Ways to Meet People: Round Robin

Speed Dating

One of the more common reasons people hope to meet others is for dating purposes. Even if you live in a large metropolitan area, you may find it tough to find and approach singles. Try your hand at a round of speed dating, where you meet a dozen or so potential suitors one after the other. Most speed dating rounds last anywhere from six to 15 minutes, giving you a chance to get to know a few eligible singles before narrowing down to one or two you'd like to see again. There are several alternative forms of speed dating, such as playing board games until a buzzer sounds or making cocktails together.

Working together in groups in an office environment can be enjoyable, if facilitated correctly. Gather your teams to brainstorm ideas. Split your group into groups A and B. Ask group A to jot down notes and ideas on a general topic, such as "logo color combinations," "conference workshop titles" or "customer appreciation menu items." Have the members of group B travel from note-taker to note-taker, round-robin style, to provide ideas that fall under the topic categories within a one- or two-minute time period.

Use a speakers meet-up group as a way to perfect your public speaking. Meetup.com is one of a few online sites where you can meet other interested speakers in your city to work on your delivery and develop topics. Use your session to move around among team members, conducting a five-minute session on a range of topics that you are given. For instance, you might sit down with the first person and debate a topic like "reasons to raise money to prevent animal cruelty," and then move on to another person to discuss "types of fad diets."

Large-scale trade shows and expositions are ways to not only meet people round-robin style, but also to connect with large numbers of people you may have an interest in meeting again. Create a few key points that you want to address with each of the exhibitors to maximize your time and make it around to everyone. If you're going to network for a job, plan to let each of the exhibitors know your key skills and leave behind your business card. If you're going for personal reasons, such as a fitness event, plan on meeting everyone with the intent of finding a new gym to join. Narrow your chat time to five minutes or less before moving on to the next exhibitor. Collect business cards to follow up later.