5 Scripts to Help Introverts Survive – and Even ENJOY a Networking Event, was just the beginning when Marsha Shandur gave the step by step in how to start and then move a conversation along.
Then as talking moves along, we are also going to have to answer questions! And like it or not, there will need to be follow-up by us in certain instances. Then finally, there are times we are going to want to leave a conversation for whatever reason. Well, Marsha has some scripts for those situations too.
3. Script to answer What do you do?
Some people have very straightforward jobs, that can be explained in one word (teacher; surgeon; rockstar). The rest of us sometimes choke when answering this question.
So that this can be tailored to you, this script has more of a mad libs, fill-in-the-blanks style:
I help [demographic] [achieve ultimate result] by [how you help them]
These can be GENERAL. If anyone is interested, they’ll ask questions, and you can give the specifics then. You can also drop the “by [how you help them]” if the first two parts get your point across.
Some examples:
Accountant for those in the arts:
I help creatives feel confident about money by helping them get their finances in order.
Career coach for Baby Boomers:
I help Baby Boomers who aren’t satisfied with their current job, find a career they love.
Interior designer focusing on the massage industry :
I help masseurs boost their customer’s experience and healing process, by creating beautiful working space for them
4. Script to ask whether you can follow up
Email is a wonderfully unobtrusive medium. And we introverts thrive on it – we can take the time to consider what we’re saying carefully, and won’t get put on the spot. Because of this, rather than asking if you can follow up, I suggest just telling the person you will.
During the email, you should add value to them, whether it’s by sending them an interesting link – or simply by telling them you enjoyed meeting them. This way, you can think of your email not as an intrusion, but as a small gift to them. Knowing this in advance will make you feel more confident with this next script:
It’s been great to speak to you – I’ll send you an email in the next couple of days.
Doing this serves two purposes:
(1) it primes them to receive your email (so they are more likely to pay attention when it arrives).
(2) It shows them that you are the sort of trustworthy person that makes good on her or his word. This can be further strengthened if the two of you have discussed anything online (an article, book or movie), especially if you can add that in:
It’s been great to speak to you – I’ll send you an email in the next couple of days with the link to that article I mentioned.
5. Script to exit a conversation
However well you’re getting on, there will always come a time to move on – and no one wants to give the impression they’re bored of the other. While it is perfectly fine to feign a trip to the washroom or the bar, I prefer this script. The trick is to smile warmly, look the person directly in the eye, and say it with conviction, before moving away:
It was lovely to meet you.
Because 93% of all communication is non-verbal, if you physically behave as if this is the most normal thing in the world (even if you’re trembling inside!), the person you’re speaking to will follow your cues and accept that it is. And if you smile and really focus on them when saying it, rather than feeling slighted, they’ll receive it as a compliment! “It was lovely to meet me!”, they’ll think. “I am lovely to meet!”
As you can see, with a few pre-learned, simple scripts, any networking event can be survived, and even enjoyed.
How do you answer, What do you do?
And how do you leave that conversation you just don’t want to – move along?
Marsha Shandur is a Networking Mentor. Through her business Yes Yes Marsha, she helps coaches, freelancers, and entrepreneurs who are brilliant at what they do – but not getting the success they know they deserve. Through her business Yes Yes Marsha, she helps them boost their visibility and get discovered by their dream clients, by showing them how to get noticed by and build genuine relationships with key players in their industry.
Find out more at YesYesMarsha.com
Pat — when you want to leave a conversation at a networking event chances are the other person wants to move on, too. It’s perfectly acceptable to say something like, “I’ve enjoyed meeting you. Will you excuse me? There are are a couple of other people I’d like to meet.” That’s why everyone is there so it’s perfectly normal to circulate
Jeanette – YES! I love this simple approach! So often, we’re terrified of offending the other person, without realizing that they might feel the same way too!
Thanks for the comment!
Love the madlibs, fill-in-the-blanks suggestion. It really helps to have this thought out beforehand if you are one of those without the clear-cut job description so you are not fumbling for what to say over a question as simple as “What do you do?” Especially when that is usually one of the opening questions in a discussion.
Susan, it’s so true that it helps to have a stock answer for this – as it does SO OFTEN get asked. Though I prefer to ask people, “How’s your week been?”
Thanks for the comment!
Agree with Jeannette that it’s perfectly OK to say that there are some other people you need to talk to.
When it comes to follow up that’s absolutely essential if you want to do business with the people you met. Unless of course you have no interest in having anything to do with them. If you are not sure, it’s a good idea to send an email saying that you enjoyed meeting them.
I am a pretty straight-forward person and I basically just say, “So nice to meet you. I am going to go mingle.” I follow up via a phone call if I want to take the conversation to the next level and schedule a coffee date or I send a “nice to meet you email.” If I found absolutely nothing about the person that could work itself into a referral partner, client or even friend, or, if I cannot refer their services to another, it ends there.