Friday 9 October 2009

Getting noticed at the networking events


Networking is building and using your formal and informal connections for business expansion. Today in London various networking events are being organised on a daily basis. They attract large numbers of participants and during the event you would meet on average 10 to 20 new people. With so many people around it is often difficult to get noticed. The key thing, however, is being able to make a good first impression, so that people you meet can still remember you long after the event.

There are three things you need in order to make networking events work for you.

Body Language

You should always remember that no matter what you say or how creative and interesting your ideas are, people will still get their first impression from the way you look. Therefore, your body language should demonstrate confidence. There are many ways to make you look more confident, think about your posture, your gestures and do not hesitate to look straight into the people’s eyes.

Be a Good Listener

Another important thing people will remember you for is listening to what they have to say. At the networking events everybody wants to talk about themselves and their business and people usually forget about the importance of being a good listener; but think about it, listening could be beneficial in many ways. For one, listening to others would allow you to see new business opportunities. On the other hand, people like to talk about their experiences, so listening to their stories could open your eyes on some of the issues you did not see coming. And on top of that people will remember you for showing genuine interest in them, by simply letting them do the talking.

Make a Lasting Impression

Now that you have already made a good impression by looking confident and listening to your new acquaintance you would want to make sure that this impression is lasting. You might be wondering how to do that, but the answer is very simple. Now, it is your turn to say something. People will remember you if what you say is interesting and relevant to them, so make a business proposition, offer advice, recommend somebody. Whatever you do keep them interested in what you have to say. If the situation is such that there is nothing at all that you could say of interest to your new acquaintance, which is quite unlikely, there is still something you can do to be remembered. Try to make a clever compliment. You obviously should not compliment their beautiful eyes, but their professional abilities and talents could be an option. You will find out more about those from just listening to them.

Therefore the formula for your success at networking is very simple. Body language plus Listening, plus Relevant Information equal a lasting positive impression. After the event, remember to follow up with an email, in which you could mention what you talked about. This would be an easy way to remind the people you have met about yourself and your business.

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