Being an Aussie, I've always found the natural way to break the ice at American social events is to walk up and to give out a simple "Gday" with my accent - you

Being an Aussie, I've always found the natural way to break the ice at American social events is to walk up and to give out a simple "Gday" with my accent - you guys always get a kick out of it. Combined with an offering of my hand for a handshake, it works for me. Think about what might work for you. Expanding on number 4 - Body language is important, if you want to give the idea that you're open to communication (for mingling) then people need to visually see that. One of the things I do is make sure I have some 'canned' conversations in my head before I approach someone. This helps me keep my confidence up, because I know that I at least have something interesting to talk about. Try and keep it contextually relevant and appropriate for the function you're at :)