Tips To Keep In Mind Before You Attend Any Business Meetup

Usually, when you go to a networking event, your heart is pumping so fast and all of sudden your all charm and confidence just vanished / jump out of window. You try to find a home in the sea of strangers, try to lock eyes with someone so you can boost up your confidence. .This might be a familiar experience to you, everyone has been to this situation. All these reactions are natural reactions, even for pro players of the industry. People go to meet strangers in the events, so you are in the same position / sitting on same branch as everyone else. The main reason to attend events is to increase your professional contacts and open the door to new business opportunities. Here are 6 helpful tips for preparing yourself to maximize the number of connections you make.

Define Event Goals and Objectives. Before you get to the business meet up or business networking event, you should be clear about your objective. Knowing ahead of time what you’re hoping to achieve will help you stay focused.

Research for The People You Want to Meet. If you are able to find out the organisers, speakers & fellow attendees information by any chance, do some homework so you can have basis for introductory conversations.

*Search them on Google, seek out their profiles on social media, check their website.

The more information you get about them the more it will be easier to initiate the conversation.

Be Yourself.When you meet someone new, introduce yourself by making eye contact, smiling, stating your first and last name, and giving a firm but brief handshake. Keep your talks in casual and non-sales way.

Be Engaged. Keep eye contact with your conversationpartner. The key to building new relationships is being the type of person that others want to connect with. To do that, you need to project positivity and have engaging conversations. Plus, make them feel comfortablewhile talking/discussing with them bynodding your head and tilt your body towards them. These small gestures canmake a big difference in creating a professional network.

Be Curious. Curiosity plays major role while having conversation with people at Networking events. Ask thoughtful questions (based on your homework), this is a great way to show them your listening skills.

Sharing is caring. This is a well said saying and we all have experienced this in our childhood that sharing is all about caring. We share things to make our friendship strong, to build a relation of trust on each other and make others happy. It’s a most important rule and this applies for Networking as well.

For example, if you are willing to share your contacts and resources, others will be more likely to help you as well. You should help people without expecting something from them.