Questions · Retirement party
Retirement party questions for a career well spent
Questions for a retirement party, whether it’s cake in the break room or dinner with family and old colleagues: stories from the work, plans for the free hours ahead, and toasts that say what the guest of honor meant to people.
- 16 questions
- EN + TL on every card
- Free in the app
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
Who taught you a work or school habit you still use, and what was it?
Sino yung nagturo sa'yo ng work o school habit na gamit mo pa rin, at ano yun?
Some habits come from people who modeled them first. Their way of doing things can quietly become part of yours.
May habits na galing sa taong nauna lang magpakita. Tahimik mong nadadala yung style nila hanggang maging part na rin ng style mo.
The questions
16 retirement party questions
Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.
For the guest of honor
4 questions
The habits, mentors and hard moments behind the career.
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Who taught you a work or school habit you still use, and what was it?
Sino yung nagturo sa'yo ng work o school habit na gamit mo pa rin, at ano yun?
Back of the card
Some habits come from people who modeled them first. Their way of doing things can quietly become part of yours.
May habits na galing sa taong nauna lang magpakita. Tahimik mong nadadala yung style nila hanggang maging part na rin ng style mo.
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What is something you can handle better now than before?
Ano yung mas kaya mo nang i-handle ngayon kaysa dati?
Back of the card
Growth is often noticed in comparison. What used to shake you may now take less from you.
Madalas napapansin ang growth kapag may comparison. Yung dati kang kinakabahan, baka ngayon mas kaya mo nang harapin.
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If someone worked or studied with you for one week, what would they notice about your style?
Kung may makakasama ka sa work o school for one week, ano kaya ang mapapansin nila sa style mo?
Back of the card
Your style may show in pace, focus, questions, breaks, or how you handle pressure. People notice more than we think.
Pwedeng lumabas ang style mo sa pace, focus, tanong, breaks, o paano ka humarap sa pressure. Marami palang napapansin ang tao.
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What difficult situation are you proud of handling?
Anong mahirap na sitwasyon ang proud kang naharap mo?
Back of the card
You can pass or keep the situation private. What did handling it help you notice about your own abilities?
Puwedeng mag-pass o itago ang sitwasyon. Ano ang napansin mong kaya mo pala matapos mong harapin iyon?
What comes next
5 questions
Hobbies, languages and Saturdays without an alarm.
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If you had one free hour every week, what hobby would you go back to?
Kung may isang free hour ka every week, anong hobby ang babalikan mo?
Back of the card
A hobby you miss can point to a part of you that still wants some space.
Yung hobby na nami-miss mo minsan tumuturo sa part ng sarili mo na gusto pa rin ng konting space.
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If money were no problem, how would you spend a Saturday with nothing you had to do?
Kung walang kailangang gawin at hindi problema ang pera, paano mo gagamitin ang isang Sabado?
Back of the card
Picture the end of your Saturday. What would make you wish it were still morning?
Isipin ang katapusan ng Sabado mo. Bakit mo gugustuhing umaga pa lang?
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Which language would you learn instantly if you woke up fluent tomorrow?
Kung paggising mo bukas ay marunong ka na ng isang bagong language, ano ang pipiliin mo?
Back of the card
Choose the first person you would like to talk to in that language.
Piliin ang unang taong gusto mong makausap gamit ang wikang iyon.
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Point to one direction you feel drawn toward, even if it is not fully clear yet.
Magbanggit ng isang direction na feeling mo tinutulak ka, kahit hindi pa fully clear.
Back of the card
Clarity sometimes arrives after movement. You can honor the direction without pretending you know the whole path.
Minsan dumarating ang clarity habang gumagalaw ka na. Puwede mong i-honor ang direction nang hindi nagpapanggap na alam mo ang buong path.
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What kind of rest, fun, or treat are you learning to enjoy without feeling bad about it?
Anong klaseng pahinga, saya, o treat ang natututuhan mong i-enjoy nang hindi masyadong nagi-guilty?
Back of the card
Enjoyment can take practice, especially when you are used to earning every pause. This question leaves room for that.
Minsan kailangan ding matutuhan ang mag-enjoy, lalo na kung sanay kang kailangan mong paghirapan ang bawat pahinga. May space dito para doon.
Stories from the office
4 questions
Accidental emails, misheard words and badly timed moments.
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Finish this: I almost panicked when I accidentally sent...
Tapusin ito: Halos nag-panic ako nung accidentally kong na-send...
Back of the card
Wrong sends create instant suspense. The few seconds after realizing it can feel longer than the whole day.
Iba yung kaba ng wrong send. Yung ilang seconds after ma-realize, parang humahaba bigla yung buong araw.
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Name a word or line you misheard that made the conversation funny.
Magbanggit ng word o line na mali mong narinig at naging funny yung usapan.
Back of the card
Mishearing one word can send a conversation somewhere else completely. Sometimes the mistake is funnier than the original point.
Isang maling dinig lang, ibang direction na yung usapan. Minsan mas funny pa yung mali kaysa original point.
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Share one time your timing was really off and it became funny later.
Mag-share ng time na sobrang sablay ng timing mo at naging funny later.
Back of the card
Bad timing can be annoying in the moment and hilarious later. It has a way of turning itself into comedy.
Yung bad timing, nakakainis sa moment pero funny later. Parang kusa siyang nagiging comedy pag binalikan.
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In a group hangout, which role do you usually fall into: planner, joker, listener, snack person, or something else?
Sa group hangout, anong role ang usually napupunta sa'yo: planner, joker, listener, snack person, o iba pa?
Back of the card
Group roles can be funny because they appear before anyone assigns them. Somehow every hangout finds its planner, joker, listener, or snack person.
Minsan lumalabas yung role bago pa may mag-assign. Sa bawat hangout, may planner, joker, listener, o snack person talaga.
Raising a glass
3 questions
What they taught people and how they want to be remembered.
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Name something you want to be known for by people close to you.
Magsabi ng isang bagay na gusto mong maalala sa'yo ng mga taong close sa'yo.
Back of the card
The way you want to be known can reveal what you value. It can also guide one small choice today.
Yung gusto mong maalala nila sa'yo, may pinapakitang value. Puwede rin siyang gumabay sa isang maliit na choice today.
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Who is someone you respect for the way they live, even in small things?
Sino yung taong nirerespeto mo sa paraan ng buhay niya, kahit sa maliliit na bagay?
Back of the card
Respect often begins with small, steady things. A simple habit can show a lot about how someone moves through life.
Madalas nagsisimula ang respeto sa maliliit pero consistent na bagay. May simpleng habit na maraming sinasabi tungkol sa isang tao.
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What useful skill did someone patiently teach you?
Anong kasanayan ang matiyagang itinuro sa'yo ng isang tao?
Back of the card
Imagine you are teaching the skill now. What would you show a beginner first?
Isipin na ikaw naman ang nagtuturo nito. Ano ang una mong ipapakita sa baguhan?
How to use them
Before you ask
A retirement party should give the guest of honor two things: a chance to tell their stories and a chance to hear what they meant to people. The questions for them ask who taught them the habits they still use and which hard situation they’re proud of handling. The questions for the room ask what they taught everyone else.
Retirement parties often stall after the speech and the cake. Coworkers know each other but not the family, the family doesn’t know the coworkers, and the retiree is pulled in every direction. Office-story questions, like the email someone accidentally sent or the word that got misheard in a meeting, bring both groups into the same laughter.
Then turn to the future. Asking what hobby they’ll go back to, or which language they’d learn overnight, treats retirement as a beginning rather than an ending, which is how most retirees want to hear it.
Good for
Tips
- Collect colleagues’ answers to the toast questions on cards for a keepsake book.
- Ask the retiree one future question in front of everyone; it changes the mood from goodbye to next.
- Keep office stories kind; the family is listening.
- Seat coworkers and family together for the story round.
- Don’t ask about money or pensions. Ask about time.
Decks for this
Retirement party
Frequently asked questions
What questions should you ask someone at their retirement party?
Ask who taught them a work habit they still use, which hard situation they’re proud of handling, and what they’ll do with all their free time: the hobby they’ll go back to or the Saturday they’ve been waiting for.
How do you make a retirement party memorable?
Give it stories. A round of office memories, a toast round about what the retiree taught people, and one big question about what comes next make it feel personal rather than formal.
What should you write in a retirement card?
Something specific: a skill they taught you, a moment they handled well, or what you respect about the way they work. One real detail means more than “enjoy your retirement”.
Bring a better question to the table.
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