are your unpopular movie opinions? 
5. Tell me about three books you read recently. Did you like or dislike them? 
6. What is one item on your bucket list? 
7. Do you have a favorite ice cream flavor? 
8. Tell me about a time when you cooked something and it went terribly wrong. 
9. What is one of your favorite memories from college? 
10. Do you have any regrets about the major you choose? 
11. If you could choose any dream job, what would it be? 
12. Would you ever want to be a billionaire? 
13. You have twelve hours to go through a movie marathon. What are you watching? 
14. Do you have any embarrassing stories from childhood? 
15. What’s something no one knows about you? 

Conversation Starters for New Relationships 

If you’re in a relationship, you’ve probably used FaceTime. And while there are certainly other things two people can do on a video call, one of the best uses of your time is to get to know each other more. FaceTime can be a low-stress alternative to an awkward first date if you and your partner are long-distance or don’t have the energy or money to drop a hundred dollars on dinner. 

When it’s just the two of you on FaceTime, there is a lot of time to go beyond the surface level in your conversations. And if you want to get to know your partner better, try out some of these conversation starters that will help you figure out what to talk about over FaceTime. 

1. What is your favorite mixed drink? 
2. Have you ever read a romance book? If so, what did you think about it?
3. Tell me about your best friend. What do you like about them? 
4. If you had to eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? 
5. Describe your dream vacation to me. 
6. If the world was ending, where would you go to weather the apocalypse? 
7. If you could switch places with any actor for one day, who would it be?
8. You write a novel: what is it about?
9. What is one of your best childhood memories?
10. Tell me your honest opinion of Valentine’s Day. 
11. What’s your favorite thing to do in the city? 
12. Do you have any strange fears? 
13. You have an afternoon all to yourself. What are you doing? 
14. Do you prefer watching movies or reading books? 
15. What are your opinions on zodiac signs? Real or fake? 

Conversation Starters for Coworkers 

While a FaceTime call with a coworker will likely be few and far between, they may come up, and you definitely want to be prepared. Getting personal with a coworker can be a little strange, especially if it’s over FaceTime, and especially if you don’t know each other very well. But these conversation starters should help you kick things off so your conversations will be smooth sailing no matter the occasion. 

1. What projects are you currently working on? 
2. Is there anything you’ve done recently that you’re particularly proud of? 
3. Are you excited by the company? 
4. Where would you like to go in your career? 
5. Do you have a favorite work trip that you’ve been on? 
6. What’s the worst work trip that you’ve been on? 
7. Do you have any office pet peeves? 
8. Where is your favorite place in the office? 
9. Do you prefer working remote or in the office? Why? 
10. What are your thoughts on team building exercises? 
11. Do you like your boss? 
12. How do you feel about your position overall? 
13. Would you like to see anything change in the company? If so, what?
14. Have you reached any career milestones? 
15. Where would you like to retire?

Conversation Starters for Your Parents 

If you’re looking for what to talk about with your parents over FaceTime, it must mean that they finally learned how to push the right buttons on the screen. Take a second to pat yourself on the back. Teaching your parents technology is no small feat. 

But the next hurdle is actually using that technology with them. And FaceTime can be a little difficult to use for even the most seasoned techsperts among us. You’ll need some good conversation starters to make your way through a half hour of can you hear me? I can’t see you! 

These conversation starters will help you navigate what to talk about over FaceTime when your parents are constantly complaining about a crappy Wifi connection. And even if it can be difficult at times, taking the time to talk and connect with them, regardless of the connection speed, is one of the best things you can do for yourself and for your parents. Here’s what to talk about: 

1. Tell me about a time during your childhood when you rebelled against your own parents. 
2. Do you have any parenting regrets? 
3. What have been some of the happiest times in your life so far? 
4. What are the best qualities that your parents had?
5. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you have me at a different age? 
6. What is the best age to have kids? 
7. Be honest, did you like having children? 
8. In what ways does having children impact your career? 
9. What was your favorite family vacation? 
10. Out of all of the kids TV that I watched, did you like any of the shows? 
11. Did you have any hopes that I would choose a different career? 
12. What is your current favorite hobby? 
13. Tell me about your favorite memory of your grandparents. 
14. What is the best parenting advice you could give? 
15. Do you like where you live? 

Talking with anyone over FaceTime can be rough. You might run into a poor connection or constant communications issues, and it might seem easier to just give up. But FaceTime can be a fantastic way to connect with the people you care about. Talking with someone over the phone is great, but it’s even better when you can see them — especially if they live far away from you. 

That’s one of the best things about technology: it can bring us together just as much as it can move us apart. But if you know how to use FaceTime to your advantage (i.e., have a few of these great conversation starters ready to go), then you’ll never have to worry about what to talk about over FaceTime. Instead, you can just worry about when your next great conversation will be with the people that you care about.