Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for providing meeting roster awareness for participants in a conference. An example system configured to practice this method can first identify participants in a conference, and retrieve, from a source external to the conference, information describing relationships between the participants. Then the system can compute, based on the information, a relationship graph assigning a relationship strength for at least two of the participants. The system provides an indication of the relationship strength to one of the participants, such as providing an indication of relationships of which other participants are not aware. Sources external to the conference can include a social network, a communication history, an organizational chart, a directory, or group membership, for example.