7/6/14 - 2 Little Words That Will Up Your Networking Game

By Adrian Granzella Larssen

https://www.themuse.com/advice/2-little-words-that-will-up-your-networking-game

Ever found yourself in a networking conversation that seems to be going nowhere? You ask what you think are great questions but get one-word answers bounced back, and pretty soon you have nothing left to say (and start downing your drink so you can excuse yourself to “go get a refill”).

But while you may get stuck with generally awkward conversationalists from time to time, there are a few ways you can change up what you’re doing and saying to ensure that almost any first-time chat is a great one.

Here’s a quick but effective tip that Jacqueline Whitmore, etiquette coach and founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach, gives in a video for Entrepreneur: Ask open-ended questions, and start them with the phrase, “Tell me.”

It sounds simple, but those two words are a cue that you’re engaged in the conversation and fascinated by what you might learn, in turn making your networking partner excited to share and open up. “Anytime you start a sentence with ‘tell me,’ it launches into scintillating conversation,” she says.

So, after you kick things off with one of our 30 brilliant conversation starters, give your go-to questions a little upgrade. Here are a few to try at your next networking event:

Instead Of: “What do you do?
Try: “Tell me, what’s been keeping you busy lately?

Instead Of: “Do you like working there?”
Try: “Tell me, what’s it like working there?”

Instead Of: “Are you enjoying the event?”
Try: “Tell me, what’s been the best part of the event for you?”

Instead Of: “How’s business?”
Try: “Tell me, what are you most focused on right now?”

Instead Of: “What were you doing before this job?”
Try: “Tell me, how did you get to where you are now?”

Instead Of: “What do you do outside of work?”
Try: “Tell me, what are you excited about outside of work?”

Instead Of: “What are you doing this summer?”
Try: “Tell me, what are you looking forward to this summer?”

About The Author - Adrian Granzella Larssen is the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Muse (but was also an event planner, a marketer, and an online communications strategist before finding her dream job). A proud two-time alumna of Pepperdine University, she splits her time between New York and Los Angeles and never says no to an international adventure.