Everybody’s been to that party. The kind where people huddle together with the friends they came with, checking their phones, making the kind of small talk that leads nowhere. The host has done all the work, but it still feels flat. People aren’t connecting, conversations don’t flow, and by the end of the night, no one has made a single new friend.
Parties where people actually engage with one another and talk all night sound like a dream. And the solution to making it happen is simpler than you might think.
The key to successful parties is in the setup. Not the aesthetic details or the offerings at the buffet table. The actual environment and how it guides people to interact with each other.
How Party Setups Prevent Guests From Connecting
Parties are traditionally set up in a way that prevents connection without anyone realizing it. The set up generally involves most of the seating against the walls of a room, which causes guests to face outward. It creates a barrier to eye contact and starts conversations naturally by placing them directly in their path.
People will end up talking to whom they came with because turning around and approaching someone new for conversation means committing their whole body to the task of starting a dialogue.
Parties set up with one long buffet line for guests to wait in gives them something to do with their hands. The same goes for parties where there’s only one area with cocktail tables scattered around.
Another classic approach to setup is placing individual chairs around an area rather than grouping them. This encourages people to immediately separate into groups of familiar friends who have someone to talk to as they stand and search for a place where they feel comfortable.
People even avoid standing close to one another after they grab food from a buffet table because they’re not sure if it’s polite. They find their comfort zone and they remain there all night.
Party setups make connecting really awkward, especially if people stay in rooms that are too brightly lit or in too dark rooms. Rooms that are too bright can seem institutional. People will feel self-conscious and awkward standing there, however, when they know they have to talk to someone but can’t find a good way to do so. Rooms that are too dark prevent reading facial expressions which is critical for interaction between guests during the party.
Create Gathering Areas Within The Party Space
At the best parties, there are several spots in the space where small groups can gather and talk naturally as they mingle.
Instead of just an empty room, hosts should consider creating several areas within the party venue that serve the same function but feel different.
For instance, a conversational area with multiple seats arranged in a circle for group interactions. A standing area with a bar or food station where guests can pause without facing each other. And a quieter area for cooling down.
It sounds like a lot of work, but this is where planning makes a difference when working with a party rentals - Phoenix, AZ company.
Instead of just putting up decorations in the space or arranging them in a way that looks eye-catching, organizers should focus on arranging furniture and items within the space that guide traffic patterns and create areas where people can gather for certain reasons or purposes.
Cocktail tables can be scattered throughout a rented area. Instead of pushing couches against walls in areas where guests sit while attending parties, rental agencies should help organizers pull them into rooms. This creates a conversational pit that encourages connecting between the host’s acquaintances.
A couple of chairs should be placed across from couches before guests arrive. Suddenly there’s a place where people will feel invited to sit down and actually have conversations instead of just relaxing in their seats. This seemingly innocuous change makes guests see that there’s an area designated for talking within an environment where everything else was set up solely for sitting or resting.
Activities Help Guests Break The Ice (Without Being Forced)
No one wants to play icebreakers at an adult party. But parties that want people to connect put small activities throughout the space and areas where guests stand or eat during the event.
These activities don’t have to be scheduled or forced upon individuals. Just having something for guests to do while mingling works wonders when creating an atmosphere ripe for connecting between those within it.
Yard games are perfect since they’re ongoing activities with separate groups of people participating individually or as teams. There’s no pressure on an organizer to ensure everyone plays these games. They’re also simple enough that multiple guests can participate at once without waiting in line.
Outdoor parties should incorporate activities like cornhole or jumbo Jenga while indoor parties can simply have a basketball hoop situated within specific areas that people could line up or congregate while waiting on one another.
The act of casually playing these games works as an “excuse” for people not connecting even though it feels normal to do so. Guests at these games tend to talk more than focus on winning anyway.
Food also comes into play when helping people connect effortlessly within an event space. Food stations encourage interaction between those taking food from the stations. Instead of one big buffet table filled with food, food stations can be incorporated into these spaces where guests need to build their tacos or other meals from different components placed on offer.
These stations create an excellent way for groups to interact within these event spaces as they can build both soft and hard tacos. They give one another ideas on how to make these meals taste even better as they finish making them before attempting to eat them as they stand inside the venue among old friends they haven’t seen in years.
Food doesn’t have to be lavishly provided within these environments either. An ice cream station offers great opportunities for connecting between multiple guests as they prepare sundae-style offerings as long as hosts organize delicious toppings and plenty of options when it comes to ice cream flavors.
In these cases, parties needing guests to connect should encourage guests to place their ice creams inside cups instead of bowls. Placing ice cream cups at various locations means that interactions between complete strangers looking for toppings will occur seamlessly without anyone feeling forced into participating or connecting with someone who tries talking but is horrible at starting conversations.
Arrange An Environment That Flows
Parties are filled with energy curves and that needs managing through arranging certain activities and setups during particular times within party environments.
People who attend parties early on need moving around inside these spaces easily. Setting up several drink stations works wonders during this time since it encourages guests to walk around these environments and create opportunities for unexpected interactions between acquaintances from years past throughout these areas within these spaces.
As the party goes on and everyone becomes comfortable with one another after several drinks, the energy transforms towards deeper conversations rather than surface-level discussions centered on small talk and what each person has been up to lately.