Put that iPhone away and mingle to save mankind

Related video: Mingling lessons

"Hello, nice to meet you. I have a question. What can be done to ensure mingling at parties? It's already under threat from mechanization. Well, gadgetization. Don't you think we need a Copenhagen summit for conversation; or a mingling G-20, perhaps known as M-20? For once a meeting of leaders, dubbed a talking shop, would be a success."

Hey, as questions go, it's better than, "Didn't I see you at a party last week?" - a standard opening line at much of the socializing that Christmas brings. Every year the same fears about mingling re-surface. "How will I approach people?" "How will I move on?" "Will I be trapped in the corner with the party bore, hearing all his professional gripes, affecting care about their family holiday, fearing the conversation will only end if one of us dies?"