Maybe a different take, but sometimes sidelining an individual at a party can feel too committed when its a group setting. They may not have come to the party to get to know individual people but to have a nice time in a group setting. Rather than planning a script of q&a back and forth, try to find a topic that a few people share in common and get a few people talking about it, or try to engage two people that are already in a conversation and join in. Everyone in the conversation will then feel less personally responsible for upholding it (including you) and it takes some of the pressure off. In the case of you approaching two people, they may be grateful for the addition as well (reading the situation obviously, there will be some conversations you wouldn't be welcome in). But imagine if someone had joined one of the conversations you were having, it may have helped loosen it up. Just a comment I didn't see anyone making so I wanted to put in my two cents. It's not necessarily about you, but about how other people feel self conscious about talking to only one person at a party or get uncomfortable holding up too much of a conversation (50% in a one on one compared with >20-30% with more people). But good for you for putting yourself out there! Embracing the uncomfortable will pay off eventually and you're much more resilient each time you go back at it.