Some of your friends think you’ve gone off the deep end.

Some of your family think you may have joined a ballroom dancing cult. So inviting them to join you at Arthur Murray may not return the thankfulness parade you were expecting.

Here’s the problem: You love dancing. You want to share it. But the moment you start talking about it, people look at you like you just suggested they take up competitive yodeling.

So here are some ideas for bridging the gap from weirdo to thoughtful. From snake oil to great friend.

4 Dance Invitations That Separate The Thoughtful From The Weirdos

What Makes Someone A Weirdo When It Comes To A Dance Invitation?

Think of dancing as a language. You speak this language fluently. Your friends don’t.

If you speak “Dance”, instead of “Friend”, they’ll see you as a Weirdo. You’ll sound like that guy at the party who won’t stop talking about cryptocurrency or CrossFit.

What Makes A Dance Invitation Less Weird?

Switch off the “Dance” and speak their language. You have dance ability, and they may need that as well, but you can’t sound “Dancey” when you talk about it. The invitation needs to be about them, not about you.

Dance Invitation 1: Personal Outreach

Summary: Your dance lessons have delivered all sorts of great byproducts: Weight loss, Better Posture, New Friends, and Social Confidence. Personal Outreach focuses on the non-dancing results that your friends are looking for, instead of the dance skills that they aren’t.

How It Works: Your friend mentions they’re stressed at work. Instead of saying “You should take dance lessons!” – which sounds pushy – you share your own experience. “I was dealing with the same thing. Dancing has been my stress relief. Way better than sitting on the couch doom-scrolling.”

Bottom Line: Your friends can become your Arthur Murray guests if you focus on the non-dance benefits. Lead with what they need, not with what you love.

Important Fact: Your friends, co-workers, and family qualify for a special dance program if you refer them for dance lessons. This is called a “Guest Special” or “Guest Program.”

Dance Invitation 2: The Assistant Wedding Planner

Summary: You have friends that are getting married. Now might be a time when you ditch the safe wedding registry shopping list, and buy them a few wedding dance lessons.

How It Works: Think about it – they’re going to have a first dance whether they prepare for it or not. You can either give them a toaster they’ll forget about, or you can give them an experience that will be captured in photos and video forever. Which one sounds more thoughtful?

Bottom Line: Learning to dance helps couples connect with each other and is one of the only wedding planning activities that is stress relieving. Everything else on their list is adding stress. You’re offering an escape.

Important Fact: Most Arthur Murray locations will offer some type of incentive if your friends, family, or co-workers enroll on a Guest Special. So you’re helping them and yourself.

Dance Invitation 3: Working Conditions

Summary: Has learning how to dance given you some stress relief? Whether it is your boss, or your buddy – is there a person or two that would make the whole office rejoice if they were less stressed?

How It Works: Telling someone that they are stressed may only make them, you know, stressed. So, instead, tell them over coffee how stressed you used to be… and casually mention dancing and its anti-stress properties. Let them connect the dots.

The Key: Don’t prescribe. Describe. Share your story and let them ask questions. If they’re interested, they’ll pursue it. If they’re not, you haven’t made things awkward.

Bottom Line: Want to change your corporate identity? Learn to dance, and invite your workgroup, so you can make an impression on the dance floor, instead of the open bar, at the next corporate event.

Important Fact: In fact, the colleague who can dance at the company party becomes instantly memorable – for all the right reasons. You’re not just offering stress relief. You’re offering a social advantage.

Dance Invitation 4: The Bottom Rung

Summary: Set the bar low. Like really, really low. Don’t invite your friends to join the formation you’re doing, don’t invite them to borrow your dance costume, and don’t mention anything about the events you’re doing.

How It Works: Invite them in so that way, at the very least, they can check it out for themselves. If they like it, great. If they don’t, no big deal. Zero pressure. Zero expectations.

Why This Works: People resist commitment. They don’t resist curiosity. When you say “just come see what it’s about” instead of “you should totally sign up,” you remove the barrier. Let the experience do the selling.

Bottom Line: A Guest Program is a sample size, not the entire Arthur Murray meal you are currently working on.

Important Fact: The Arthur Murray staff understand that your guests are very special people. They will always treat them with the utmost care and professionalism. Whether they decide a guest program is for them, or not, your friends, family, and co-workers will always get the Arthur Murray experience.

The Language Translation Guide

Here’s a quick reference for translating your dance enthusiasm into language your friends will actually respond to:

Instead of: “You should learn to dance!”
Try: “I found this thing that’s been really good for stress. Way better than the gym.”

Instead of: “Come to my studio!”
Try: “If you’re ever curious, I could get you a guest pass to check it out.”

Instead of: “Dancing has changed my life!”
Try: “I’ve been doing this thing that’s actually kind of fun. Not what I expected.”

See the difference? The first column sounds like a sales pitch. The second column sounds like a friend sharing something they enjoy.

Final Thought

Learning to dance has changed you. Whether it was through the Tango or Foxtrot, exercise or self confidence: you are different. It is that difference that makes you passionate.

Your friends may never become the dancer that you are, but they could probably all use a few of the dance byproducts you’ve received. The confidence. The stress relief. The social skills. The habits that come with starting a new hobby.

Speak that language, and they’ll accept your thoughtful invitation.

Because here’s the truth – you’re not inviting them to dance. You’re inviting them to become a better version of themselves. The dancing is just the vehicle.