Mathematicians were taught to solve one of their most challenging problems this week: how not to be avoided at parties, writes Anna Fazackerley.

Rob Eastaway, an author of popular maths books, gave advice on how to wow a roomful of strangers at a careers conference organised by the Council for Mathematical Sciences on Wednesday.

Mr Eastaway warned that mathematicians were caught in a double bind on the party circuit: they often suffer from an image problem and many people they meet over a glass of wine will have had "maths anxiety" since their schooldays.

He gave a list of seven tactics to avoid social disgrace - some more dubious than others.

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The first tip was to start with an ice-breaker. "Do you know how long it takes to thaw a chicken?" was a chat-up line that had brought a friend of his much success, he said.

Other tactics included trying to be funny - although Mr Eastaway warned that a mathematical joke may not appeal to everyone - and showing other guests how mathematics can be used to answer questions about ordinary topics such as football.

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He told the audience that even the most maths-phobic person could be won round. "If they couldn't do their nine times table at school - show them how," he explained.

But Mr Eastaway also offered a fallback plan: "Lie. Don't admit to knowing anything to do with maths."

He added: "This won't come naturally to mathematicians - they like logic and truth."

Mathematician Heather Tewkesbury told The Times Higher that she coped perfectly well with parties, but admitted: "I wouldn't tend to go into a conversation at a party saying I'm a mathematician. I just don't think that particularly helps."

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Dr Tewkesbury works for the Smith Institute, an organisation that aims to encourage industry to make use of maths. Often this is an uphill struggle.

She said: "A lot of people have either had a bad experience at school or just haven't been inspired by maths. But you have to show them something unusual that captures their imagination."

The unusual is something Dr Tewkesbury has a talent for. Her PhD involved modelling heat transfer in chocolate, and on joining the Smith Institute she helped to supervise the production of Chewitts sweets.