Social Tools.

Two Dallasites Penned A Book On How To Improve Your Social Life. Of Course We Had Questions.

Jason Treu didn't know a soul when he moved to Dallas a few years ago. But, after befriending life coach and self-professed dating and relationship expert, Brent Smith, his social circle began to grow.

By his own admission, he now has an amazing social life, the maximum allowed amount of Facebook friends and invites to a dozen parties every single week. He also likes to joke that his friends call him “The Mayor of Dallas” because he seemingly knows everyone in town.

Earlier this year, he and Smith published a book titled Jump Start Your Social Life. The Amazon product description calls it “a man's guide to building an amazing social life in 30 days or less.”

And, to be sure, the book reads like a step-by-step self-help guide about quickly building new social circles.

Covered in its pages are subjects like preparing your mind to meet new people, building self confidence, how and where to meet new people, how to introduce yourself to strangers, the best ways to attend and host parties and how to create a winning social image.

While inspired by Treu's move to Dallas, though, the book really could have been written about any city in America.

The advice is general and effective enough to work anywhere.

Still, given these guys' local affiliations, we thought we'd hit them up and see if they could give us some more Dallas-specific versions of the advice from their book.

In chapter two, for instance, they write about opening one's mind to the fact that there are more places to meet people than you might realize.

By keeping this idea front of one's mind, they say, a person can expand their timeframe for meeting people from beyond just the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. to basically anytime one is awake and in public.

One of Treu's best friends, he quips in the book, he met in line at the grocery store.

So where are some good non-bar spots in Dallas for meeting people?

“Charity and non-profit events,” Treu says. “Here are some good organizations, and they have some very good events, and happy hours: Texas Young Professionals, Young Texans Against Cancer, Society of Young Philanthropists, Young Friends of Ronald McDonald, Lee Park Junior Conservancy, Think Ahead Group and Paws in the City. All the organizations I listed have good events, [are] very good organizations and [their] typical happy hours are $10 with a drink ticket or [with] discounted alcohol. Also, the Dallas Museum of Art has a junior associates group that is great. The symphony has a great event in early September, and it's part of their young professionals group, too. Tootsie's also has some good fashion events and other events frequently — Fashion Night Out in early September is good.”

Perhaps the most memorable anecdote from Treu's book involves building one's creativity and finding innovative ways to meet large numbers of people at once.

According to the guys' example, they stumbled upon a local brunch spot that offered $1 mimosas. They each spent $20 on drinks and proceeded to give them out to every person in the joint, introducing themselves in the process.

It's a principle that is brought up several times in the book.

So where in town might be some of the better places to attempt the “mimosa trick?”

“Most places have inexpensive drink options at brunch,” Treu says. “Fernando's has $1 bottomless mimosas, which are unlimited. Prime Bar has $1 champagne on Thursdays. The Dram has either $30 or $40 bottles of champagne, so you can serve five glasses pretty easily and pretty inexpensively. There are other places as well.”

Continuing on the subject of brunch, he adds that some of his favorite mid-morning dining spots include Nick & Sam's Grille, Del Frisco Grille and Fernando's.

These places, he says, “have the most scene.”

Treu also goes on to say that “Smoke (next to The Belmont Hotel) has amazing food, and probably the best all-around brunch.”

Similarly to the way that limiting the hours one is open to meeting people greatly reduces the number of opportunities one will have to make new acquaintances, the book also argues that going out during the week not only greatly increases one's opportunities.

Plus, as we too have learned, that's often cheaper to do, anyway.

According to Treu, there are lots of great places to increase one's social circle during the week.

“The Dram, Standard Pour, Katy Trail Ice House, Del Frisco Grille (at the bar), and Prime Bar [are all good spots],” Treu says. “The Ritz on Saturday night is good (they usually have a DJ). Dee Lincoln's Bubble Bar — I like that, too. The Quarter Bar is good every once in a while. For lounges, [I like] the Candleroom and Teddy's Room. Rio Room and Winston's can be good, too. For sports season, the Nodding Donkey gets better. Good wine places include Vino100, Times Ten Cellars in Lakewood, Two Corks & A Bottle and The Alcove. I'd also add that I have been going to Ku De Ta during the day on the weekends, and it has a great pool scene. But it's more challenging to get in unless you know someone.”

That last but sounds kind of tough if you're new to town, though.

Kinda undermines the whole point of this book, huh?