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It would indeed defeat the purpose of going there. I have been to conferences before, but never alone. Usually, the person I went with was pretty social and I had no problems getting in touch with other people, through my colleague.

The worst case scenario doesn't sound too bad. I just don't want to come back without having spoken to anyone.. I would see that a bit as a failure, considering I'm going there to challenge myself.

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I support your plan of talking with people, and setting a goal for interaction is something others could also benefit from. Just a heads up: some people _really_ don't want to talk with anyone, some are busy, and some are just dicks. And that has nothing to do with your conversation skills or person.

I've been there, trying to hold a conversation with someone who's more interested in their iPhone. Sometimes it's OK to just cut your losses and find someone more interesting. (And no need for elaborate exits from conversations. A simple "oh look, free beer" will suffice.)

A tip I read somewhere: find two strangers talking to each other and see if you can enter their conversation. That way you'll help them out, and reduce your own workload by a third compared to talking to someone 1 on 1.

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