Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Guests Say the Darndest Things

The success of sites like Vimeo and YouTube prove how entertaining videos are for people of all ages. If you or anyone you know is hosting a large event, renting a video booth can be a fun activity for guests to participate in and let their true characters shine through. While some people love having an open forum to share their thoughts on camera, other people respond better to prompts. As a result, a fun way to engage guests and use a video booth in an unconventional way is by basing it loosely off the format of a “talk show.” Right before guests step in the video booth, have a volunteer ask them to pick a number that corresponds to a list of questions. Once they’re inside the video booth, the “contestant” will have to answer the given question they chose on the spot. You could also play a question game of associations, where someone gives the person or people in the video booth a word, and they immediately respond with the first thing that comes to mind. Depending on the list of questions, you’ll hear a wide variety of responses and reactions, all caught on camera.

To help spark some ideas for your “talk show” style video booth, below is a list of 40 thought-provoking questions that can reveal a lot about your party guests. You can use this list in its entirety, pick only your favorite questions, or create your own from scratch. You’re sure to get some thoughtful, wacky and intriguing answers, captured on an entertaining video to treasure for years to come.
  1. If you could be an inanimate object, what would you be and why?
  2. What three adjectives come to mind when you think of the host? Explain.
  3. If you had to define this event with a song, which would you choose?
  4. Do you prefer coffee or tea?
  5. Describe what you think the future will be like in 300 years.
  6. What are your biggest pet peeves?
  7. Imagine a massive asteroid is headed toward Earth. The world will definitively end in three weeks. What would you do with the remainder of your life, and where would you want to be when the asteroid collided?
  8. What is your favorite memory with the host?
  9. If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?
  10. If you could go 100 years into the future, or 100 years into the past at the age you are now, which would you choose?
  11. If you could be well-known or famous for one thing, what would it be and why?
  12. What is your fondest childhood memory?
  13. If you were restricted to eating only three foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?
  14. If you could live abroad for a year in any country, where would you go and why?
  15. What would be your ideal one month, all expenses paid vacation?
  16. What is the funniest story you know about the host?
  17. If you could be an expert on any one topic or skilled at any one thing, what would it be?
  18. If you could travel back in time and relive any age of your life over again, which would it be?
  19. What five personality traits do you value most in other people?
  20. If you were stuck on a deserted island for several months, what three non-essential items would you hope to have with you?
  21. What was your favorite book as a child?
  22. What “fun fact” do people at this party not know about you?
  23. If you could have been credited with discovering or inventing anything in history, what would it be?
  24. Of all the Halloween costumes you’ve ever worn, what was your favorite?
  25. What is the single best piece of advice you’ve been given in your lifetime?
  26. What do you want people to remember most about you when you’re gone?
  27. If you could talk to a younger version of yourself, what would you say?
  28. What is your favorite vacation memory?
  29. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever been told or witnessed firsthand?
  30. If you could be in anyone’s head for a day, who would you choose?
  31. Is there a story behind your name? Who or what were you named after?
  32. If you could live in any civilization during any time period, which would you choose?
  33. If you were a body of water, which would you be and why?
  34. What is on your bucket list of things to do in your lifetime?
  35. What would you do differently in your life if you knew there wouldn’t be negative repercussions?
  36. What is the boldest thing you’ve ever done?
  37. What do you admire most about the party host?
  38. What would be your ideal date night?
  39. If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?
  40. What would be your last words to the host if you knew you would never see him or her again after tonight?