6 Secrets to Successful Schmoozing- Yahoo! HotJobs.

This article is by my friend, Susan RoAne, author of “How to Work a Room.” Before I met Susan, I was painfully shy. 15 years ago, I saw her demonstrate how to make connections with a room full of people, one person at a time. We reconnected this past year through another mutual friend. I was delighted to share her mingling expertise with the Bay Area Consutlants Network as one of our presenters last year.

Because of what I learned from Susan, I find it easier to connect with people everywhere.

Thanks for making a big difference in my life.

 

Set your intentions before each networking event

➢    Make a plan
➢    Put it on paper
➢    How will you know you have succeeded in meeting your goals?
➢    Schedule time for follow up within 48 hours of the event

Susan RoAne, best selling author of How to Work a Room and What Do I Say Next? offers advice on How to be a ConverSation:

➢    Plan
➢    Prepare
➢    Practice
➢    Don’t try to sell yourself
➢    Listen well
➢    Ask good open-ended questions
➢    Smile and be friendly
➢    Focus on your conversation partners
➢    Keep current
➢    Articulate educated opinions

Andrea Nierenberg, author of Savvy Networking suggests you get prepared by making a list of opening lines to use when meeting someone new. Focus on the other person. It will help you relax. Asking open ended questions will help you discover more about them too.

How to Get Moving

Set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes
➢    Spend 10 minutes entering the contact information from a stack of business cards into your preferred contact system (Outlook, Act, an Excel Spreadsheet, aweber). Repeat as needed.
➢    Make phone calls
➢    Write a handwritten note and pop it into the mail
➢    Send an email with a link to your web site

Try out these ideas and you will be on your way to becoming a better networker.