Make Friends, Not Small Talk
Meet some new people. Talk about something besides work. Find out you like someone you might never have talked to otherwise.
It's the best way to make new friends in 20+ cities and online.
As seen in:
"Making friends is hard"
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.
We're totally here for that discourse, but how about actually *doing* something about it?
We host IRL events for people in their 20's-40's to get offline and actually meet new people.
But it's crazy-awkward to just introduce yourself to a full stranger and hope for the best. So we designed a whole event for meeting new people that's guided by a ridiculously friendly and welcoming host. You use Skip the Small Talk question cards that are there to help you *actually* get to know people (and so you don't accidentally just talk about your job six times in a row.) People keep telling us we're the best way to make new friends (and, in some cities, the best way to date!), and we try to be humble, but honestly, we kinda see why.We did some homework for this.
There’s a whole bunch of psychology research about what helps people feel closer to each other, and we’re pretty nerdy about it. That research goes into the questions we pick and how we run the events. You don’t need to study anything. Please just come hang out.
We’re all about accessibility.
It just sucks going somewhere you don’t feel welcome. While there’s obviously no such thing as a perfectly accessible space, we do a pretty damn good job of working with a wide variety of needs. And not to brag, but our safety policy is pretty fantastic.
Going out or staying in?
We host events in 20+ cities at breweries, bookstores, cafés, and other places worth putting pants on for. There are online events, too, if you’d rather meet people from your couch.
“But would it be weird to come alone?”
Nope! Most people do. We promise not to make it weird!
Bring a friend if you want, but really, this is one of the very few events where it actually is totally normal to come by yourself.
Oh, and unless the title says “speed-dating,” it’s totally platonic. Nobody’s secretly setting you up.
Okay, but did people actually like it?
“I laughed so hard with someone whose name I’d learned maybe ten minutes earlier. Every time we had to switch partners I was like wait no we’re not done!! Honestly one of the most fun nights I’ve had in years. If you’re on the fence about going to this, just stop overthinking it like I did (I waited like three months before actually getting a ticket) and just go.”
Your friends can skip the small talk, too.
Want to get past “what’s new?” “not much” with people you already know? Grab our question cards for your next hangout, or bring us in to host something for your whole group.
You’ve known them for years. Somehow, this never came up.
It’s shocking how you can know someone’s exact takeout order and have no idea what they were like as a kid or what they wish people understood about them.
Our conversation card deck gives you 100 questions to help you get into some of that.
Bring it to dinner, try it on a date, or open it with your roommate who you’ve mostly been discussing the dishwasher with lately.
Get the cardsGot a whole group you want us to meet?
Maybe you’re planning a team event and would love for people to talk about literally anything besides the project. Or maybe you’re welcoming new students who are glued to their phones and need a little help remembering how to talk to a stranger.
We can help.
Tell us who’s coming and what you’re hoping for, and we’ll plan and host the whole thing. You get to join in (or do something else entirely) instead of circulating all night asking with increasingly urgent desperation: “Sooo, have you two met?”
Tell us what you’re planning
Ready to Skip the Small Talk?
Get out of your comfort zone by opening up and connecting with strangers (or friends if you bring 'em)!
Find Events
informed by research
We use techniques grounded in psychological research to offer people the tools they need to interact more genuinely and feel more connected to each other in their daily lives. We've read the white papers, sorted through the abstracts, and connected the dots to create social interaction activities that actually work. And guess what? We promise it won't be awkward.
Ticketed eventS
Our Skip the Small Talks (or STSTs) are a great place to get out of your comfort zone by opening up and connecting with strangers (or friends if you bring 'em)! We currently host in-person events in major cities in the United States and Europe as well as online events that you can attend from anywhere.
Custom workshops for teams and communities
We design research-based, one-of-a-kind events that maximize for almost any social goal, from learning how to cooperate and listen, to building rapport in a team, to helping individuals feel more socially connected in their everyday lives.
Get our Conversation Card deck!
Deepen existing bonds, start new friendships, and discuss the things that really matter most with this conversation card deck providing a fun and easy way to skip the small talk. The card deck features some of our favorite questions that have been used at Skip the Small Talks for years as well as new, never-before-seen questions that we think are awesome!
We have a lot of thoughts about making friends.
Possibly too many. There’s a blog.
We write about things like how to join a conversation when you came alone, why you’re still thinking about something you said three days ago, and how “we should hang out sometime” can become an actual plan.
Some psychology, some very familiar social dilemmas, and things you can actually try.
there are some common pitfalls of group dynamics. it all boils down to people being a little too fixated on what they’re used to, and often to one specific person, that thinking about the health of the group as a whole. we discuss some simple antidotes to these issues!