How do you meet someone in real life?

Many people want to meet someone naturally. The problem is: where? Everyday life easily becomes a routine with the same people. We go to work, exercise, meet friends we already know and go home again. Even when we meet someone who seems interesting, we rarely know if they’re single – or even interested in meeting someone. At the same time, dating apps have made our phones the obvious place to look for a partner. It’s convenient, but it also means that many encounters begin with a profile, a match and a chat instead of in real life. If you want to meet someone IRL, you need to do something quite concrete: Create more opportunities for new people to actually enter your life.

Sure, you might happen to meet someone at the supermarket. Or end up sitting next to the right person at a dinner.But you don’t have to wait for chance. If you want to increase your chances of meeting someone in real life, there are three things you can do:

• Step outside your usual circle.
  New people require new settings. Say yes to the dinner, try a course, join something you would normally have skipped or find an activity where you don’t already know everyone.
• Choose settings where talking feels natural.
  It’s much easier to start a conversation when you’re already doing something together. An activity gives you both a reason to be there and something to talk about.
• Do it more than once.
  The goal doesn’t have to be finding love at your next activity. Start by creating a life where you actually meet more people. The more real-life encounters you create, the greater the chance that one of them will lead somewhere.

There is, of course, no magical place where all the great singles are hiding. But there are settings that create better opportunities for new connections.

1. Through friends and acquaintances
   Dinners, birthdays, parties and your friends’ networks allow you to meet people who already have some connection to your social world.
2. Through interests and hobbies
   Exercise, clubs, courses, culture and other interests let you meet people while doing something you genuinely enjoy.
3. In recurring social settings
   When people meet more than once, there’s time to get to know each other without everything having to be decided during a first encounter.
4. At activities and events for singles
   This removes one of the biggest uncertainties of meeting someone in everyday life: you already know that the others are single and have chosen a setting where meeting new people can happen.

Want to know which settings make it easiest to actually meet other singles? Read our guide on where to meet singles. Want more concrete ideas? Read 5 best ways to meet someone without dating apps.

Sitting across from a stranger on a first date can feel pretty intense. You’re expected to talk, figure out whether there’s chemistry – and somehow be yourself at the same time. When you do something together, the dynamic changes. You immediately have something to talk about. You get to see how the other person laughs, collaborates, reacts and interacts with others. Silence doesn’t have to feel awkward because your attention is also on what you’re doing. And perhaps most importantly: you get the chance to get to know each other before you have to decide whether it’s a date. That’s the idea behind activity dating – singles meeting through shared experiences instead of starting with a match.

That’s one of the trickiest things about meeting someone naturally. You might notice someone interesting at the gym, on a course, at a concert or at a dinner. But are they single? Do they want to meet someone? And is it even the right moment to start talking? Of course, you can ask. But it’s also one of the reasons why organised activities for singles can make things easier. Everyone arrives with the same basic premise: they’re single and open to meeting new people. Nothing more needs to be decided than that.

No. You don’t have to be the person who walks up to a stranger in a bar with the perfect opening line. In fact, an activity can be a great option if traditional mingling feels uncomfortable. When the group is already doing something together, conversations tend to happen more naturally. You can talk about the food you’re cooking, the game you’re trying to win, the wine you’re tasting or what just happened on the padel court. The activity becomes the icebreaker. And if you’re wondering whether you can really show up alone to a singles activity: yes. Many people do exactly that.

There’s a difference between meeting more people and meeting people who are actually single. You can take courses, start exercising or expand your social life and still have no idea who is available. That was one of the reasons we created MinglMe. With MinglMe, you choose an activity you actually want to do and meet other singles in a group. It could be anything from cooking, padel and wine tasting to running, boule and other experiences. You don’t have to match first. You don’t have to chat for weeks to find out whether you’re ever going to meet. Meet first. Then see what happens. See how MinglMe works or get started for free and discover current activities for singles.

Meeting someone IRL doesn’t mean you have to start hitting on strangers or go out to bars every weekend. Start simple. Do more of the things you enjoy – but do them in settings where you can also meet new people. Try something new. Say yes a little more often. Go on your own if no friend wants to join. And don’t expect every new encounter to become something. Because sometimes it really is that simple: Do what you like. Meet someone you like. Want to see where MinglMe is available and which cities are coming next? See MinglMe in Sweden.