Ten Tips for the art of conversation and small talk when networking, by Rachel Green
- Think positively about the function before you go.
Remind yourself of the benefits that meeting new people can bring. You may meet interesting people. You may learn new information. You may make new friends or business contacts.
- Set yourself a target number of people to meet.
Set yourself a target number of people to meet at each event, breakfast or party. Have a goal to achieve. Set yourself a number between 8-12. And don't leave until you've achieved it. It will help to keep you moving.
- Prepare topics before you go.
Glance through the paper, go over what you've been doing lately, think of what news you've heard and draw up a list of 5-10 topics to introduce into the conversation.
- Take the initiative and go up and introduce yourself to people.
Don't wait to be introduced. Confident people take the initiative.
- Say something other than your name when you introduce yourself to people.
If you only say your name - they'll only say theirs in return. Add on one sentence of interesting information about yourself, which connects you with the event.
For example, when introducing myself at a wedding recently I said, "Hi I'm Rachel, the cousin of Dave's father, we found each other doing the family history recently. What's your history with the bride and groom?"
- Avoid questions which close down the conversation.
Avoid dead-ended questions which close down the conversation, such as, "Nice wine isn't it?", "Did you see the match on the weekend?", "Have you been busy recently?" They just get "yep" or "nope" as answers.
- Ask questions which will encourage more than a one word answer.
Open-ended questions work well in conversation. Ask questions which encourage more than a one word answer, for example, questions which start with "What's your opinion of ...?", "What kinds of things were...?" or "How does --- compare with ---?" (How does this home compare with your last one?)
- Have lots of different topics to talk about.
Avoid getting stuck on only one or two topics such as the weather or sport. Include stories of your personal experiences, topics in the news and your experiences on different aspects of life.
- You can lead into most topics of conversation by either saying, "I notice ..." or "This reminds me of ...".
For example, "I noticed the paper ran a story on --- this morning ..." or "This house reminds me of the one I grew up in ...".
- Move on and mingle.
Exit by thanking the person for spending time talking to you. "Well I must move on now. Thank you so much for talking to me tonight. It's been lovely to meet you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the function. Thank you, goodbye".
If you feel bad about leaving her/him, introduce that person to someone else and then move on.
More tips on how to talk easily to people and be successful at business networking
If you find it hard to know how to introduce yourself to people, what topics to talk about or how to exit, and you want more tips on making conversations, or talking at your business networking functions then take hope! There is a unique and practical DVD available to boost your conversation skills and business networking strategies:
In it you will see a real, live networking presentation that I gave at the Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI)
You will:
 | Gain practical business networking tips and strategies to use at any function or event.
| | Discover how introducing yourself and breaking into groups can be easy and see it demonstrated live on the DVD.
| | Find great conversation starters.
| | Discover the top twelve topics for meaningful conversation.
| | Find out the types of excellent questions to ask.
| | Gain successful strategies for exiting gracefully.
| | Learn how to stay in contact after an event.
| | Discover the key way to build profitable business relationships.
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It is ideal for all professional people and all men and women in business. It is also very helpful if you attend social functions and parties and want to know what to talk about, how to make your conversations interesting and how to escape!
The quality is superb, the vision fabulous, and the content world class.
Make your business networking work for you.
Rachel Green,
PO Box 344, Kelmscott, Western Australia 6991.
Phone: +61 8 9390 1188.
E-mail:
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Disclaimer: The information in these tips is of a general nature and may not suit everyone or every business networking situation. While every care has been taken to ensure they are useful and appropriate, no responsibility can be taken for the results gained from their implementation. Please seek individual professional guidance for any difficulties you may have with your business networking or communication. Thank you.
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Copyright October 2010 RachelGreen.Com Pty Ltd
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