Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

mix and mingle

I’m pretty good at dealing with people on a “task-oriented” basis. Got a question, got a project, got a reason to go up to someone and talk to them.

In social situations, though, I’m a disaster, fumbling for things to talk about or excuses to join a group without feeling like I’m intruding.

It’s not so bad at small gatherings of friends because I know everyone and already have a base of shared interests and history from which to draw conversation fodder, and I can just hang out and listen to the back-and-forth and not feel like an interloper.

Social situations outside my “circle,” though, are another matter entirely.

I went to a happy hour after work yesterday in honor of a departing coworker. I had my checklist: talk briefly with said coworker, and maybe offer my well-wishes to another soon-to-be-departing coworker. That done, though, I wasn’t sure what else to do. I knew most of the folks at the event from my day-to-day work-related interactions, but I’m bad at making chit-chat and everyone seemed engrossed in their own conversations. So, since I had impending dinner plans already, I downed the rest of my cider and left early.

Any tips from the peanut gallery on mixing and mingling? It’s definitely not my “thing,” but I know it’s something I have to get better at.