At a networking night, the glass in your hand is a prop, and Larry treats it exactly that way. Holding a drink gives your hands something to do besides checking your phone, which SuperModel already rules out anyway. The trick is nursing one glass for the whole event instead of finishing three and losing the thread of every conversation.
Race week events like the F1 US Grand Prix in Austin run long, and the open bar is not the reason you showed up. A full glass held loosely says you are relaxed, an empty hand reaching for a fourth refill says something else entirely. Larry says the sharpest people in the room are usually holding the same drink an hour after they arrived.
Ice melts, glasses sweat, nobody is timing how much you actually drank, they are reading how composed you look holding it. This matters most at exactly the events where deals get made in hallway conversations, not in the scheduled meetings.
Water with lime in a rocks glass works as well as anything else if you would rather skip the alcohol entirely. What matters is that your hand looks occupied and your mind stays completely clear for whoever walks up next.
Set it down before a handshake, never hold both at once, and you have already solved the awkward juggle everyone else struggles with. The glass is furniture for the hand, the conversation is still the entire point of the night.
Details: See F1 US Grand Prix
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