work the room

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

work the room (third-person singular simple present works the room, present participle working the room, simple past and past participle worked the room)

1. (idiomatic, of a host, hostess, or guest) To interact enthusiastically with the attendees at an event, by moving among them, greeting them, and engaging them in conversation.

   As a campaigning politician, he really knew how to shake hands, kiss babies, and work the room.

2. (idiomatic, of a performer or public speaker) To interact with one's audience, taking cues from its reactions and adapting one's performance or words to elicit the audience's attention and enthusiasm.
   • 1989 February 26, Alvin Klein, “Theatre: ‘Jerry's Girls,’ Revue, in East Windsor”, in New York Times, retrieved 3 July 2008:

     In show business parlance, Miss Hudson knows how to "work the room." Her comic turns are as rooted in vaudeville as her high-style wit is straight out of the smart supper club circuit.

• work the crowd, work the line, work the bar, work the audience