How Inner Circle Events and Tickets Work

Inner Circle events are open to members only. You buy tickets inside the app under Discover > Events, and you can add an extra ticket for a friend. If you cannot make it, the ticket is not refunded, but you can transfer it to another member. Inner Circle's terms also say you are entitled to a refund if Inner Circle cancels the event itself.

Membership comes first. Inner Circle says you need to be a member to buy a ticket, so there is no way to buy your way into an evening before you have been accepted.

Once you are in, open Discover and go to Events. That is where the events are listed and where you buy. If you want to bring someone, you can buy an extra ticket for a friend at the same time.

The extra ticket is worth a moment's thought before you tap buy.

Walking into a room full of strangers is harder than it sounds, and a friend makes the first ten minutes easier. The right friend talks to people, enjoys himself and does not need looking after. The wrong one stands at the bar with you all night. Two men talking only to each other look far less approachable than one man working the room.

A friend who is a woman can be an even better choice. A man who walks in with a woman who clearly likes his company looks socially trusted before he has said a word.

Inner Circle says tickets are not refunded when you cannot make it. What you can do is pass the ticket on.

Go to My tickets and choose Transfer tickets to send yours to another member. Only members can hold tickets, so the person you transfer to has to be on Inner Circle too. If you know early that your week has changed, transfer sooner rather than later, while other members are still making plans.

The no-refund rule covers a change in your plans. It does not cover Inner Circle calling the event off. Its terms say you are entitled to a refund if Inner Circle cancels, so keep your ticket details until the evening has actually taken place.

An event is a different kind of chance from the app. On the app, a woman decides about you from a few photos and a few lines. In a room, she decides from how you move, how you talk and how much fun you seem to be having.

That is a real advantage for a man whose photos undersell him. It is also practice for the part of dating no app can do for you, which is holding a good conversation with a woman standing in front of you. Women at an event built for singles expect to be spoken to, so they tend to be more open than women at a crowded bar.

The evening starts earlier than the door. A man who has spoken to nobody all day arrives stiff, and it takes him an hour to loosen up. Talk to people on the way: the barista, a colleague, the driver. By the time you walk in, the social part of your head is already awake.

Dress like the man in your best photos, not like a man in a costume. Something that fits well and that you are comfortable standing in for three hours beats anything new and stiff. Arrive while the room is still filling up. Walking into a half-full room is easier than walking into a packed one where every group has already formed.

Start talking early. The longer you stand at the edge of the room waiting for the right moment, the harder it gets. Say hello to the first people you end up next to, even if they are not the women you came for. Talking to anyone warms you up for talking to her.

Find a friendly group and let it become your base for the night. You can leave it and come back, and having somewhere to return to takes the pressure off every other conversation.

Bring energy into the room instead of waiting for approval from it. The man who is enjoying himself and making other people's evening better gets welcomed into most conversations. The man hovering at the edge of a group, hoping to be let in, rarely does.

If you like a woman, say so, and suggest seeing her again before the night ends. A plan made face to face is much stronger than a vague promise to talk later.

If you did not make a plan on the night, a message the next day still works, provided you swapped numbers or connected some other way. Mention something from your actual conversation and suggest a specific evening.

That message has an easy job. She already knows your face, your voice and how the two of you got on. A line that brings back a real moment from the room lands far better than a cold opener ever could, and it makes saying yes to a drink feel like the obvious next step.