Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Networking 101: winning a crowd is easy!

It's easy to win over a crowd.  The crowd is fickle, simple, and easy to manipulate.  Social science and thousands of years of conditioning have trained us humans to be "social" and move like a herd.  Here's a few tips to try out at your next Networking event... they all work (for me):

  1. Be the one who asks the most questions!  (people like people that ask about them & listen).
  2. Be the one that "merges" groups of people/makes introductions (even to people you just met).
  3. Wear something flamboyant (a piece of flair)... it breaks the ice, and makes you memorable.
  4. Above all else, smile, have fun, and keep it light: nobody likes the serious one...   
    1. Tell a VERY SHORT story or two.
    2. Ask lots of questions.
    3. Listen to peoples responses, and use what they say to make connections for them (ideally AT the event).
  5. PASS OUT and COLLECT business cards with anyone and everyone you find even remotely interesting or interested.  Why not!  It's the point of networking right?
Enjoy!
Go, Network.
It's easy.

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