Speaker 1: Business networking, love it or hate it, it is critical for your career success. You need to know how to do it and you need to know how to do it well. In this video you're going to learn how to improve your networking skill at networking events so you can come across as somebody who is poised, confident and warm. These tips will help you build your professional reputation and make valuable connections in business. It's up to you what you do with those connections afterwards. If you like the sound of what you're going to learn then hit the like button, subscribe to my channel for more content like this and let's get straight into it. One of the most basic tips that most people overlook when it comes to networking and going to networking events is to find out who is going to be there. The purpose of this is to go into the networking event prepared and with a strategy so you know exactly who to talk to. At networking events you have limited time, you have limited time to meet people and to have conversations. You don't want to waste your time talking to somebody who can have no impact whatsoever on your career so you need to be a lot more strategic about who you talk to at networking events. Now I know what you're thinking, you're probably saying to yourself well that's really shallow Cara, you never know who you're going to meet at a networking event, you should keep all opportunities open. That is true to some extent but from my experience when you go to a networking event you go there with a purpose, you go there to meet people who can connect you to a new job if you're a job hunting, you go there to meet new clients if you are running your own business or if you're in an organization and you need to look for clients. You go to those networking events with a purpose in mind, if you fill your time the whole time you spend at that networking event talking to this person, talking to that person, it is very likely you will never achieve the purpose you had of going to that networking event. You will walk away from that event not having achieved anything, not having met anyone of significance, of importance who can help you in your career. I know this through my experience going to many networking events as a business person that you really need to have strategy, you need to be prepared, you need to find out who is going to be there. It doesn't mean you need to spend all of your time talking to people on your list who is going to be there. Leave some time to open yourself up to new opportunities if you want but please do go with some type of preparation to at least meet two maybe three people who can help you in your career or help you achieve the goals that you want to achieve. Now how do you find out who is going to be at the event? Well a lot of the time the events are posted on Eventbrite, on Facebook or even on LinkedIn. They are posted on those platforms and you can actually see on the event page who is interested in going or who is actually going to be attending those events. So take a look at the pages where those events are posted online. If that fails you can always ask the event organizer. They may or may not tell you who will be attending the event but there's no harm in asking right? Arriving early gives you a fantastic advantage to see who is entering the room and to start conversations with the people you want to talk to. So stand near the door or near the bar, both of these areas are great vantage points to see who is entering in the room and to be able to approach them as soon as they enter. Another advantage of arriving early is that you are already there when people enter the room. Now when people enter the room you have to understand that they usually go through a period of feeling a bit nervous, a bit stressed, a bit uncomfortable because they don't know who to talk to, they don't know what the first thing is that they should do when they enter the room. You have the advantage of being able to approach them, to start a conversation, to introduce yourself, to help them feel more comfortable and more relaxed at the event. Which of course will help you give a good first impression and help that person to remember you more. If you are at a networking event looking for someone to talk to, looking to enter an already established conversation, you need to know the right way to do it. Sometimes groups will be very closed off, people will be standing very close together, it will be very difficult for you to enter that conversation and start to talk to someone. Other times groups will be very open and there'll be lots of opportunity for you to enter the group and to enter the conversation as well. How can you tell the difference? How do you know which is an easy group to approach or a difficult group to approach? Well you need to look at the body language of the people in the group. If they are standing close together, if there is not much space at all in between the people in the group, then that means they are very closed to anyone else entering the group. It's going to be very difficult for you to enter the group and to start talking to anyone in that conversation. I recommend you avoid those types of groups. On the other hand, if there is a group where people have gaps in between them or if they're using very open body language, maybe they are not directly facing the other person, they're slightly angled away from the other person, this is an indication that they are open, they're opening up the group for other people to approach them, for other people to enter the conversation and start talking. When you see groups like this at networking events, whether it's one person, whether it's three people or more than three people, this is your opportunity to approach them and to enter the conversation and meet new people. You can learn a lot just by reading someone else's body language. If you liked what you have learned so far in this video, then please hit the like button, subscribe to my channel for more videos like this every week and let's continue on. Using a business card case is one of my favorite tips to share with emerging leaders when it comes to networking events. A business card case will absolutely make you look polished and professional like no one else does. If you're wondering what a business card case is, it is a small pouch where you store your own business cards and also the business cards of other people. This ensures that both your business cards and the other person's business cards remain neat, organized and secure. A business card case is something I use religiously for every networking event or a business function that I go to. I have been using a business card case ever since I was working in Japan. It is a tip that I picked up over there and I absolutely love how it can really make you look a lot more polished, a lot more confident and a lot more organized as well, which definitely helps you give a positive first impression when you meet people for the first time. There are so many different types of business card cases out there. It's really important you find one that matches both your personality and also your leadership brand. I definitely recommend that you get a business card case but if you want to start with some options that could be really helpful for you, I have linked to some options in the description below. I do need to let you know those links are affiliate links so if you do purchase from them, I will earn a small commission at no cost to you. The next tip for networking events is to avoid eating. Now I know at networking events there is some amazing food there and it is really tempting to want to eat all the food that is served to you or presented to you or offered to you at the networking event but you need to go back to the purpose of why you are at the event. You are there to meet people, you are there to have conversations. How can you have a conversation if you have a mouthful of food? You won't look polite if you're talking with your mouth full, you won't feel comfortable and you won't feel confident either. I recommend you eat before the event that way you won't be tempted by all the delicious food that's offered to you and you can focus on your main purpose of going to the event which is to meet people. When you start talking to people at a networking event I recommend you start the conversation by asking non-threatening questions. What do I mean by non-threatening questions? These are questions that are really easy to answer, they're not too prying, they're not too interrogative in nature. You see when you meet someone at a networking event they will be nervous just like you, they're likely to be stressed. When you start a conversation with them they'll probably be very wary about who you are or what you want, what your intentions are. They might be worried that you're going to try to sell them something immediately or try to get them to say yes to some kind of request. You need to help them relax, you need to bring down their defense mechanism, you need to get them comfortable talking to you and you do this by asking non-threatening questions. Have you been to this event before? How did you find out about this event? And the dreaded question, what do you do? I know a lot of you are probably thinking that is so boring, it is so typical to be asked that question at a networking event but it is extremely effective in getting the other person to talk to you and getting the other person to feel relaxed around you. Why? Because they expect you to ask them this kind of question. If you start to ask some questions out of left field, questions they don't expect, they will start to become cautious, they'll put up their defense mechanism, they won't be able to relax with you and they probably won't want to continue the conversation with you either. How can you meet people who could help you in your career if you're not able to talk to them, if you're not able to have an in-depth conversation with them? So you need to find ways to bring down their natural defense mechanism, get them relaxed to get them to talk to you and you do this by asking non-threatening questions. And the handshake you give conveys a lot about who you are as a professional. I've had bad handshakes, I'm sure you have had bad handshakes at some stage in your career as well. They definitely make you notice, they're definitely memorable but they don't help you to remember that person in a positive way. You don't want people to have this reaction of you, you don't want people to think this of you, any less of you because you gave a bad handshake. I want you to be able to connect with people, I want you to be able to get people to like you at networking events, this is how you can build a relationship with that person. Networking events are the first point of contact with someone, if they don't like you at their first point of contact then you have no hope of developing a relationship with them. So it's really important that you give a positive impression and you give a good handshake or the right handshake to convey the right impression. There are many different types of handshakes, there is the dead fish handshake where the other person has a slightly clammy hand and it feels a little moist, there is the queen handshake where the other person offers you just their fingers instead of their entire hand to shake, then there is the limp handshake where they offer you their entire hand but there's no strength to their shake. You want to use a strong confident handshake so that is exactly the impression people form about you and here's how you do it, you need to make sure you have web to web contact when you shake the other person's hand, this is the first step, you need to wrap your hand around the other person's hand firmly then you need to shake up and down two to three times then you can let go. A handshake is generally the only physical contact you're going to have with someone at a networking event so you really want to make it count. We haven't talked at all about body language but body language is extremely important for networking events, it's extremely important to help you look more confident and look more poised and professional when you meet people. I do have a two-part series on my channel about body language which I will link to in the description below or you can click on this video right here if you want to watch the first part of this two-part series. Before you go if you did like this video hit the like button and subscribe to my channel for more content like this every week. Thank you so much for watching this video and I will see you in the next one.