Never stand alone and do not linger in the company of familiar people unless you want to attract someone to join you in conversation.
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Answered by: Tatjana Divjak |
Before attending a reception, gathering, or event, carefully plan your appearance. For example, prepare interesting topics that will give you the opportunity to engage in conversation. |
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The number of people you can meet while doing your job is limited. Mostly, these are your colleagues and business partners or clients. Of course, for more quality contacts, you need to invest a little more time and effort, often without immediate benefit. Fortunately, there are those who will do part of the work for you. Namely, it is becoming increasingly common for groups of people to regularly meet to connect business activities so that they can help each other. This is precisely what the term ‘network of acquaintances’ or ‘network’ refers to. Therefore, if you want to expand your circle of people, you will first need to consider what you want to achieve with those acquaintances, inquire about which groups of people are active in the area where you can achieve success, make a plan for when, where, and what is happening, and take action, i.e., join an association, obtain an invitation to the event, and finally, join a friend with acquaintances from that circle of people. You can most often meet people who mean something in your industry by attending congresses, events where people from your profession or field gather, or ‘important people’, but also by participating in the work of associations and clubs that are organized specifically for that purpose. Of course, to get the most out of such events, it is not enough just to show up. It is important to know and adhere to certain rules of conduct, but also to be inventive and diligent, so that the time you dedicate to such gatherings does not pass only in entertainment. Those who are willing to do their homework before heading to a reception, gathering, or event will timely find out ‘who is who’ and whom it would be good to meet there. However, even more importantly, they will know how to approach such individuals and with what. Rule number one before going to a reception, gathering, or event is as follows: have an action plan. To start, it will help to inquire with the organizers about details related to the event – what the theme is and who the participants are. The next step will be to choose the people you want to meet and learn something about them. Prepare interesting topics that will give you the opportunity to engage in conversation in smaller groups, which are usually formed at such events. You want to make an impression, so it is smartest to prepare well for that event, as if, for example, you were going for a job interview. Rule number two is as follows: never stand alone and do not linger in the company of familiar people unless to attract someone and thus encourage them to join you in conversation or to join someone yourself. What other rules must you adhere to? Besides the usual ones, such as business attire rules, politeness in dealings, and rules of good behavior, it will be good to pay attention to how much and what you say, but also to learn to listen so that you can seize the opportunity to establish contact during a conversation about an interesting topic or in such an occasion. Of course, it will also be necessary to work on your own presentation. Regardless of whether you prepare several topics for conversation or practice a few interesting sentences that will attract the attention of others, it is important that you are ready to present yourself well to the participants of the gathering. Prepare a short speech – your ‘personal card’ (who you are, what you do, what your interests and/or achievements are). Ideally, you should be accompanied by someone who can introduce you to the attendees as they already know them. Be sure to pay attention to body language. Confidence and a smile are the formulas that always succeed. Have a business card with you and offer it to your conversation partner when you meet, asking for theirs in return. If they do not have one with them, ask them to send you their contact details via email. You can also respond to such an email, suggesting a meeting or continuing the topic you discussed at the event. After the event, write down the place and time when you met the person on all the business cards you received so that you can remember who the person is whose card you have. Of course, the quality of acquaintances is more important than the number of people you will meet, but over time, work on both. If you show interest in those you meet, as well as the topics being discussed, you will quickly gain experience in creating contacts and leveraging the opportunities that such contacts can bring to both parties. This is the beauty of business networking, that both parties benefit from the new acquaintance.
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I work in the service sector and I fully understand that the saying ‘It’s not what you know, but who you know!’ means a lot in my job. Can you suggest how I can meet ‘important people’ and what ‘networking’ actually means?
