I’ve just received the excellent Will Kintish newsletter. It talks about networking at events. Referring rather harshly to ‘parking and dumping’ – how you negotiate your way round a (hopefully crowded) room this Christmas – it suggests better ways to do this.
“Bob, I’ve just seen Charles over there & I haven’t seen him for ages, goodbye” makes him sound like the weakest link – ‘dumping’ as Will refers to it as (and I’m sure it really is Will writing the newsletter, but that’s another topic). But ‘parking’ is much better. Find out early in any conversation with them who they know there and then it is easier to move on. – unless you need a pitstop, food or refill that is.
Try – “I’ve not seen Andy for a while, would you like to come and I will introduce you?” or
“Why don’t you come and mingle with me?” or “Why don’t we join that group over there?”
I’ve added my own – ‘sticking’ – achieved at the excellent EDEN launch at Liverpool Hope University last night when Sir Michael Heseltine opened the new EDucation:ENterprise gateway there. Six people all talking together from two people I knew.
See how many you can ‘stick’ this party season! Enjoy….