About us
Are you LGBTQIA+ and in the Greater Boston area? Do you wish you could have more of the kinds of conversations you have late at night where for some reason, you feel safe talking about the things you actually care about?
Then you'll probably be into this Meetup. We host events called Skip the Small Talks where we use question prompts designed based in psychology research to help strangers have meaningful conversations with each other.
Not feeling like answering a particular question? No worries, we'll have plenty to choose from, like, "When are you the happiest?" and, "If you were going to become close friends with me, what would I need to know about you?" We'll give you ground rules to make sure you feel comfortable and safe sharing as much of yourself as possible while still feeling in complete control of how much you divulge.
Upcoming events
21
Millennial Speed-Dating (Monogamous)
Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA, US###PLEASE NOTE: Even if you RSVP on Meetup, you will need to grab a ticket here https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/millennial-speed-dating-monogamous-monday-november-2-2026 in order to attend### This event is cross-posted so Meetup RSVPs won't accurately reflect the actual number of attendees; typically there are around 30-40 people in attendance.
Want to get off your dating apps and meet someone in real life, but where you don’t have to find out that every cute person at the party is unavailable? Do you think that IRL speed dating is generally awkward and weird? So do we. That’s why we’re putting a Skip the Small Talk twist on dating.
We'll be offering "big talk" conversation prompts to get you started, and we'll have lots of structure to make sure that you actually talk to people and that it's not awkward.
There will be food and drinks for sale! A free drink is included in the ticket price.
Check-in for this event will begin around 6:45 pm.
Please do your best to arrive before 7:00 pm so we can begin as close to on time as possible. Please note that there is an arrival cutoff, meaning that if you are not in line to check in before 7:10 pm, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate and we will not be able to offer refunds.
Skip the Small Talk is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone. Check out our safety policy here: Skip the Small Talk Safety Policy
Who Is This Event for?
You would probably have a good time at this event if all of the following are true of you:
- You are aged 30-45 (plus or minus a year or two is cool, too, and if you’re not in this age range, feel free to check out our other events).
- You are monogamous (polyamorous events are also often available— feel free to check out our other events!)
- You either feel a connection to the identity of “man” and you are interested in dating women, or you feel a connection to the identity of “woman” and you are interested in dating men. Gender nonconforming folks who feel connected to one of those genders in some way are absolutely welcome. (We also host other events to accommodate gender nonconforming folks who don’t feel a connection to the identity of “man” or “woman”).
If any of the above statements are NOT true of you, you might want to see if our other events are a better fit. We do our best to accommodate as many different demographics as possible given limited capacity for our speed-dating events, and we are always working to include more! Any suggestions for how we can be more inclusive? Please feel free to reach out to us at info@skipthesmalltalk.com.
This event is trans-inclusive. We do not tolerate transphobia at this or any of our events.
We can only accommodate a limited number of guests at this event, so please plan to grab a ticket as soon as you think you'd like to join us.
Ready to Skip the Small Talk With Us?
Grab a ticket since entry is on a first come first serve basis and we tend to sell out in advance for these-- once we are out of tickets, we will NOT be able to accommodate folks at the door.
Want to check out what else is going on at Aeronaut? Check out their full event calendar here. If you want to be the first to hear about our events before we sell out, feel free to join our mailing list at Skip the Small Talk Mailing List Sign-Up
###PLEASE NOTE: Even if you RSVP on Meetup, you will need to grab a ticket here https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/millennial-speed-dating-monogamous-monday-november-2-2026 in order to attend### This event is cross-posted so Meetup RSVPs won't accurately reflect the actual number of attendees; typically there are around 30-40 people in attendance.
7 attendees
Skip the Small Talk: Make Friends, Not Small Talk
Trident Booksellers & Cafe, 338 Newbury St, Boston, MA, US###PLEASE NOTE: Even if you RSVP on Meetup, you will need to grab a ticket here https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/skip-the-small-talk-night-at-trident-books-wednesday-november-4-2026 in order to attend### This event is cross-posted so Meetup RSVPs won't accurately reflect the actual number of attendees; typically there are around 30-40 people in attendance.
What's It Like?
We've all heard that making friends is hard, loneliness is an epidemic, and the internet is making us all forget how to be humans. So let’s ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING about it and talk to other human beings!
You’ll pair up with the other nice people who showed up, and you’ll switch off partners every so often (kinda like speed-dating, but without the speed and without the dating).
We'll have a fabulous host leading the whole shebang so it won't be awkward, and we'll give you question cards to guide conversation just a few notches deeper than you'd usually go so you don't accidentally talk about what you do for work six times in a row.
And don’t worry… the questions aren’t going to trick you into trauma-dumping and aren’t just variations on “If you could have dinner with anybody dead or alive, who would it be?”
They’re designed to actually help you feel connected to people, so they’re stuff like, “In what ways are you different from the person you were five years ago? In what ways are you the same?” And, “If you could give your 10-year-old-self one piece of advice (after stock tips and lottery numbers and that kind of stuff), what would it be?” And if you don’t vibe with any question for any reason, you can always just pick another one!
Feel free to come alone (most people do-- we promise we won't make it weird for you) or bring a friend!
There will be food and drinks for sale!
Check-in for this event will begin around 6:45 pm. Please do your best to arrive before 7:00 pm so we can begin as close to on time as possible.
Skip the Small Talk is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone. Check out our safety policy here: tinyurl.com/ststSafety
Please see our event page for more accessibility info.
We tend to sell out in advance in most of our cities, and it bums us out when we have to turn away people at the door, so if you’re interested, PLEASE grab a ticket as soon as you find a date that works for you!
Want to stay in the loop for future events?
Want to check out what else is going on at Trident Books? Check out their full event calendar here. If you want to be the first to hear about our events before we sell out, you can join our non-spammy mailing list here.
8 attendeesMillennial Speed-Dating at Park-9 Dog Bar (Monogamous): Friday, November 6, 2026
Park-9 Dog Bar, 48 Waters Ave #1, Everett, MA, US###PLEASE NOTE: Even if you RSVP on Meetup, you will need to grab a ticket here https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/millennial-speed-dating-at-park-9-dog-bar-monogamous-friday-november-6-2026 in order to attend### This event is cross-posted so Meetup RSVPs won't accurately reflect the actual number of attendees; typically there are around 30-40 people in attendance.
Want to get off your dating apps and meet someone in real life, but where you don’t have to find out that every cute person at the party is unavailable? Do you think that IRL speed dating is generally awkward and weird? So do we. That’s why we’re putting a Skip the Small Talk twist on dating.
We'll be offering "big talk" conversation prompts to get you started, and we'll have lots of structure to make sure that you actually talk to people and that it's not awkward.
There will be food and alcoholic as well as nonalcoholic drinks for sale!
Check-in for this event will begin around 6:45 pm.
Please do your best to arrive before 7:00 pm so we can begin as close to on time as possible. Please note that there is an arrival cutoff, meaning that if you are not in line to check in before 7:10 pm, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate and we will not be able to offer refunds.
Skip the Small Talk is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone. Check out our safety policy here: Skip the Small Talk Safety Policy
Who Is This Event for?
You would probably have a good time at this event if all of the following are true of you:
- You are aged 30-45 (plus or minus a year or two is cool, too, and if you’re not in this age range, feel free to check out our other events).
- You are monogamous (polyamorous events are also often available— feel free to check out our other events!)
- You either feel a connection to the identity of “man” and you are interested in dating women, or you feel a connection to the identity of “woman” and you are interested in dating men. Gender nonconforming folks who feel connected to one of those genders in some way are absolutely welcome. (We also host other events to accommodate gender nonconforming folks who don’t feel a connection to the identity of “man” or “woman”).
If any of the above statements are NOT true of you, you might want to see if our other events are a better fit. We do our best to accommodate as many different demographics as possible given limited capacity for our speed-dating events, and we are always working to include more! Any suggestions for how we can be more inclusive? Please feel free to reach out to us at info@skipthesmalltalk.com.
This event is trans-inclusive. We do not tolerate transphobia at this or any of our events.
We can only accommodate a limited number of guests at this event, so please plan to grab a ticket as soon as you think you'd like to join us.
Ready to Skip the Small Talk With Us?
Grab a ticket since entry is on a first come first serve basis and we tend to sell out in advance for these-- once we are out of tickets, we will NOT be able to accommodate folks at the door.
Want to check out what else is going on at Park-9? Check out their website here! If you want to be the first to hear about our events before we sell out, feel free to join our mailing list at Skip the Small Talk Mailing List Sign-Up
###PLEASE NOTE: Even if you RSVP on Meetup, you will need to grab a ticket here https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/millennial-speed-dating-at-park-9-dog-bar-monogamous-friday-november-6-2026 in order to attend### This event is cross-posted so Meetup RSVPs won't accurately reflect the actual number of attendees; typically there are around 30-40 people in attendance.
8 attendeesSkip the Small Talk: Make Friends, Not Small Talk
Castle Island Brewing - South Boston, 10 Old Colony Ave, Boston, MA, US###PLEASE NOTE: Even if you RSVP on Meetup, you will need to grab a ticket here https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/skip-the-small-talk-night-at-castle-island-brewing-south-boston-wednesday-november-11-2026 in order to attend### This event is cross-posted so Meetup RSVPs won't accurately reflect the actual number of attendees; typically there are around 30-40 people in attendance.
What's It Like?
Do you wish you could have more of the kinds of conversations you have late at night where for some reason, you feel safe talking about the things you actually care about?
Bring your friends (or come by yourself- most people do!) and spend your Wednesday night at an event where you know everyone else is there for the same reason.
We'll be offering 'big talk' conversational prompts on them to get you started, and we'll have lots of structure to make sure that you actually talk to people and that it's not awkward.
There will be food and drinks available for sale!
Check-in for this event will begin around 6:45 pm. Please do your best to arrive before 7:00 pm so we can begin as close to on time as possible.
Skip the Small Talk is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone. Check out our safety policy here: tinyurl.com/ststSafety
Please see our event page for more accessibility info.
Ready to Skip the Small Talk With Us?
Grab a ticket since entry is on a first come first serve basis and we tend to sell out in advance for these-- once we are out of tickets, we will NOT be able to accommodate folks at the door.
Want to check out what else is going on at Castle Island? Check out their full event calendar here. If you want to be the first to hear about our events before we sell out, feel free to join our mailing list at Skip the Small Talk Mailing List Sign-Up
9 attendees
Past events
211
