{"id":11004,"date":"2026-08-05T06:41:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T06:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=11004"},"modified":"2026-08-05T06:41:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T06:41:46","slug":"you-walk-into-a-room-of-strangers-everyones-talking-in-groups-instead-of-freezing-do-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=11004","title":{"rendered":"You walk into a room of strangers. Everyone\u2019s talking in groups. Instead of freezing, do this."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Even successful, confident people struggle with this social scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A successful, professional woman recently took to\u00a0LinkedIn\u00a0looking for advice on a scenario almost everyone can relate to: the dread and\u00a0awkwardness\u00a0of walking into a room full of strangers who all seem to know each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most daunting social scenarios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hallie Condon, a VP at Chili Piper, set the scene that\u2019s at once perfect nightmare fuel for introverts or even confident, outgoing extroverts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say you walk into a room. You might know one or two people but they are busy in active conversations. Most other people at this event are in small groups chatting,\u201d she writes. \u201cI\u2019m a grown woman with a successful career and walking into a room full of strangers already clustered up mid conversation still turns me into that kid standing alone in the middle school hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds that she\u2019s not socially anxious and, in most situations, is quite confident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can talk to anyone on Zoom, in chat, one-on-one. It\u2019s really just this. The room that is already in motion, where everyone already seems to know where they belong except me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone\u2019s been there, whether you naturally thrive making small talk with new faces or whether it fills you with terror. It could be all the parents milling about before the PTA meeting, the cocktail hour at a business conference, or the neighborhood gathering that started with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s already difficult to confidently introduce yourself to new people, and it feels awkward joining a group that\u2019s already mid-stream in discussing something you\u2019re missing context for. Combining them both is truly an expert level task that even the most accomplished of us can find daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of us wind up standing there pretending to look at something important on our phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"people<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What to do instead of freezing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not one to be discouraged, Condon confessed she was determined to master this specific and mildly terrifying social situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is something I\u2019ve recently decided to work on,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She figured she\u2019d start by soliciting free advice from her followers and other professionals on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone teaches you how to hold a conversation. Nobody teaches you how to enter one,\u201d she writes. \u201cWhat do you actually do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of commenters answered the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of the snack table, if there is one, came up multiple times.<\/strong> \u201cHonestly, start at the food table. It\u2019s much easier to strike up a conversation with someone when you\u2019re both reaching for pretzels. And either way you\u2019ll get some snacks,\u201d one wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others advised using humor and vulnerability to win people over<\/strong>. \u201cGoing up to a small group and then being vulnerable. \u2018I just came in, didn\u2019t know anyone in the crowd. Instead of pretending to check important things on my phone, wanted to come up and say hi\u2019 works like wonders,\u201d someone suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re going to take the plunge and join a group, smile. <\/strong>\u201cThis is actually the advice therapists give to shy kids (I was one): smile. Because a lot of times, when we are anxious, we look closed off or unapproachable. That sends the opposite of \u2018come meet me\u2019 vibes. A smile is all it takes to transmit openness,\u201d one commenter added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observe people\u2019s body language. <\/strong>If you\u2019re a good people reader, you can tell which groups are engaged in deep discussion and which ones are bouncing light small talk back and forth. \u201cThe key is finding a group that seems more animated, smiling, stuff like that. You\u2019re usually joining a chat of people who also just met and were nervous about finding someone to talk to,\u201d someone wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts chime in with their best tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Social anxiety, or even anxiety arising from super challenging social situations, is something therapists, business leaders, and communications experts deal with a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what they have to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rescue someone else who\u2019s standing alone<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy favourite trick is to find the other person hovering near the edge of the room,\u201d Mirna Huhoja-Doczy of Bits of Brand told Upworthy. \u201cThey are usually just as grateful to be rescued, and suddenly neither of you has to pretend your phone has become deeply fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy Sheppard, former BBC news anchor and networking expert, advises, \u201cChange your mission: Don\u2019t walk in asking \u2018Who can help me?\u2019 Instead ask \u2018Who looks like they could do with someone to talk to?\u2019 The moment your attention shifts from yourself to helping someone else feel comfortable, your own anxiety begins to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen and react before joining in naturally<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Other experts advise people to not be afraid to stand somewhat awkwardly on the fringes of a group. Take the chance to listen, gain context about what the group is discussing, and then jump in once you truly have something to add.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAvoid forcing a cold opener. Stand at the edge of an open group\u2014a loose circle with a gap rather than a tight huddle. React to what\u2019s being said before you add to it. That\u2019s how you get invited in,\u201d says\u00a0Rod Mitchell, psychologist with\u00a0Emotions Therapy Calgary. He adds that the dread of anticipation is almost always worse than the discomfort once you start talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get there early<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If at all possible, try to arrive before the event is in full-swing. Fashionably late be damned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is much easier to help create a group than to break into one later,\u201d says Ivan Wanis Ruiz, communications expert and instructor at the\u00a0University of Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even better, Ruiz says, if you can volunteer at the event or party: Working the registration desk, manning the snack table, passing out name tags. It\u2019s an easy invitation to meet anyone and everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some social interactions come naturally to people. They just take a little outgoing energy and curiosity to engage. Others are far more challenging and require intentional effort: new strategies, techniques, even canned lines to get you started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no shame in asking for help navigating complex group dynamics, even for VPs or CEOs who should have all the confidence in the world. It\u2019s a sticking point well worth overcoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Condon astutely pointed out: \u201cI think trying to avoid that discomfort can make me miss out on real connections.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even successful, confident people struggle with this social scenario. A successful, professional woman recently took to\u00a0LinkedIn\u00a0looking for advice on a scenario almost everyone can relate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/761518941_3518157191676193_5724027387611568486_n.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11004"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11006,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004\/revisions\/11006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}