UPwords Inc.

This past week, I was invited to present a networking segment at the InForum meeting (click here for the InForum website). The energy was palpable as 200+ women (and a few men!) gathered for the “Good Morning Inforum!” event. I have to say, I was quite impressed by the turnout. Everyone was there to network – to talk about networking, to learn more about networking, to practice networking, TO NETWORK!  

And….guess what, I was leading an exercise on the basics networking…shocking isn’t it? One of the challenges in going to an event (without a friend!) is approaching and meeting new people. Here is a quick acronym I created and shared with the group to lessen the anxiety of the maybe-I’ll-go-late-and-skip-the-networking-portion-of-the-meeting part of networking.  

Well,  It all begins with a HANDSHAKE….

H - Handshake: give a handshake that says “I am a strong, capable, and engaging person”

A – Approach: how you walk up to someone – your eye contact, posture, SMILE!

N – Name: introduce yourself by name is one of the networking basics.

D – Define: define why you’ve approached, “I  have been hoping to meet you because….”

S - Say their name: repeating their name gives you an opportunity to remember it later!

H - Ha-ha: be sure to insert your personality, have fun with it, and be engaging!!

A - Ask questions: don’t fill in the space with your “stuff”, ask questions about the them.

K - Konclude: Conclude with something like “it was great to meet you, let’s…”

E - Exit politely: Politely extract yourself – get a drink or introduce them to a new person!

It was a great event – fun to connect with everyone and a positive way to start the day. At your next event, be sure to put your best foot forward by extending your hand for a networking HANDSHAKE!

Do you have any Networking tricks?  Please share if you do.