Networking is the backbone to nearly everything in life. It is how we meet new people in all areas of our personal and professional lives. The biggest trap when growing our network at our organization is falling into either work-speak or small talk. In this article, we explore how to break through this barrier.
Vincent Scaramuzzo, President, Ed-Exec, Inc.
Breaking Through Small Talk
Networking at work is both similar and different from networking at a conference or other type of event. Most common pitfall is to get caught up with work-speak or allowing the conversation to be only about a specific project or how a department runs. Consistently remaining in this mode of communication does not allow for a deeper connection to be created.
Another pitfall is staying in small talk, especially when networking with people who are not within your area of the organization or if you are networking with executive leadership. Many conversations die after the small talk. If the conversation dies, it might be a challenge to revive that connection in the future, especially if the networking conversation begins while in line together while grabbing coffee or at the end of a meeting while you are walking back to your office.
A key concept most are not aware of is that the more questions you ask, and the more others talk about themselves, the more they think you are interesting. The more engaged your conversational partner is, the more attractive you become! Keep the conversation going by asking about what types of challenges excite them, book recommendations, or how they prefer to plan their day? All of these topics can help keep the conversation flowing and create opportunities to find what you have in common with this person. Remember, only ask those questions that you are willing to answer yourself.
There are some fundamental rules to make your networking conversations successful.
1. Talk about yourself sparingly. Add your thoughts, but do not hijack the conversation and make it about yourself.
2. Employ the “Tell Me More” method of engagement. Ask the person to expand on their thoughts.
3. Speaking slowly shows confidence and reduces the need for space-fillers such as “um,” “ah,” and “like.”
4. Be judgment-free and show empathy.
5. Compliment the person’s success, style, or work ethic, but NEVER their beauty.
6. Avoid topics that provoke one’s emotions, especially politics and religion.
7. Mirror their body language and avoid negative body language.
8. Abide the golden rule – give your conversational partner your full attention. Always practice active listening.
Keeping the conversation going beyond the work-speak and small talk is the next step in mastering the art of networking. Follow these rules, and you will be able to grow your professional network within your organization.
*Not all articles are original works of Vincent Scaramuzzo or Ed-Exec, Inc.*
Vincent Scaramuzzo is the President of Ed-Exec, Inc. A leading Education Executive Search Firm. He is also a contributing author to various education publications regarding education recruiting. As a specialist in the education field for over a decade, Scaramuzzo works nationally. He can be contacted at vincent@ed-exec.com 860-781-7641.