Networking is about communicating. Verbal communication has two parts:
- Listening
- Speaking
Listening is more important than speaking. When we listen, we learn about other people and what they need. Learning this very important information can help us provide the products and services your customers need.
How do you listen correctly? Whenever you are speaking with someone and you want to understand them; listen to their statements and ask for clarification of anything you don’t understand or think should be expanded. For instance: you meet a woman who owns her own business creating websites. You should ask her how she started her business and why she has her own business versus working for someone else. As you listen to her, you are gathering information about her needs and wants and how those needs and wants may fit into your products and services.
As a business owner, you are in business to serve others with the products and services you are offering. Every person may not need or want your services, but keep in mind that each person knows other people. Your great listening skills will make a positive impression on the person with which you are speaking. This can and will result in positive PR for YOU.
Speaking at networking events should have several components:
- Respect – Learn the correct name of a person. Do not shorten it because it is easier for you. It is their name, so learn to pronounce it correctly. Respect also includes not disparaging groups of people. Do not make jokes which could be considered offensive by others. These include jokes about the current President, gender, sexual orientations, racial, religious or political jokes.
- Clean it up – Many people swear regularly and don’t even realize they are doing it. While it may be acceptable in your personal circle, it is not acceptable in most circles. Drop the swear words and you will appear more intelligent and cultured; you will also not offend anyone. If you aren’t sure if you swear, start asking people you know if there are words you should stop using.
- Voice quality – Make sure your voice is loud enough to be heard, has little to moderate accent and you use vocabulary correctly. Many people are judged by the way they speak. A soft-spoken person is perceived as being weak. A person with a heavy accent from any location in the world is considered difficult to communicate with. The wrong use of vocabulary conveys ignorance and a low education. All of these problems can be corrected with a little effort on your part.
- Keep it short – You should be able to describe yourself and your business in just a few minutes. Give people enough information to know what your product or service is, but allow them to ask you questions. Their questions will reveal their own interests pertaining to your products and services. You can then tailor your answers to their needs.
- Focus on a few – Networking events are designed for you to connect, not just be a card gatherer. At a networking event scheduled to last 2 hours, your goal should be to talk to or meet at most 5-7 people.
- Go to many networking events – the more events you attend, you will start seeing some of the same people over again. This gives you the chance to re-connect with those people and learn more about them. The more often you see a person the more they view you as a friend. People like to buy from people they know and trust. Seeing them again also gives you the chance to promote your new products and services and to ask for referrals.