I hosted Bolivia’s first-ever 2-hour Cocktail Party… Here’s how it went.

It was 9:49PM. Everyone was laughing, having a good time all around. As we huddled around for this awesome group photo, I was amazed at how a group of strangers were now sharing an awesome time together. But, how did it start?

Let’s go back to a few weeks before: October 1st. I had just hopped off a zoom call hosted by AcceptGO from their career acceleration program. We created a WhatsApp group which I soon realized would be forgotten a few weeks if not days after the event. On the other hand, I had been trying to meet new people and make new friends for the past year or so. After all, the best way to spend your 20s is with interesting people. But at the gym, networking events, even at my own office, I found it difficult to find an “excuse” to meet these people.

Then, it hit me like a wet sock on a cold December morning (meaning unexpectedly, or well, I don’t know how many of you get hit by wet socks in December). The My First Million podcast brought on Nick Gray. He explained how his 2-hour cocktail parties were the way he got to meet tons of new, fun, interesting people in a replicable and fool-proof way. Why? Well because, if you happen upon an interesting individual, instead of having nothing to say you can start the conversation with “Hi, I’m (you name), nice to meet you. I’m throwing a party at my place in a couple weeks, would you like to come?”

This is WAY better than asking about the weather or making small talk and it instantly tips the scale to your favor because you just gave the person something. Yet, I wondered if this would work in Bolivia, given Latin America is culturally pretty different to the US. Given none of us (the people in the WhatsApp group) really knew each other, it was the perfect opportunity to run a pilot and see if the book’s formula worked here.

Tuesday, October 8th was the official party date (sorry Nick, I know you said 3 weeks but in all honesty I was too excited to wait that long). Invitations were sent to some people from the WhatsApp group, some friends, and a few acquaintances that I wanted to get to know better but just hadn’t figured out how to up until now. They were personalized and looked something like this:

By Sunday, more than 10 people had RSVP’d, I bought the groceries for the party, and the only thing I was missing were some halloween decorations and the oh-so-very-essential harmonica. Fast forward to Tuesday morning. I sent out the reminder with the time and place and a little map with pictures. (Again, sorry Nick! I skipped the bios for this first run).

As soon as a few people arrived, we did the first icebreaker where everyone had to say their name, what they did for work or hobby, and one of their favorite thighs to have for breakfast. Then, the “unstructured” part of the event allowed people to approach others and use what they had just learned from that person as a conversation starter.

When most of the guests arrived, we did this a second time along with a few icebreakers. Some of the guests themselves pitched and it really loosened everyone up. By 10:05, everyone had left and Bolivia’s first-ever 2-hour cocktail party was officially over.

Here are some highlights for the event:

• A civil engineer who loves to tidy spaces and discovered she could make a business out of this hobby.
• There’s a rule that allows you to stay home when it rains heavily in Santa Cruz because of flooding.
• A guest worked with La Paz’s local government to allow for ride-sharing apps to exist and created the first ride-sharing service in Bolivia herself.

Long story short… the party was a raging success. It’s really quite amazing how social gatherings like this one can create friendships, partnerships, and a sense of belonging amongst the people who attend them. Fundamentally, we human beings are social by nature and in this highly individualized, lonely digital era we live in (don’t even get me started on Japan’s Hikikomori), genuine human interaction is greatly valued. This is by far the best way for anyone to meet and connect with awesome people.

What do you think? Would you try to host your own 2-hour cocktail party?

Want to attend my next party?

If you’re in La Paz, Cochabamba, or Santa Cruz, leave a like and comment down below or DM me, or subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll let you know when I’m hosting a party in your area.