Lectures on Tap-How & Why to Talk to Strangers: The Science of Connection

📍 Location: Exact address given in confirmation email

🧠 Lecture: "How & Why to Talk to Strangers: The Science of Connection"

🎤 Speaker: Professor Juliana Schroeder

Life is full of “approach or avoid” dilemmas. Should you make eye contact with the stranger sitting across from you? Reach out to a distant friend or family member? And if you do, how deep should you go, how long should you talk, and what’s the best way to connect?

In this engaging lecture, Professor Juliana Schroeder, a leading researcher on social connection and decision-making, unpacks the science behind why reaching out can feel scary—and why our fears are often misplaced. Drawing on cutting-edge psychological research, she shows how people routinely overestimate social risks and underestimate the rewards of connection, causing them to shrink rather than expand their social worlds.

Professor Schroeder will offer evidence-based insights on how to build more “social courage,” make better choices about when and how to connect, and recalibrate your social instincts so you can create richer, more fulfilling relationships in everyday life.

Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌

Agenda

6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key.

6:55 PM – Host introduction

7:00 PM – Lecture begins

7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

8:30 PM – Wrap up.