It feels like I’m a plus-one at someone else’s wedding.
Everyone around me is jumping up and down, waving their arms, and scream-singing.
I’m not feeling it.
As an early birthday present for my daughter, I take her and her friend to the Gracie Abrams concert at the Boston Garden.
Who?
Right. I only recognize a couple of her songs because my kids are big fans.
And while I don’t mind her music, I’m fresh out of teenage angst.
And it got me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because how many people are excited when you enter a room?
Part of building your audience is creating that buzz.
If you feel like an outsider at your networking events, it’s time to schedule some coffee meetings.
Get to know people.
Share some value.
Be the kind of person people are excited to see.
They may not be scream singing your pitch along with you, but have you been making enough introductions that people line up to talk to you after the event?
Now It’s Your Turn!
Time to connect with strangers!
Have you ever felt like the plus-one in a room full of people who already knew each other? Or maybe you’ve found a space where everyone is eager to hear what you have to say?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below. I love to hear your stories and I read every one!
You’re not being too demanding at all, more like tuned in to the room, which is more than I can say for the 1:1-in-the-middle crowd.
Your story reminds me of a networking group meeting I attended where we spent ten whole minutes discussing how to make it clear to the people who weren’t there that they should’ve shown up.
After a bit of listening (and a lot of patience), I finally broke in, “They voted with their feet. They’re not coming back. Let’s network with who’s here.”
And we did. It turned into one of our better networking group meetings.
Same goes for folks locked in a private chat in the middle of a networking event. If they’re not open to meeting others, they’re probably not your people. Send them good vibes – telepathically — and go find someone who’s ready to connect.
Hi, Andy!
One behavior I neither understand nor appreciate is two people having a 1:1 in the middle of a networking event. The last time it happened, I would have reacted better had I known about the open and closed postures people strike. I wouldn’t have stood there for several minutes looking like an idiot. I don’t believe people should do this. To me, one of them should say, “Let’s get together on this soon. But now, I’d like to introduce you to my friend/associate/colleague Alan Ray.” I forgive people their lack of social instincts, experience or education. Am I being to demanding about this?