For those of you still working in offices or having to attend professional events, here’s how you overcome your fear of networking.
The number of times I have entered a room full of people I didn’t know and thought, Ok, here goes!
- Be clear on why you are at that event/ meeting. What outcome do you (be selfish here) want out of it?
- Set yourself that as a goal. It could be to meet 5 people professionally and have a meaningful conversation. Then you can follow up by email. Or it could be to overcome fear and speak to one person this time. And maybe two next time as you develop confidence.
- Identify who is there that you actually need/want to speak to. Prep in advance and send them a pre-intro email saying you are looking forward to meeting them there and talking about X.
- Read the room – who looks the least scary to approach. Be bold, who looks the most scary to approach? And dive in.
- I am the queen of networking with one simple phrase, said with a smile and a large dose of humility. Hi, I don’t know anyone here, and you looked like you were having an interesting conversation, would you mind if I joined in? Nine times out of ten people will just move aside and invite you in. What’s the worst that could happen? They say No and Go Away. This is possible and yes, a variation of this has happened to me. What did I do? I realised I hadn’t read the room properly, the two individuals were having a private conversation, so I apologised and left. And approached a small group who were laughing and I knew that their energy was more receptive.
TOP TIP: I absolutely use my English culture to its advantage here (but anyone can). I am confident, but polite !
So dive in. Be fearless. You’ve got this. Xxx
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