Whenever I go to a party where I might not know too many people well, I get really nervous before the party.  Last weekend was no exception.

But even though I was nervous about arriving to the party before any of my close friends, I was looking forward to meeting and talking with new people.

As soon as I stepped through the front door, I knew it wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought.  I already knew most of the people standing in the living room.  I went up to one group, said “Hello,” and asked them how they were doing.  Even though I knew them, this initial interaction would have previously been a chore for me because I wouldn’t have known how to break into a group of people I didn’t know too well.

After briefly chatting, I ventured to the kitchen to see who else was at the party.  As tried to choose a drink, I mentioned to one guy who was doing the same how it was so hard to make a decision.  He helped me decide and, once I had my drink, I thanked him and walked away.  In order to keep the conversation going, I should have introduced myself, but thought of it after it was too late.

However, I did not make the same mistake with every other guy I spoke with at the party.  I began to introduce myself and then proceeded to ask them how he knew my coworker who was throwing the party, which led to longer conversation.

When I usually meet guys that I don’t know, I worry that I can’t keep the conversation going and that I am not being interesting enough.  However, I had no problem this night and even ended up number closing.