This link has been bookmarked by 6 people . It was first bookmarked on 31 Jul 2008, by FruFru FourOne.
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31 Jul 08
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The whole jumping-into-a-conversation thing has never worked for me - I always feel like I'm a stranger crashing a private party.
Instead, I try to get myself acquainted with a less active person in the group and then merge into the larger group. The larger group is then much more accepting of you because you've got an "in" with someone who's already part of the main conversation.
Directions
1. Casually approach the group and discreetly introduce yourself to the person closest to you without drawing too much attention. Use a lower voice than the rest of the group. Do this without pulling the person out of the main group. If there's a gap in the group, place yourself there otherwise stand in a location where the other person doesn't have his/her back to the main group.
2. Ask your new acquaintance what the group is talking about.
2A. If you're familiar with the subject, chat with him/her for a few seconds and then merge your mini-conversation back into the whole. Mission accomplished!
2B. If you're not familiar with the subject, say you're not familiar with it but that it sounds interesting/lucrative/something a friend of yours would be into. Then mention something that you're interested in and could talk about.
3. The other person now has the opportunity to do 1 of 3 things: A) give you background on the main conversation, B) start up another topic for you and him/her to talk about, or C) talk about what you mentioned. Any option is a win-win
4. Continue your sidebar conversation for a bit while listening in on the main group. Join the main group with your sidebar topic or the main topic. -
NPR story about mingling from this thread.
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17 Aug 07
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