Table for Six

Six people, six challenges, six perspectives.

As much as I love living in a city, it can be hard. I’m constantly surrounded by people — at Starbucks, on the CTA, in line at Trader Joe’s— but there are moments when I feel very much alone.

I recently stumbled across a post on reddit titled “The best tactic I found for meeting awesome people in my city.” That was something I certainly wanted to know. I’ve lived in Chicago for two-and-a-half years and have met some wonderful friends, but finding new ones isn’t always easy. I read on.

Basically, this guy moved to Austin with a handful of contacts. He asked one of them to be his co-host. The two hosts each invited one guest. Then, those two guests were asked to invite another guest. So that’s six. In his words:

“This way, the two hosts and the two initial invitees only know two other people at the dinner. They get to meet three new people.

The second-degree invitations will know only one person and get to meet four.

Best of all, you’re only meeting pre-vetted people. No weirdos, not some rando who’s trying to sell you on their social media consulting, only cool people.”

Brilliant, right? I thought so, and I immediately sought to copy OP, but with just a few changes: drinks instead of dinner and a few different table questions.

The very first “Table for Six” happened in January 2016 at Bar Siena in the West Loop. All day long, I was nervous, hoping that it wouldn’t be a flop. As it turned out, the night went swimmingly. I left feeling grateful for the chance to learn more about such special people.

We started by introducing ourselves — who we are, where we’re from, what we do — and then, the “workshop” part began. Each of us shared a challenge in our lives. One guest discussed work-related frustrations; another opened up about a trying family situation. All of us were vulnerable.

The table spent time encouraging each guest after he or she spoke. Between the six of us, we had plenty of life experiences to draw upon. The goal was to end the night with new friends and practical ideas to help us face whatever we’re struggling with. I think we nailed it.

If this sounds like a cool concept, go ahead and host your own “Table for Six.” It’s worth it — I promise.