The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: Summary and Review
The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: How to build big relationships with small gatherings by Nick Gray
Review
Using the tips in this book, I hosted the easiest party I had ever thrown in my life. The book even includes exact scripts for the invites and what to say to guests; I could simply copy/paste everything to execute the party.
Here are some photos from the parties I hosted based on this book:
Podcast
Nick reached out to me about his book and I recorded an interview with him on the Friendship Futurism podcast! To test out Nick’s ideas I hosted a party at my place with my friends using Nick’s formula, and it went really well! You’ll hear about it in detail during the conversation, give it a listen here:
Notes
The podcast episode above has most of the top things I learned from the book, but some additional notes:
- Always use name tags.
- It’s important to get your core group to RSVP before sending the invite out to acquaintances you don’t know, for social proof.
- It’s also important to give people who don’t know anyone else an “in” to meet others at the party, for example by writing guest bios, or else they may feel excluded.
- You should try to assign people a job during the party; e.g., help greet folks at the door, serve drinks, or manage timekeeping. Not only does it spread out the work, it helps you build relationships with your co-hosts.
- Always having the “next party” on your schedule gives you a natural way to bring new people you meet into your friend circle:
When I meet someone new, I ask myself: do I want to continue the conversation or see them again? If the answer is yes, then they would make a great guest for one of my parties.