Originally Posted by
Renarde 
Hi all, I am considering going to my first AA meeting tomorrow. Can someone tell me what a closed meeting is? I have never been to one - do I have to go to one with a beginner designation/label? The beginner times do not work for me and I would hate to just skip it all together. Do I need to be prepared in any way? Will I have to talk? What do people talk about? Do people go around and say their names and that they are an alcoholic? I really have no idea how this works and would love a bit of an idea so I'm not totally overwhelmed if I go.
Hi Renarde! Congrats at deciding to try an AA meeting! Something to keep in mind is that all meetings are different, so take the time to try a few out to find some that you like
I go to one meeting that is "closed" and at the beginning of the meeting it states "This is a closed meeting and the only requirement is the desire to stop drinking"- You do not have to attend a beginner meeting prior to attending a closed meeting. Some meetings do go around the room having each person say their first name and the whole "i'm an alcoholic" bit. Some do not. You are never forced to talk although I have been to one where they did ask random participants in the meeting to share... and I simply stated that I was going to pass that night. You never have to share. Lots of people say that they want to pass and that's okay. You also do not need to prepare in any way.
Each meeting is different in regards to the exact topic- there are some discussion meetings where the topics vary, there are speaker meetings (I personally love these) where you listen to someone share their experiences and how they obtained sobriety, there are big book discussion meetings where you read a portion of the big book and then discuss what it means to you... as I said, they're all different.
Good luck and don't be nervous at all! It gets easier each time, trust me!