Networking opportunities at 菠萝视频 alumni chapter events, along with untold numbers of holiday parties, are right around the corner, so 菠萝视频 Magazine reached out to Katharine Brooks, the Evans Family Executive Director of , for some tips about how to work a cocktail-party crowd.
The author of You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career (2009, Viking), Brooks knows how awkward networking events can be, especially for introverts. 鈥淏ut don鈥檛 worry,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not alone in feeling that way. The truth is, most people are a little uncomfortable at these events, so don鈥檛 let that discourage you.鈥�
Here鈥檚 her advice:
1. ACT LIKE A HOST.
Too often people approach networking events with the mindset of expecting to get something out of it鈥攍ike finding a new job or talking about their latest endeavor. But Brooks suggests putting oneself in the mental framework of the host, not as a guest. 鈥淓ven though you personally might not be hosting the event, if you go with the mindset of, 鈥業鈥檓 there to learn, and I鈥檓 there to help people,鈥� that鈥檚 a great way to approach any networking event.鈥� Whatever you do, avoid the 鈥渁ggressive hard sell鈥� approach, she says. 鈥淭he whole point of attending networking events is to build relationships. So listen first, then talk.鈥�
2. IGNORE YOUR PHONE.
鈥淯nless you鈥檙e a heart surgeon waiting for the heart to arrive, no one needs to get in touch with you,鈥� Brooks says. 鈥淭urning off the cellphone is a way of making clear to whomever you鈥檙e talking that you are listening to them and care about what they have to say.鈥� If you need to check the phone, do it in a separate room or hallway.
3. BREAK IN, POLITELY.
One of the most difficult moments at a networking event is the inevitable awkwardness. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l see a group of people all standing together, and it鈥檚 kind of hard to break in,鈥� Brooks says. But it鈥檚 OK. She suggests you walk up to the group and stand there listening quietly for a few minutes. If it鈥檚 clearly some kind of internal conversation within the group鈥攎aybe they all know each other鈥攜ou can just walk away. 鈥淥n the other hand,鈥� Brooks says, 鈥渋f they鈥檙e all just making small talk, there鈥檚 no reason why you can鈥檛 step into that conversation.鈥�
4. CIRCULATE.
Sometimes, out of comfort or ease, networking-event attendees make one connection and spend the rest of the night chatting with that one person. 鈥淭he whole point of the event is to meet more people,鈥� Brooks says. 鈥淐irculate a bit, and meet as many people as you can.鈥� Try to focus on meeting people you wouldn鈥檛 likely meet elsewhere鈥攕omeone much older than yourself or someone in a totally different field. You never know what types of relationships you may develop with people unlike yourself.
5. PRACTICE.
鈥淏eing prepared can go a long way in helping you calm your nerves,鈥� Brooks says, adding that it鈥檚 advantageous to go in with some topics in mind or even a few opening lines. The best thing about going to a 菠萝视频 event, she adds, is that you already have something in common. 鈥淵ou can always start with questions like, 鈥榃hen did you go to聽菠萝视频?鈥� 鈥榃hat did you like about it?鈥� 鈥榃ho was your favorite professor?鈥� 鈥榃hat did you major in?鈥� Those are good common things to think about.鈥� The two topics that are strictly off limits鈥攁s most people already know鈥攁re politics and religion.
TEXT BY SHAYLA BYRD, BA鈥�05
ILLUSTRATIONS BY NISHAN AKGULIAN