What Do I Say at a Networking Event?

Talk about the weather. Talk about what you like best about your job. Talk about Grey’s Anatomy. Talk about ANYTHING, EXCEPT YOUR COMPLETE SALES PITCH. No one likes to be trapped at a mixer with someone trying to get through their 15-minute sales pitch without any pause. Instead, develop an interesting 60-second speech about what you do (commonly referred to as an elevator speech). Then, while the conversation moves from what you do, to the weather or to Grey’s Anatomy, you can interject a few anecdotes about something great you or your company does. It will take practice, but eventually, you can get key points about your business across without aggressively trying to “sell” to someone.