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How to Run Two Truths and a Lie on Zoom — Step by Step

June 30 2026 · 5 min read

Two Truths and a Lie is one of the most effective icebreakers that exists. It generates real conversation, reveals genuine things about people, and has a built-in competitive moment that keeps everyone engaged. Running it on Zoom requires a small amount of setup — but done right, it works better than the in-person version because everyone submits simultaneously rather than watching the same three people dominate.

Here is exactly how to run it.

What you need

  • A Zoom call with your team
  • A way to collect submissions and reveal them — either a tool that handles this automatically, or a manual process using the Zoom chat
  • Five minutes of meeting time for every four to five participants

The two ways to run it

Option 1 — Use a tool (recommended)

The cleanest way to run Two Truths and a Lie on Zoom is to use a dedicated tool that handles submission, voting, and reveal automatically. Truveal does this — you create a session, share the link in the Zoom chat, everyone submits on their own device, the group votes, and the reveal happens simultaneously on screen.

The simultaneous reveal is what makes this version better than the manual approach. Everyone finds out at the same time, nobody spoils it, and the moment lands differently when it's a reveal rather than a slow process of reading out statements one at a time.

No participant accounts are needed. You share a link, they click, they submit. It takes under thirty seconds to get everyone into the session.

Option 2 — Manual via Zoom chat

If you want to run it without any external tool:

  1. Ask everyone to type their two truths and one lie into a private message to you (not the group chat)
  2. Collect all submissions before revealing any of them
  3. Read each person's three statements out loud one at a time
  4. The group types their guess into the Zoom chat simultaneously — you count down from three and everyone hits enter at the same time
  5. The person reveals which was the lie and shares the story behind it

The manual version works fine for small groups of six or fewer. For larger groups, the tool version is significantly better — the manual process gets unwieldy above eight people.

Step by step — running it with a tool

Before the call:

At the start of the call: Share the link in the chat and say something like: "We're going to kick off with Two Truths and a Lie — click the link, submit your two truths and one lie, and we'll go from there. Take two minutes."

Don't over-explain the rules. Anyone who hasn't played it will figure it out in ten seconds. Anyone who has played it doesn't need instructions.

While people are submitting: Watch the submission count in your host view. Once everyone has submitted, move to the voting phase. The tool will show you when all participants are in.

The voting phase: The group votes on whose statement they think is the lie. The competitive element kicks in here — people genuinely try to catch each other out, and the discussion before the reveal is often the best part.

The reveal: Hit reveal. The truth surfaces on everyone's screen simultaneously. The person whose statements they were shares the story behind their lie — this is where the actual conversation happens.

Tips for making it land well

Set the expectation before the call. Drop a message in Slack the day before: "We're starting tomorrow's call with Two Truths and a Lie — have three statements ready." People who've had time to think tend to submit better statements than people improvising on the spot.

Share one of your own examples when you introduce it. If you're the host, giving one example of the format ("I've been to fifteen countries, I speak two languages, I once ate an entire block of cheese in one sitting — one of those isn't true") removes any ambiguity and sets a tone.

For new teams, calibrate the stakes. Two Truths and a Lie works best when people feel safe submitting something surprising. If the team is brand new, make it clear that fun and unusual beats impressive and safe.

For large groups, break into smaller rooms. If you have more than fifteen people, run it in Zoom breakout rooms of five to six. Each room runs its own session. Bring everyone back together and have one person from each room share the most surprising reveal.

How long does it take?

  • 5 people: approximately 8 minutes
  • 8 people: approximately 12 minutes
  • 12 people: approximately 18 minutes
  • 15+ people: use breakout rooms or plan for 25+ minutes

If you're time-constrained, do fewer rounds — not everyone needs to be guessed. Running it for eight of twelve people is better than rushing through all twelve.

What to run next

Once you've run Two Truths and a Lie a few times with the same team, the format loses some novelty. A live team quiz gives you the same energy and simultaneous reveal mechanic but with competitive scoring and a leaderboard. It's a natural next step for teams that have exhausted the icebreaker format and want something with more structure.