Networking: one of the greatest passions of extroverts and one of the greatest fears of introverts.
But love or hate it, we can all serve to freshen up our skills and arm ourselves with surefire ways to start conversations.
Check out these tried and true ways to break the ice. They might even help turn you into the most interesting person in the room.
Talk about the event
Is the event hosted by a membership organization? Find out how long your conversational partner has been a part of it. Or ask them how they heard about it. Making the first move is often the hardest part, but once you feed them a question, the conversation is free to start flowing. Just make sure that the question you choose is open-ended, encouraging them to respond with more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. There’s nothing like a one-word response to kill a conversation in the making.
Take interest in the other person
It’s easy to go off and talk about who you are, what you do and what you can do for your new listener. But to be memorable talk about them. If you’ve researched event attendees on LinkedIn beforehand, you should have some person-specific starters that can easily break the ice. Have they written a book? Do they have a unique job? Have they given a speech you heard? Express your interest in them and their work, and ask plenty of questions to learn their story. People like talking about themselves. By fueling that interest, you’ll stand out as a great and interesting conversationalist.
Drop some humor
Humor drops defenses and makes people approachable and fun. That’s why speakers often start off with a bit of humor to lighten the room and quickly connect with their audiences. Try saying something like, “I just came here for the cheese. What brings you here?”
Talk about timely events
The news headlines. Last night’s game. The event at hand. Super timely topics are always a good intro. You can break the ice quickly by making a comment about something interesting going on in the news or locally. Try asking if they know the speaker or the event hosts, or how they heard of the event. They’ll just be happy that you broke the ice first.
Go classic
Asking someone what their favorite or least favorite conversation starter is at networking events will not only give you new ideas for your next conversation (or help you steer clear of certain starters) but it will probably give you both a laugh. You can go simple too, and just extend your hand and ask them what they do or what they’re passionate about.
Expanding your network of both personal and professional contacts is vital to staying ahead of the job search game, whether or not you’re currently looking. Once you’re ready to start transitioning to a new job, you can improve your odds of securing the one you want by tapping into your ever-expanding network, and connecting with a recruiter who can also tap into theirs.
Ready to launch your new career? Check out our job listings along with your local networking events.
