5 things I’ve learnt from running introvert meetups
I’ve been running introvert meetups for over two years now. For many this sounds like a bizarre concept, people who traditionally are believed to not enjoy socialising choose to meet up of their own free will. What happens?
Introverts do want to socialise
The stats speak for themselves. In Bristol City, UK alone we have nearly 4000 members on the www.meetup.com platform. I hold regular fortnightly meetups and we average around 50 attendees which books out most of the venue.
For comparison, many mid week meetups can sometimes struggle to get even 20 people showing up.
Introverts are committed
If you are familiar with meetup than you won’t be surprised by this, but if you aren’t, meetup is a platform where users can arrange social events for members to attend. They are usually free.
Most of the time the actual attendance compared to RSVP or sign up list is quite low. Typically around 20-40% so if 50 people sign up to an event, you would expect to see between 10-20 people there.
I’ve kept stats on the events for the introverts meetup and the typical attendance % is usually 70% or above. Sometimes upto 85%. This is very unusual but it at least suggests that introverts tend to follow through with signing up to events they are interested in.
The introverts who attend found it incredibly hard to come to their first event
This may be obvious to some, but it really is to emphasise that going to an event where you don’t know anyone IS really challenging for most introverts, at least the ones who attend these meetups. Many attendees thought multiple times about not attending at the last minute simply due to anxiety. Others started making their way to the event only to turn home for the overwhelming fear.
I’ve found that most eventually made it to their event and have since never looked back. It’s a real achievement just making it to your first event.
If you’ve ever dreamt of having a place where people understand you.... This became that place. We have had up to 80 introverts show up on a Tuesday mid weeknight and it's ironically more popular than some of the loud drinking meetup events I see being hosted all around the city.
Introverts do love company
The meetups have a very high retention rate. We have many returning attendees and they enjoy the vibe of having an environment full of respectful, like-minded individuals.
The most common activities during the meetups are:
Board games and other games in small groups
Meaningful discussion
Just chilling and having a quiet drink with other like-minded people.
Introverts love meaningful conversations
Conversations ARE genuinely meaningful, and people actually listen to your rather than just waiting for their turn to speak. Everyone is respected, and awkward silences are the default, and something we can laugh about without feeling inadequate. This really does work in real life.
Summary
If you’re an introvert and you’ve always wondered what it would be like to have an “Introvert” convention I can confirm it works, and it works really well.
Personally, it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me in my whole life.
I’ve made some of my best life long friends from it so if you do ever feel the urge to start a movement I highly recommend it!
Action steps
If you’re interested in starting a group, check out www.meetup.com and look out for introvert based events. Do commit and go to the events.
Check out this post on making friends so you know how to manage your energy levels efficiently http://introvertlevelup.com/2019/11/how-to-make-friends-as-an-introvert/
Alternatively check out this facebook group I created to hopefully push the concept of introvert meetups worldwide. https://www.facebook.com/groups/introvertsmeetup/
Make it easy
As always think about the situation before acting. Can you make your next actions easy, easy enough for you to actually execute them. Don’t dream up an ideal scenario in your head that you know deep down you will never follow through with.
