Effective Networking: A Guide to Conversations That Open Doors

Are you ever expected to attend work social events and don't know how to approach and meet new people? If your bosses expect you to bring in results, a key question is: how do you start a conversation correctly that leads to:

• New people to do business with

• Happy clients who want to maintain their business

• New projects

• Better relationships

  
  

A very common mistake that hinders effective networking is bringing up personal topics to start a conversation.

The Anecdote That Teaches Us What Not to Say

Recently, at an event organized by a major company where clients, suppliers, and employees' families were invited, a very awkward situation arose. One of the company's managers wanted to start a conversation with the director's wife and began telling her that she had the perfect recipe for her to lose weight. She described the procedure without first asking if she was interested. The director's wife never said anything and discreetly left the group.

When she returned, the manager tried to amend her comment by adding that the recipe was not meant for her because she could tell she had already lost several pounds.

The Key: Listen to Understand, Not to Reply

You don't bring up personal topics at social events. It is crucial to learn how to ask the right questions and, above all, to know how to listen to other people. Only then can you have a good conversation and build genuine rapport. If you learn to listen, you can achieve very efficient communication and understand more about the other person, which will give you the key to what to talk about. Sensitive and personal topics should be kept in a drawer.

It's better to let the other person do the talking: you learn, you get to know more about them, and you make them feel important because you give value to their conversation. Try it and count how many new people you were able to meet just by asking questions and listening carefully.