60 Questions to Ask Guest Speakers During a Virtual Event

Guest speakers are a great addition to any virtual event. There can be so many topics to cover when speaking with an expert - but in case you don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered! We’ve compiled 60 questions you can ask any guest speaker to make your next virtual event a hit ranging from icebreakers to ones that dig a little deeper. Compile a list of some of the following questions to prepare for your event and for your speaker to make your virtual event a great one. 

What Makes a Good Question to Ask a Guest Speaker at a Virtual Event? 

The best questions to ask a guest speaker at a virtual event are ones where your audience can learn valuable information either about the topic at hand or about the speaker themselves. It’ll benefit you and your attendees to familiarize yourself with your speaker so you can formulate the best questions that you know will bring the most insightful information to the event. Get to know their passions and what makes them the most proud in their professional career. As you talk with your guest speaker during your event, listening carefully to what they say and responding as you naturally would will make the experience better for everyone involved. 

Make this part of the event fun with your audience by including different engagement features! Choose a platform where you can hold live polls asking if your event viewers agree or disagree with what the speaker is saying, or have viewers send in any questions they have for your guests through a hashtag on social media. 

60 Questions to Ask Guest Speakers During a Virtual Event 

Icebreaker Questions to Get a Guest Speaker Talking

1. Who are your role models?
2. When was the last time you were surprised or shocked?
3. Tell us something no one in our audience knows about you.
4. What song or album did you listen to most last year?
5. What superstitions do you have?
6. What movie have you seen the most times?
7. What three superpowers would you choose to have?
8. Who would you invite to your fantasy dinner party?
9. Who’s someone in your profession you really admire?
10. What qualities do you most admire in others?
11. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
12. What period in time would you love to have experienced first-hand?

Questions to Get Value from Your Guest Speaker on Their Career & Industry

13. What are the biggest decisions you’ve made over the last year?
14. How has your role changed in the last 12 months?
15. How do you see the industry evolving over the next five years?
16. What’s your secret to dealing with disappointment?
17. What’s the most important thing for you to concentrate on in the months ahead?
18. What are the biggest misconceptions about your work?
19. What would you say makes you different from others in your field?
20. What makes your job exciting?
21. What are the biggest opportunities in the industry out there at the moment?
22. What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the last year?
23. When did you know you wanted this job?
24. How did your earlier career choices lead you to where you are now?
25. What was your first “win” that made you confident that you were doing the right thing?
26. What did you do at work yesterday? (This is a spin on the “what is a typical day” question that will yield more specific, informative answers.)

Questions to Get Value from Your Guest Speaker on Leadership

27. Can anyone be a leader?
28. What does great leadership look like?
29. What challenges do leaders face when working together?
30. What’s the single most important quality a leader can have?
31. What would make you a better leader?
32. How do you resolve conflict within a team?
33. How do you bring about change?
34. How can you get a team to come up with unique solutions?
35. How do you develop a strong culture within a team?
36. What mistakes did you make then that you wouldn’t make now?

Questions to Get Value from your Guest Speaker on Leadership to Get Their Advice

37. How did you set yourself apart from others who wanted the same job?
38. What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
39. What advice would you give to your younger self at the start of your career?
40. What impresses you the most when you are considering hiring someone?
41. How does your team (or company) define success?
42. What is the biggest challenge to achieving that success?

Follow-up Questions to Dig Deeper

43. What early setbacks later gave you an advantage?
44. How did you use your experience to influence your decision-making?
45. What other factors made a difference to your choices?
46. What strategies have had the biggest impact on your success?
47. How well have you maintained a positive work-life balance throughout it all?
48. Would you make the same decisions again?
49. What’s the one thing you’ve learned from your experience?
50. What could have made a difference to how things worked out?
51. How much has luck played a part?
52. How much do your emotions play a role in your choices?

Fun Questions to End your Virtual Event

53. What three things would go in your room 101?
54. Which fictional character would you most like to meet?
55. Which app would you most miss on a desert island?
56. Why do you love what you do?
57. What’s the strangest question someone’s asked you in an interview?
58. What one piece of advice would you have given yourself 10 years ago?
59. What’s your perfect evening after a busy week?
60. What would your motto be?

What to Avoid When Questioning Your Guest Speaker During a Virtual Event 

There are certain topics or questions that may be best to avoid when questioning your guest speaker during a virtual event. A rule of thumb for any event is to stay away from questions that focus on politics or religion as well as any topics that may be more sensitive. To ensure you don’t overstep the boundaries of your guest speaker, some hosts find it beneficial to ask the speaker ahead of time if there are any specific topics or questions they’d rather steer clear of. Your guest speakers should feel confident and excited to speak at your virtual event and not something they regret! 

During your virtual event, a key tactic you want to incorporate is engagement with your viewers. Since it is virtual and not in-person, it’s important that you prioritize which hosting platform you use. Many platforms include engagement features such as polls, gamification, live chats and more. 

<span class="mid-size-title">Conclusion</span>

With the right questions, you can make your guest speaker segment an absolute hit at your next virtual event! No matter what industry your virtual event is about, there are many ways you can find a great speaker. Do some digging and search within your network of friends, family, and past or present colleagues. Check your larger network of connections, or if it’s someone who is higher status, see if your team can reach out to their team. No matter who you choose as a guest speaker, make sure it’s someone with a solid reputation and someone who can relate to your industry audience. The platform you choose to host your event makes a big difference as well - a platform like Hubilo can help you put together a great virtual event filled with engagement and branding features!