Dear Aunty B,
I am a bit of an introvert and have been making myself go to networking meetings. I have got better at going up and introducing myself but I then get stuck as I have terrible trouble leaving someone standing on their own. It seems so rude!
The other day I got stuck with the same person for the whole pre-drinks session of a networking event which was half an hour! She was very shy and awkward so I had to make all the conversation and I felt too bad to leave her! Any ideas?
JT
Moorabbin
Dear JT,
Remember dancing class? Remember how you got rid of the boy you didn’t like by introducing him to a girl that was much more suitable and that he ended up marrying? Imagine if your pity meant he never met her! Take that approach to networking. Your job is not to bore everyone else witless by monopolising them for half an hour.
After five minutes of listening to your partner and making a few notes on the back of their business card to show you are interested in them, grab a passing networker and introduce them to her and yourself, and after a minute go and refresh your drink and join the next group. See yourself as a facilitator AND a networker. A giver and a taker.
Good luck,
Your Aunty B
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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