🗓️ Idiom: Work the Room (v)
💬 Meaning
- To move around a social or professional gathering, actively engaging with many people.
- Used especially when trying to build relationships, make connections, or leave a good impression.
🧠 Example Sentences
- She worked the room like a pro, introducing herself to every potential client.
- If you’re going to succeed at networking events, you have to learn how to work the room.
- The candidate spent the first half hour working the room before sitting down for dinner.
🏛️ Origin
Its origin lies in late 19th and early 20th-century politics and sales. Politicians and salespeople learned to efficiently “work” (manoeuvre through) crowds to connect with as many individuals as possible for votes, donations, or sales.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
He grabbed a drink and immediately started to __________ the room, shaking hands and chatting with guests.
Answer
work
2. Choose the correct meaning of “work the room”:
A) Rearrange the furniture at a venue
B) Greet and engage with many people at a gathering
C) Clean up after a meeting
Answer
B) Greet and engage with many people at a gathering
3. Rewrite the sentence using: Work the Room.
“She introduced herself to everyone at the event and made some useful contacts.”
Answer
She worked the room and made some useful contacts.
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
