There are the obvious benefits attending an event with friends. You have your security blanket with you. Guaranteed conversational company and not having to worry about eating lunch all alone.
But there’s also a problem: you stick with them. And don’t end up meeting as many people as you could’ve because you already had company–you weren’t forced to talk to anyone.
Attending an event alone, however, is a whole different ball game. One that I’m still not accustomed to but I’m certainly trying. I can tell you, you try much harder to find that vital eye contact to get the go ahead to approach someone because you’re going to feel foolish standing all alone watching other people meet other people.
I find I get a lot more awkward when I don’t understand my place or reason for attending the event/conference. I’m now a lot more thoughtful about which events I attend. This may seem like common sense to you but its a recent revelation to me. I’m more cognoscente of the events not because of time or money reasons, simply because I want to make sure I have relevant and logical reasons for attending and being there.
It also makes it easier when I have a goal in mind for attending. It makes it easier for me to strike up conversation because I’m looking for something. I don’t mean to sound like a shark. Most of the time, I’m simply looking to meet different people and I want to have a conversation with you because I’d like to get to know you. But other times, let’s be real, sometimes you’re at an event for a very specific reason and you have to get your hustle on.
If it’s an event that really speaks to you, don’t worry about whether your friends are available or not. Register for it. And if you end up attending alone, remind yourself every second you’re there as to why you’re there.
Keep on keepin on.
