What do you talk about in two minutes? I've never had to speed-date. Ask about hobbies? Is asking about work pedestrian? Was always curious about this.

If someone is a skilled human, they can have a fascinating conversation with most people in 2 minutes. I'd look at the creator of Humans of New York as a shining example of how to connect with someone - I'm sure that many of the convos are much longer, but I highly doubt that the first 2 minutes are just talking about the weather.

Of course, not everyone will be open to talking at any given time. And it is probably especially difficult to have a genuine connection in a speed dating context, where the other party is probably posturing in one way or another. If you met them in any other situation, they'd probably be more open/authentic.

The two minutes is a very short amount of time — much shorter than a typical speed dating slot of 5-10 minutes. People chat about all sorts of things: from work to previous relationships to “where are you from”-style questions.

With regular speed dating I had all sorts of chats, it usually enough for 1-3 threads of conversations.