Icebreaker questions

Introduction

If someone has asked you to sponsor them, it's a good idea to find out what you can about them before you proceed.

Here is a list of icebreaker questions to send the (potential) sponsee:

Icebreaker questions for the (potential) sponsee

• How old are you?
• What's your living situation (e.g. living alone, married with children, how many)?
• What's your work/studying situation?
• Which fellowship(s) are you in?
• For how long?
• How long have you been clean / sober / abstinent (if relevant)?
• What addictions (substances / patterns) do you have?
• Are you undergoing any other treatments for addiction or psychological problems?
• Do you currently have a sponsor?
• If so, in which fellowship(s)?
• Are you planning to end any / all of those sponsorship relationships?
• If so, why?
• What experience do you have of the Steps?
• How far did you get?
• Did you complete amends?
• Are you sponsoring other people?
• Do you have a home group?
• Do you do service?
• What are your current problems?
• Are you willing to be guided as to the best way to solve those problems?
• Why do you want me to sponsor you?

It's a good idea to consider these questions and write down the answers before discussing with the (potential) sponsor

Not all of these questions will apply to every (potential) sponsee: some of the later questions are addressed at people who have been in AA for a while already.

If you, as the (potential) sponsee, do not understand some of these questions, ask.

Icebreaker questions for the sponsor

The sponsee will likely have some questions about the sponsor. Here are some obvious ones:

• What is sponsorship?
• How does it work?
• What do I have to do?
• How long are you sober?
• What's your experience of the Steps?
• What does your life look like?

There will surely be others. It's a good idea to be open with sponsees, but there are sometimes boundaries that should not be crossed. As a sponsor, if you feel uncomfortable answering certain questions, that's OK. If the sponsee does not want to proceed because you won't answer those questions, that's OK too. The beauty of this is that there is always someone else to try instead.