Do you want to differentiate yourself from virtually everybody else at a networking event? My recommendation is to get into the practice of walking up to another human being and engaging them in conversation. It’s amazing to me how many human beings go to these conferences and as soon as there’s an opportunity to engage with other human beings, they get in front of their laptop or they start looking at their phone, which sends a signal that says, “Don’t approach to me. Don’t talk to me.” You can be an outlier at one of these events. You can stay off your technology and you can look for other folks. You can even look for people that are actually on their technology. A lot of folks hide from the opportunity from networking because it creates anxiety and self-consciousness. A lot of folks are uncomfortable with it. You might be uncomfortable with it. The only way to get past that hump is to actually push yourself to do it. So the best thing that you can do is approach another human being with authentic appreciation and authentic curiosity about who they are and engage them. Ask them what’s going on for them in the context of this event. Ask them what they’re here for. Ask them what they’re looking for. Ask them about who they are. Ask them about what they do. Ask them what they’re looking to get out of this event. And listen to the answers. be authentically curious to just learn about this other human being and see what happens. If you do this enough, you can get over the hump and you can get really good at breaking the ice with other human beings and making useful, positive, valuable conversations that lead toward relationships. Give it a shot. And the worst thing that will happen is that it won’t work. But regardless of that, even if it doesn’t work, you will learn what didn’t work. The most valuable thing a networking event has to offer you is a room full of people to practice your human being skills with.
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