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My own set of tools to feel ok at social events when I'd rather stay home

My own set of tools to feel ok at social events when I'd rather stay home.
...
Let's be fair there are times when we'd rather stay home, yet, I made a
promise to attend a specific social event and it's in my nature to keep
my word. So, I go.
-
Arriving at the venue feels like on planet mars : zero familiar face.
✅ STEP 1 : I smile and head confidently to the refreshment table (generally the wine table).

✅ STEP 2 : I keep looking around, still no familiar face in sight.
At this stage, pretending to be busy with my phone is out of question.

✅ STEP 3 : I tell myself it's statistically impossible that within the
40 or so people already present, I could be the ONLY "free electron".
Since body language seldom lies, 4 meters away, I am spotting another undercover "free electron".

✅ STEP 4 : Smiling, I head confidently towards the person and ask : " May I ask, what brought you here ?"
With such aplomb, he/she is convinced I am the organizer of this event.

To sum up : All of us can use any of these tools :
1) smile 2) look for a person apparently in the same mind frame
3) ask a direct question about the reason to be here, deliberately
bypassing the meaningless small talk. The direct question, if asked
politely immediately opens up the field for a meaningful exchange; and
to me, this is what networking should be about.

These steps are a small part of my "Better Networking" workshop.

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