You might be planning to host a party or event or a birthday dinner and want to invite two or more friend groups together but the problem is that all these friends have different personalities or interests.
One group might be the extroverted type with “kalog” humor, the other shy and introvert, there’s the one who engages in deep conversations, and another with the “aircon” humor. The groups might have different interests like one in sports, another in reading, other in partying, or perhaps those into running or hiking, and some might be into traveling.
Point is these friend groups, whom you are all close with and whom you can easily interact with, can be hard to put together in one single room more so in one table. When these groups mingle together, it might be awkward for them!
It is best to celebrate birthdays or other special occasions with smaller groups over the course of a few days rather than putting everyone together in one night. However, if you are on a budget and don’t want your social energy to be constantly in use for days, you will choose mixing friend groups.
Here are 5 tips on how you can deal with inviting multiple personality friend groups.
1. Do Not Force Them To Socialize
For you, interacting with multiple individuals who have different personalities can be easy because you can easily change your way of speaking or manner of interacting. But for your friends who can only adjust for themselves after several meetings and not one night of socialization, it is awkward and hard and can feel overwhelming.
Let them socialize at their own pace. Always introduce them to each other but do not ever force them to keep each other company.
Avoid saying, “Friend Group A you should stick with Friend Group B the whole night because you have the closest personalities out of everyone!” That won’t work and will only make the atmosphere uncomfortable to stay in.
2. Inform Them Who Will Be Joining Beforehand
This is especially helpful for introverted friends who need a lot of time to prepare themselves with interaction and socialization. It would help them to prepare mentally and decide how to engage with different people.
This would also serve as reminders to extroverts to put a boundary with their jokes and consider others’ comfort levels.
Moreover, everyone who will be joining gets the chance to express their opinions on the mixing. Try to be very considerate of everyone’s feelings and do not get upset if one is unable to join because of how the situation would make them feel uncomfortable.
3. Facilitate Introductions
It would be rude not to introduce them to each other. But also, note that the bare minimum for introductions is, “Friend A, meet Friend B. Friend B this is Friend A.” This would only help them know their names but not have anything to talk about.
Additionally, do not assume they already know each other according to your stories.
Avoid saying, “Remember when I told you about that friend who… this is that friend!” because that would create a bad impression on the friend you are introducing to. It would seem that you are always talking about them and can put someone in an anxious situation of thinking about what your conversations are about.
4. Introduce Common Interests
Instead, introduce each friend group based on their interests. Assuming you know each friend group well, it will be best to also introduce common interests like movies, books, food, drinks, or activities they might enjoy.
You can introduce them by saying, “Hey, I remember us watching The Hunger Games before. This friend read the whole series and is a huge fan!”
Or you can also try saying, “We have been waking up at 5 AM everyday to train for this marathon next month. Which reminds me of the time you guys accompanied me to church every 4 AM for simbang gabi!” This introduction might not be necessarily the same but they are consistent with your personality which helps the two friend groups realize what role you each have in your respective lives.
5. Inform Your Friends How Your Personality Might Change When Interacting With Another
The truth is you will change the way you speak based on who you are talking to. Your interaction with friends from high school will be different from your orgmates in college or with your coworkers. Each of these friendships represent different stages in your life and they are bound to be different from each other.
Not because you are a common friend doesn’t mean the different friend groups would also like each other too. They are different and that is okay. But, to avoid any unpleasantries or shocking revelations, inform them about how your interaction can change depending on the person you are talking to to cater their personality.
Mixing friend groups is not an ideal hang out idea but you’d be surprised to know the results. It can work for your friend groups even if both have strong personalities or both are shy or it might not work. But it is important to note that it is worth the try.
