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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Party lameness...what to do?

Party lameness...
It's something we all fear, whether we're hosting or attending. Sometimes it can't be helped. Someone leaves the cake out in the rain; dancing on the ceiling goes horribly awry. You just go with it as best you can. But when the party is tanking because some guests are being antisocial or rude, we find it especially annoying.
The good thing is, it's usually fixable. Here are our best tricks for navigating choppy party waters.

The situation: AWWWkward or dull conversation.
The solution: Get out of it with a short-and-sweet "Excuse me. Nice talking to you." Making up an excuse could get you caught in a lie, and it leaves you open to a repeat bore-formance by the same person later. If you see them again, just smile and keep moving.

The situation: Making introductions.
The solution: If you know you're going to be introducing people, some pre-party prepwork will keep you from watching conversations spiral downhill. Before the party, come up with a few interesting facts about each person, as well as some topics they have in common with other guests. And be sure to know the names of spouses or dates so you're not left with the "Mike aaaaaand [awkward silence]" moment.

The situation: Rude questions or comments.
The solution: Give a funny response or a quick "No comment" and let it slide. Rudey McCreep was either clueless or trying to provoke you, and either way, an argument just isn't worth your time. And it's really not worth wrecking the party for the people around you. This one goes out to you, lady at a party who said to me, "Wow, your sweater is so ... green."

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