Give the whole table one prompt to answer in turn, like 'what are you constantly thinking about these days?' or 'if you really knew me, you'd know...'
The idea
A dinner with a little program feels special. Hand the table one prompt and have everyone go around and answer it, and the conversation has somewhere real to start. Pick something anyone can answer from their own life.
How to do it
Choose a prompt or two before people arrive.
Once everyone is seated, ask it and go around the table.
Example
For years, some friends of ours have run their dinner parties with everyone taking a turn on the high and low points of the past seven days, plus what's coming up that they can't wait for. At my own dinners, my favorite opener is "What is your least favorite condiment?"
Script
My favorite opening questions:
"What is your least favorite condiment?"
"What are you reading or watching?"
"What are you constantly thinking about these days?"
What's Your Least Favorite Condiment?: My favorite opener at a dinner. An odd, low-stakes question to start a table talking, followed by questions that go deeper.
The Jeffersonian Dinner: One table, one conversation, one topic: the whole group engages on a single theme, so a small dinner becomes one shared conversation.
Pop-Up Rules: Fill the vacuum of social norms at your gathering: say up front what you'll talk about, what's off the table and how the bill splits.
The 7:47 Dinner: Guests cook together on a precise clock, then each names someone they don't thank enough, and that gratitude opens the door to deeper talk.