Comments on: Mingling at holiday parties and/or art openings

By: liza myers

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:53:54 +0000

I used to tease my son when he was six or seven.
We had a little chant we would do when he was invited to birthday parties.
It was “I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go. DId you have fun? YEAH!”
That gave him courage to walk in the door with strangers. And 9.9 times out of ten he had a great time.
As for myself, I think I was a born schmoozer. I truly enjoy people, and it is (usually) a pleasure to meet new people at an opening or event. Having taught for years, I always say that I have years of experience at making a fool of myself. LOL! In a constructive way.
Lately it’s been much harder due to some personal events and I have been laying low. This is a great reminder of how important it is.
Thanks, Alyson.

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By: 3 Ways to Be a Rock Star in Your Art Community — Art Biz Blog

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:33:26 +0000

[…] up at art openings, lectures, and […]

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By: JD

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:17:46 +0000

Great advice I will have to try. I am a bit of a recluse individual, and this is something that I will have to put some effort in to do. Even though I know that it is good for business, I have always told myself that I am not missing that much to make myself feel better about my lack of event attendance.

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By: What I learned from the Winter Light Auction « Growing Unique- an Artist’s Journey

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:57:25 +0000

[…] in time, Alyson Stanfield, posted Mingling at holiday parties and/or art openings, which is full of good advice on how to get through such occasions. I found myself […]

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By: Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:00:55 +0000

This is one of the hardest things for me to do. I realized looking back at my time overseas, it was always easier for me to make friends when I was completely outside of my comfort zone. I made more friends when I went overseas and had no definable home to go back to and hole up in. I just tried to bring that to my networking life.
I still have trouble getting myself to do this, but I’ve a lot of luck meeting people at the Creative House of Lancaster which is a creative networking group that encourages you to talk with at least one person new at each meeting and event. That is a totally doable goal and completely nonthreatening. I try to approach other events this way too. It’s easier to think about meeting one person than staring at a room full of people who are strangers and wondering where you fit in.

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By: Patricia C Vener

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:08:05 +0000

Well… I don’t yet. On the other hand, I am doing better than when I was younger and I could not be in a room if there were more than four people (including me!) except, interestingly, when I was on stage or meeting the audience after a performance.

At the moment I have not taken the step to seek out any openings (and I don’t know any artists having a party or opening in my area). I really, really hate mingling when I’m scared but I know I am going to have to confront this sometime down the road.

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By: Angeline-Marie Martinez

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:45:35 +0000

THANK YOU – Besides driving distances, this stops me, too.

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By: Patricia(S)

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:13:09 +0000

I managed my first holiday event last weekend, and to top it off I had to go alone. I’m an introvert and would really rather have been at home on the couch. I chose to fake it, to pretend all the people there were already my friends. It was also helpful to understand that everyone there was probably feeling the same way I was. Believing that made conversation go easily, and as a result I had quite an enjoyable time.
Playing mental dress up has helped me on many occasions.

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By: Sari Grove

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:59:29 +0000

My new thing is walking to parties…By the time I get there the adrenalin rush has put me in a good mood…being happy is like a magnet at a parties…

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