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Jinn · 04-23-2006, 04:54 PM

In my mind, music accounts for at LEAST 50% of the success of a party. And not even because it provokes some to dance--

In the absense of something like alcohol to make all the party-goers chat, there's an awful lot of silence. Even for extreme extroverts, having to talk constantly to avoid awkward silences is very tiring. Without music, you'll have the extroverts talking like crazy and trying to inspire the group, and the introverts sitting in silence. With some sort of background noise, any lull in the conversation is not an immediately awkward situation. The noise provides comfort to everyone, introvert or extrovert alike. I've seen more parties than I can count go from "oh shit man we just walked into a church" to naked debauchery and related activities simply be adding some music to quell the awkwardness. Likewise, I've seen parties with music and no booze fare much better than non musical parties with tons of booze. The latter turns into a drinking contest, with very little active conversation.

And yes, I think there's a lot to do with the status of the person when you're planning a party. The reason most single and young people go to parties is to meet NEW people, whereas the reason old or taken people go to parties to enjoy the company of those they already know. Meeting new people is a rather unnecessary task for most people once they've established a circle of friends, significant other, and life. If you truly want a larger party, single people are the most surefire way to do it.

Another big factor (for me, at least) to the sucess of the party is the seating/standing room. If 10 people come in and there's no chairs for those 10 people, they're not going to stand around long. They'll leave your party, which not only sucks for them and you, but it has a chilling effect on anyone who saw them leave. Give them places where they can sit and still talk / watch the more active people in the room.

The third factor for me is arrival time. Set it up so that your guests are all arriving within about an hour of each other, unless you're expecting quite a few (50+). For the people who arrive early, it's going to be awkward without anyone to talk to. For people to arrive late, they'll feel as if they're not part of the "crowd" because the early-comers are already into their games or whatever they happen to be doing. I've arrived many parties half way through and everyone is either way more drunk than I, or so involved in their activities that newcomers are nearly ignored.

04-23-2006, 04:54 PM	#21 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	In my mind, music accounts for at LEAST 50% of the success of a party. And not even because it provokes some to dance-- In the absense of something like alcohol to make all the party-goers chat, there's an awful lot of silence. Even for extreme extroverts, having to talk constantly to avoid awkward silences is very tiring. Without music, you'll have the extroverts talking like crazy and trying to inspire the group, and the introverts sitting in silence. With some sort of background noise, any lull in the conversation is not an immediately awkward situation. The noise provides comfort to everyone, introvert or extrovert alike. I've seen more parties than I can count go from "oh shit man we just walked into a church" to naked debauchery and related activities simply be adding some music to quell the awkwardness. Likewise, I've seen parties with music and no booze fare much better than non musical parties with tons of booze. The latter turns into a drinking contest, with very little active conversation. And yes, I think there's a lot to do with the status of the person when you're planning a party. The reason most single and young people go to parties is to meet NEW people, whereas the reason old or taken people go to parties to enjoy the company of those they already know. Meeting new people is a rather unnecessary task for most people once they've established a circle of friends, significant other, and life. If you truly want a larger party, single people are the most surefire way to do it. Another big factor (for me, at least) to the sucess of the party is the seating/standing room. If 10 people come in and there's no chairs for those 10 people, they're not going to stand around long. They'll leave your party, which not only sucks for them and you, but it has a chilling effect on anyone who saw them leave. Give them places where they can sit and still talk / watch the more active people in the room. The third factor for me is arrival time. Set it up so that your guests are all arriving within about an hour of each other, unless you're expecting quite a few (50+). For the people who arrive early, it's going to be awkward without anyone to talk to. For people to arrive late, they'll feel as if they're not part of the "crowd" because the early-comers are already into their games or whatever they happen to be doing. I've arrived many parties half way through and everyone is either way more drunk than I, or so involved in their activities that newcomers are nearly ignored. __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel