Skip the Small Talk at Long Live: Thursday, February 16, 7-9 pm

Submitted by aek67 t3_1134bnd in providence

I think this doesn't break any of the rules, but of course please feel free to delete this if it isn't in the spirit of the subreddit.

There's a Skip the Small Talk event on Thursday, which is basically a way to talk to strangers that isn't weird or awkward, and that hopefully leaves you feeling a little more like the world is a nice place to live in.

We use question prompts and a structure designed based in psychology research to help you *really* get to know the other people at the event. Every one I've attended has left me with a little bit of a different worldview, and with a lot more optimism about humanity. This page really explains it best (and is also where you can grab tickets): https://www.skipthesmalltalk.com/store/stst-at-long-live-beerworks-thursday-february-16-2023-

To be super clear about my affiliation with this, I started Skip the Small Talk in Boston, and after a lot of R.I. folks asked for this event, we brought it there where I now offer logistical support to the folks who host this. I also like to be aboveboard about where the money goes-- 100% of the ticket proceeds go back into hosting more of these events, so that's stuff like paying our facilitators (because we think mental health work like this, which involves our facilitators undergoing mental health and accessibility training, deserves to be compensated fairly), paying for recurring costs like our website and newsletter, etc. That said, if cost is ever a barrier to attending, please don't hesitate to reach out and I'll be happy to cover the cost of your ticket.

Hope to have some of y'all there!

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Comments

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zhendo87 t1_j8o6y4u wrote

I see on the calendar there are a number of online sessions scheduled for the remainder of the year, but I don't see any additional in-person dates for Providence. Do you plan on doing other sessions at Long Live? I don't think I'll be able to make it tomorrow, but would be interested in checking one of these out in the future!

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aek67 OP t1_j8o7tm8 wrote

Yes, we plan to do some more at Long Live! We just schedule them one at a time. If you want to stay in the loop for that, feel free to join our non-spammy newsletter here: www.tinyurl.com/ststnews

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Prota_Gonist t1_j8pc410 wrote

Do people actually show up to these? What's the age range? I've been to similar such events where nobody showed up, or everyone was in their early 20s and I was a decade older than everyone else there.

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aek67 OP t1_j8pd3a1 wrote

Ha, yep, these actually tend to sell out in advance— we have 35 folks on the guest list so far so you’d be in good company. The people who show up tend to be in their 20’s-30’s but people of all ages are enthusiastically welcome!

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allhailthehale t1_j8q0gys wrote

oh god, the idea of this is making me break out into hives.

So, it would probably be good for me is what I'm saying. Cheaper than therapy.

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aek67 OP t1_j8qenvs wrote

HA this is something I hear a lot, actually. In fact, a third-party researcher at Tufts asked to do a study on us as an intervention for loneliness, and she happened to find that the WORSE of a mood you were in when you showed up to the event, the BIGGER the mood boost you felt after the event. So I'd say your evaluation is empirically correct! :)

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