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[quote=Anonymous]I am shy AND friendly, with a diagnosed anxiety disorder. So I never work the room, but I try to find someone I know, and chat with them, and while they chat with their friends, I talk to their friends too, until after years at the same place, I can chat with lots of people, because we've been introduced and I recognize them. All friends of friends of friends. And when I say friends, they're really just friendly acquaintances I see solely at school functions.

When I was in a public-facing role, I did my best to engage complete strangers, but it was nerve-wracking. What helped was having a speech and a work goal, smiling and being entirely non-threatening and friendly. It made people smile back and not move away immediately. They'd engage for a few minutes, and some even agreed to donate or otherwise get involved.

But I find I cannot work a room when it's just for non-professional small talk: it's not for me. However the aforementioned "sidling up to people I recognize" has been a successful method for me! I often don't remember their names, which is why I'm a big fan of name tags, but I always remember their faces. I ask after their kids, their vacation plans, or we talk about current events (politics are tricky) or the reason why we're having the school function, etc... 
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