Vent: I showed up to my first Phoenix mixer with 50 cards and zero clue how to work a room
I walked into a business mixer in Phoenix last Tuesday and stood by the snack table for 20 minutes because I did not know how to break into any of the groups. A guy named Rob from a print shop noticed me awkwardly holding my stack of cards and asked what I did, and we ended up talking for 15 minutes about how hard it is to find good local vendors. He introduced me to two other people before the night ended, and one of them emailed me Wednesday about a small design job. I still handed out way too many cards to people who did not want them, but that one real talk made the $25 entry fee worth it. Does anyone have a system for working a crowded room without feeling like you are bothering people?
My trick at those things is to look for someone standing alone near a wall or the bar, since they usually want someone to talk to just as much as you do. Last month I spent 30 minutes talking to a guy about his boat because neither of us knew anyone, and he turned out to be the one who ran the whole event. Have you tried skipping the groups and just finding the other nervous person in the room?