The secret hack of meeting new people at church

 I’m pretty decent at small talk.

When I can be bothered, after years of forcing myself to meet new people at the churches I worked for, I can make oodles of chit-chat.

But... everyone is worried about the most awkward part of meeting someone new.

Silence.

After you’ve exhausted all your queries and niceties, you’re just left with silence.

What do you do then?

For some... most even... their strategy is to avoid getting themselves into this situation in the first place.

Don’t meet new people.

Don’t extend your hand.

Don’t introduce yourself.

How about if I told you that there’s a hack to cure your welcoming troubles?

What if there was a secret for avoiding the awkward silence?

Now, this advice begins by still walking across the room and introducing yourself. That part’s unavoidable.

But, once you’ve met the newcomer and are a nice human being, then you’re equipped to employ my meeting hack.

It’s simple.

Find something out about the person - a job, a hobby, an age range, a family status - and then use this information to introduce them to someone else who has the same thing in common.

This works for four reasons.

First, it introduces the visitor to more people.

Second, it opens an easy conversation for the two people to make.

Third, it shows the newbie that they won’t stand out.

Finally, while you can and should stick around once your conversation pair becomes a triplet, you’re able to - relatively guilt free - excuse yourself and not leave the newcomer on their lonesome.