🌍 New Friends Meet Up 🌎

Hey everyone,
Welcome to our new Bristol get together. This is a great way to make new friends in a relaxed atmosphere where you can hear people talk.

We have chosen the Pitcher and Piano, as it’s a quiet venue on a weekday night and we can have a designated area upstairs.

For anyone who is new to the group, we understand that meeting new people can be daunting, so my top tip is to arrive at 19:30. There will be lots of other first timers there, and if you arrive on time (ish) we will be able to greet you and help you to settle in.

After the first 30 minutes, we will be 'off duty' and mixing and may not be available to greet you, but please do come and say hello.

Whether you are an introvert, extrovert or somewhere in the middle, this can work for you. All you have to do is overcome that first time fear of the unknown. We have all been there!

Anthony and I were once newbies to Meet up (a few years ago) ourselves, so we understand it can be a big step to take. We actually met through meet up and formed a great friendship, and we’ve made some amazing friends from attending and running events too.

We're trying a different format for the new year too. There will be another event on for the hour before this social; Anthony is going to lead a one hour workshop on the nature of trust. What is trust? How do we make ourselves more trustworthy? How do we deal with people we don't trust?

You can sign up here if you're interested:
https://www.meetup.com/know-yourself-grow-yourself-bristol-talks-workshops/events/297938538/

Anthony's Meet Up Tips:

Everyone is there to meet new people. That makes it amazingly easy to start a conversation.

If you are really nervous, plan to come for just 20 minutes. If you are enjoying it, you can stay, but if not, then you always planned to leave anyway.

Remember why you are there - to make 'real world' friends. While you are mingling, ask yourself "would I be comfortable inviting this person round to my house for a coffee and a chat?". These evenings are fun and social events in themselves, but we are really there to find people to hang out with outside Meet Up.

Don't be put off by large numbers of attendees - in fact, the larger events mean that there is more chance of meeting someone you get on really well with. Plus, we usually get attendance of around 60-70% of those who say they will be there.

I tend to work on the idea that I might get on really well with about 1 in 50 people that I talk to. Expect to have to attend quite a few events before you can form a new circle of friends.

Look after other people - sometimes you will spot someone struggling in a conversation or looking at their phone. Be kind and try to include them.

Top Five Ways to Exit an Awkward Conversation:

"I'm going to get a drink"
"I haven't mingled enough, I am going to speak to some more people."
"I'm going to the loo"
"Can I introduce you to....."
"Excuse me, I need to Facetime my cat"

If you have any questions then feel free to message us 🙂

K and Anthony