1. Give Each Newcomer the Big Hand:
Your welcome is the Prime Meridian - the starting point from which to reckon the success of each party - so try to open the door yourself for each guest. Shake hands with the woman if she offers to, then with the man.
If you have a friend or family member for the door, instruct him in advance as to what to say. Their manner should be cordial but not familiar.
Then, be alert to greet the lastest guest personally, and to...
2. Set Them Into the Group
At a small party, make the time to take the newcomer by the hand and introduce them to everyone. At large informal parties, your porch is introduction enough for your friends, and it's a nuisance to everyone if you take each new guest on an introduction tour of the room. You must take them far enough to get them into the whirl. Either turn them over to someone they know in one of the groups and let that someone handle the local introductions, or introduce them to the first cluster of tongue-waggers you come to in a way that provides an opening gambit. Then, having heard the conversation begin, find the new guest a drink pronto and head for the next arrival.
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