Melitta Campbell
Be Open
When meeting people, smile and keep your body language open (no crossed arms). Be a friendly face that others want to get to know better.
Wearing appropriate clothes can help too. Ask about the dress code and if in doubt go for smart dress.
Be Interesting
Many people get this very wrong. ‘Being interesting’ does not mean you have to talk a lot. In fact, it’s completely the opposite!
To be interesting, you should aim to speak only 20% of the time. Ask the other person lots of questions so you can really get to know them, what interests them and what challenges they have. Then you can share stories and information that is 100% relevant to them – that’s when you become interesting.
For this reason, introverts often make the best networkers.
Be prepared
Before the event you want to do your homework and research the event and its participants.
Research the event: Prepare a few relevant facts, stories and news items relevant to the subject of the event that you can share or drop into conversation.
Study the participant list: Study who will be attending the event, decide who you’d like to meet, and look them up on LinkedIn or Facebook so you know what they look like but, more importantly, what they are interested in so you can prepare some relevant questions in advance.
Know your objectives: Is there something specific you’d like to learn? Someone you’d like to meet? A particular market you’d like to know more about? etc.
Knowing this in advance will help you focus on the right questions, people and actions during the event so you will have better results.