Check-in questions to open any meeting.
A check-in is one question everyone answers at the start of a meeting, in a sentence or a word. It gets every voice into the room early, tells you how people are actually doing, and takes two or three minutes. Here are 50 to choose from, grouped by how much time you have and what you want to learn.
By Jitto Joseph5 min read
How to run a check-in
- One question, everyone answers. Go round in a fixed order, or let the last person pick the next. Allow a pass.
- Keep answers short. A word or a sentence. If something needs more, note it and come back to it after the meeting.
- Match the question to the meeting. A quick round before a standup, a deeper question before a retro or a one-on-one.
- Answer it yourself first. The person running the meeting goes first and sets the length and the tone.
Quick check-ins (one word or a number)
- 1.
One word for how you're arriving today?
Quick
Simple, and surprisingly honest.
- 2.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how's your energy?
Quick
Useful for deciding how much to fit into the meeting.
- 3.
What's the weather like in your head right now?
Quick
A gentler way to ask how someone is.
- 4.
Green, yellow or red for this week?
Quick
A fast read on workload before planning.
- 5.
What's one thing on your mind that isn't this meeting?
Quick
Saying it out loud often makes it easier to set aside.
- 6.
Coffee, tea or something else today?
Quick
Low stakes, good for a new team.
- 7.
Emoji for your week so far?
Quick
Works well typed in the chat at the same time.
- 8.
How many hours did you sleep, roughly?
Quick
Only for a team that's comfortable with it.
- 9.
What are you looking forward to this week?
Quick
Starts the meeting on something good.
- 10.
Focused, scattered or somewhere in between?
Quick
Handy before a working session.
Work check-ins
- 11.
What's the one thing you most need to finish this week?
Work
Surfaces priorities without a full status round.
- 12.
What's blocking you right now?
Work
Gets problems into the open early.
- 13.
What did you learn since we last met?
Work
Spreads knowledge across the team.
- 14.
What are you waiting on from someone here?
Work
Turns hidden dependencies into a quick conversation.
- 15.
What took longer than you expected last week?
Work
Good before planning.
- 16.
What would make today a good day?
Work
Gives everyone a small, reachable goal.
- 17.
What's one thing you'd drop if you could?
Work
Shows where the load is too heavy.
- 18.
Who helped you this week?
Work
Builds a habit of noticing each other's help.
- 19.
What's something you shipped that you're proud of?
Work
Wins get named, not just finished.
- 20.
What's one question you want answered in this meeting?
Work
Makes sure the meeting covers what people need.
Deeper check-ins
- 21.
What's taking up most of your attention outside work?
Deeper
Only answered as far as someone wants.
- 22.
When did you last feel really useful at work?
Deeper
Good in a one-on-one or a retro.
- 23.
What's something you're finding hard right now?
Deeper
Needs trust; answer it yourself first.
- 24.
What would you change about how we work together?
Deeper
An opening for a retro.
- 25.
What do you need more of from this team?
Deeper
Turns feelings into something the team can act on.
- 26.
What's a decision you're still unsure about?
Deeper
Invites help without asking for it.
- 27.
What are you curious about lately?
Deeper
Shows a side of people that work rarely does.
- 28.
What would make next month better than this one?
Deeper
Good for a monthly meeting.
- 29.
What's something you've changed your mind about?
Deeper
Models being open to being wrong.
- 30.
How are you, really?
Deeper
Ask it slowly and wait for the answer.
Fun check-ins
- 31.
What's the best thing you ate this week?
Fun
Everyone has an answer.
- 32.
What's on your desk that we can't see?
Fun
Gets people looking around and laughing.
- 33.
If today were a film genre, which one?
Fun
A quick, playful read on the week.
- 34.
What's a small thing that made you happy recently?
Fun
Ends up being the warmest few minutes of the meeting.
- 35.
What song is stuck in your head?
Fun
Optional: play ten seconds of it.
- 36.
Which app could you not live without this week?
Fun
Often turns into useful tips.
- 37.
What's a skill you'd learn instantly if you could?
Fun
Reveals what people care about.
- 38.
Best thing you've watched or read lately?
Fun
Builds a list of recommendations.
- 39.
What would your out-of-office message say today?
Fun
Gets creative answers.
- 40.
Window seat or aisle?
Fun
Settles nothing and everyone has an opinion.
Check-ins for remote teams
- 41.
What's the view from where you're working today?
Remote
Shows the places behind the video tiles.
- 42.
What time is it for you, and what's next after this?
Remote
Makes time zones visible.
- 43.
Who did you talk to today, apart from us?
Remote
A gentle way to notice when someone's been alone all day.
- 44.
How's your setup holding up?
Remote
Surfaces small problems with chairs, screens or internet.
- 45.
What's one thing you miss about working in the same room?
Remote
Good for deciding what to try next as a team.
- 46.
What's one thing you'd never give back about working remotely?
Remote
Ends on a good note.
- 47.
When are you most focused during the day?
Remote
Helps the team protect each other's focus time.
- 48.
What's your favourite way to take a break at home?
Remote
Swaps ideas for real breaks.
- 49.
Did anything make you laugh this week?
Remote
Brings back some of the office's small moments.
- 50.
What's one thing the team could do to feel closer?
Remote
Turns the check-in into an idea.