Hey there - I run a Bitcoin Meet-up in Madison, WI :)

and much like LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow (back in the 80's or 90's)....you don't have to take my word for it! You can verify it by looking up Bitcoin Meet-up Madison, WI.

Now to answer your questions.... 1 - Say Hi....or Howdy, Hey, Hello, What up....etc... 2 - Generally speaking I think your problem may be keeping people quiet vs. getting them talking....Bitcoiner's Have lots to say :) 3 - This kind of just comes naturally... 4 - I have been helping to keep this meet-up running for about 3 years now and I rarely have talking points (as I like to keep things flowing naturally about what other people want to talk about)(though now the others in the group have decided they want more of an agenda or talking points....this is totally not needed though 5 - as for don'ts.... Don't Shit-coin!!!

Remember this is simply my recollection of how the meet-ups we have been organizing have been going...We are not trying to drive numbers...We are not getting a kick-back from anyone - We don't ask for anyone to pay for anything we decide to provide to others - We ensure to ask everyone to provide input to the others and we keep it Bitcoin - Not to say peeps don't bring up altcoins, we just don't focus on them!

We talk about everything happening in the Bitcoin ecosystem and stay humble and stack sats!

If you are trying to drive attendance you will likely need a different model -