Vanessa Van Edwards says standing near the entrance or food area kills conversation because people are distracted. Instead, position yourself where guests exit the bar with their drink in hand. From there, simple openers like "What brings you here?" turn you into the social catalyst.
The worst place to stand at a party is right near the entrance where people are putting away their coats or just getting off their shoes. They cannot make deep conversation because they're needing to do their things, right? Like get their drink, get their food, go to the bathroom. So never stand— I call that like the entry zone. Like never stand there. I also think a big mistake is to stand near the food. The problem is, is when people are near the food, they're focusing on their food, and also you're going to have a conversation mid-bite, which never works well. People want to sit down, so never stand there. My favorite place to stand is right as people exit the bar. So wherever the drinks are set up, it's that moment where someone turns around and faces the room with drink in hand that you are a social savior. If you are standing right there, you have a very easy opener. So What brings you here? How's the drink? Is the wine good? That moment is awkward for everyone. It doesn't matter how extroverted you are. If you are in a room where you don't know who you're going to talk to next and you just had your filled drink, let me tell you, there's panic. They're like, who, who, who, who, who? Let it be you. That's my favorite place to stand, right as people exit the bar.
