Talking to strangers?
Horrific.
But in business, you have to do it.
And only two things matter – my 2Fs:
- FILTER
- FOLLOW-UP
Whatever you want to get from networking – sales, contacts etc – you won’t get all of it at the event.
Your best outcome will be (1) finding someone useful (2) arranging when you’ll speak to them again after the event.
This makes networking a FILTERING exercise. Your only thought when chatting to someone is "do I want to speak to you again after today?”
If you do, end with “I’d love to continue our chat another time. When would be good for you, for us to do this?”
If you don’t, end with something like “It’s been great to chat – I enjoyed it”. Using the past tense is a gentle way of saying the chat’s over!
And for the people you filter IN, you MUST follow-up. On the day you said you would.
So set yourself a reminder to ensure you remember.
Yes, chatting to strangers can be hard. But focusing on the 2Fs makes these chats shorter, focused, pleasant – and more likely to work.
Action Point
When networking, your only aim is to FILTER who you do/don’t want to FOLLOW-UP with afterwards. This removes the pressure on trying to achieve the unachievable when you’re there.