Network in Person without Feeling Silly

Let’s face it, most writers aren’t the type to “hard sell” their services. For this reason, face to face networking can often times be a difficult task. There was a day when I felt the same way. Fortunately, I overcame this soon enough. Nowadays, I love getting out there, talking with others, and making new contacts.

Tips to Ease the Tension

1. Dress for success. This has been said time and time again, but it holds true when meeting other people in person. If you feel good about the way you look you will feel good about sharing your story and services.

2. Have an idea of what you want to say. A lot of this has to do with the type of event you are attending. Obviously, a one-on-one client meeting will call for different information than an informal meet and greet. Either way, make sure you have a basic idea of what you want to talk about. This way you won’t find yourself searching for words at a crucial time.

3. Listen and learn. Believe it or not, once you get into a conversation with somebody it is easy to go on and on about what you can do for them. This is a mistake. A big part of networking is listening to the other party, learning as much as you can, and seeing how you can help them. If you help or give business to somebody else you have a good chance of them returning the favor in the future.

In closing, there is no reason to feel silly while networking in person. If you follow these tips you will eventually get comfortable with this way of doing things. From there, new business is sure to follow.

Profile image for Chris Bibey
Chris is a full-time freelance writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He specializes in web content, sales copy, and many other forms of writing. Chris has two books in print, as well as hundreds of articles in local and nationwide publications.

Get More Content Like This in Your Inbox

Did you enjoy this post? If so, please subscribe to the All Freelance Writing newsletter where you'll be notified of new blog articles and receive subscribers-only content.

Subscribe now.


1 thought on “Network in Person without Feeling Silly”

  1. Although I truly hate networking of any form, I think the part about having in mind what you want to say is really important. When I first started out, I went to a few networking events. I crafted a little elevator pitch for myself. This helped get me through a situation that I found uncomfortable, to say the least! 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Comment