You’ve done it! You're in a conversation with someone at a networking event. You feel like it’s going well and you’ve enjoyed chatting with them. The whole time you’ve been a little nervous because you never know how to wrap up conversations and often feel like you get stuck in them. Going to networking events can have its challenges. For some getting into a conversation is difficult, for many wrapping up a conversation gracefully is the real challenge.
How do you know when to move on?
Mindfulness
Are you feeling distracted and unable to focus on what your conversation partner is talking about? Are you having difficulty maintaining eye contact with the person speaking and keep looking over their shoulder at that person who looks like, no definitely is, your ex (or boss, the person you want to date or work for, best friend from 3rd grade, etc.)? Notice this is happening. Become aware of yourself in the room, this will help you know when it’s time to wrap up the conversation.
Bored or boring?
Self-awareness will help you realize that you are tired (or hungry, worried about the meter running out on your parking space, etc.). None of these distractions have anything to do with whether the person you’re speaking with is boring. These are about you and what’s going on in your body and mind. If you need to use the restroom and the person you’re speaking with is telling an exciting story, you won’t register the same enthusiasm you usually would. You would appear distracted. If you keep checking your phone to see if the babysitter has texted her check-in. You would appear bored. Again, this has nothing to do with the person you are speaking with. These are signs that you should wrap things up so you can deal with whatever is distracting you. If you notice these signs in the person you're speaking with – it doesn’t necessarily mean you're boring, but it does mean you should wrap things up.
Internal clock
What if you really hit it off with someone and you’re having an amazing conversation? Wonderful! That’s excellent. Even so, you’ll want to have a sense of how much time is passing. Your goal (and likely theirs) was to meet or reconnect with several people at the event, so squirreling away with one person for most of the night isn’t advantageous for either of you. Tell them you’ve really enjoyed the conversation and would love to stay in touch. Invite them to attend an upcoming event you have on your calendar or ask where else you might run into each other.
End on a high note
The key here is to leave them wanting more. Whether you’re having a really great conversation or after a few questions realized it wasn’t going anywhere – you want to leave them feeling good about you. Then when you see them later in the evening, they will naturally be inclined to introduce you to the people they are standing with.
Ask to be introduced
If you’re new to a space, a great way to wrap up a conversation is to ask to be introduced, “Do you know anyone here you think I should meet? Great. Will you introduce me?” This works best if you’re speaking to someone who’s a regular at these events, but it could work if they even know only one other person in the room. This allows them to be a connector. They’ve learned a little bit about you and can use that information to try and make a great match. Results will vary, but this method will help you get closer to making the best connections possible in that room.
Numbers game
One other thing to keep in mind when you’re trying to decide if it’s time to move on – how many people are you speaking with? If there are three or more people in your group you can slide away when others are talking with a gesture and a murmur. You don’t need to look each person in the eye, shake their hand, and tell them you’re walking away. You just say, “I’m going to go mmmm…” trailing off as you walk away. Easy as that. Take notice thought of when there are only three of you because if someone other than you walks away there will only be two of you. At that point, you need to decide whether it’s time to wrap up the conversation by asking to be introduced (or offering to introduce them). You may also want to invite someone else to join you, which would then allow you to step away once they became engaged in conversation.
Grip, grin, and go.
What if it’s just the two of you and you’re ready to move on? What do you do and say to exit gracefully? It’s a three-step process that needs to be done without interruption.
Start by shaking their hand (grip), then with a smile (grin) say something nice (e.g. “It was great to see you here.” “I enjoyed meeting you.” “Pleasure speaking with you.”), and then walk away (go). If you’ve had trouble ending a conversation, it’s possible you interrupted this three-step process. Have you ever shook someone’s hand, said it was great to meet them, and then thought of something else you wanted to say to them? If you say it at that moment and you chat for a few more minutes, you’ve wasted the social cue of handshaking.
It’s quite possible that when you once again shake hands, the person you are speaking with will interrupt you with a comment or question. Yes, you’re now a bit stuck, but who started it? You have some control over how successful the social cue of a handshake is. Your hands and feet need to be in sync. If you shake hands, your feet need to walk away. You can always circle back to chat with that person again later in the evening or send a follow-up email.
Remember, the goal is to leave them on a high note so they are looking forward to seeing or hearing from you again. That is the basis of relationship-building, which after all is the point of networking.
ABOUT ROBBIE: www.robbiesamuels.com/about
Business Growth Strategy Coach
Robbie coaches inspiring entrepreneurial women in their 50s and beyond (and a few awesome men) to grow their impact and income by building an audience before launching new revenue streams.
WHO YOU ARE:
You want to have a greater impact and increased income. The problem is that there are so many options for how to build your business that you can feel stuck, overwhelmed, and like you’re running out of time.
The reason options are overwhelming is that you’re looking at them as a series of disconnected steps when to make the most of your time, you need a strategy that connects only the most important and highest impact ones.
You know that if you try to do everything, you’ll accomplish nothing. This means, to achieve your goal, you have to invest in a strategy to put time on your side.
WAYS ROBBIE OFFERS SUPPORT:
As a relationship-based business growth strategist, Robbie will work with you one-on-one to design a year-long plan that consists of three 12-week sprints, each followed by 4 weeks of reflection/assessment, rejuvenation, learning, and strategic planning. This will allow you to sequence your goals, create momentum, and leverage your limited time.
Have a project that you want feedback on or need assistance with a specific strategy? He offers half-day strategy sessions.
Already selling but feeling stuck around how to increase your revenue? Sign up for a one-day mastermind with fellow entrepreneurs to break through to the next level.
Ready to dig into your network to validate a solution you’ve been working on to see if you can build an audience for it before launching? Sign up for 12 Weeks to Create Your Irresistible Offer program.
Want accountability, support, and guidance as you implement your strategic plan? Learn more about his year-long Wake Up Your Network mastermind program.
These are not right for everyone; they're personalized offerings and are priced accordingly.
WHAT MIGHT YOU WORK ON?
In his coaching work with entrepreneurs, his clients focus on the areas where they'd like to grow, which may include:
- Creating a strong sales conversation framework
- Building your referral network
- Lead generation through a relationships
- Growing your visibility in your industry
- Increasing your ability to attract the right kind of clients
- Identifying and launching a minimally viable offer
- Breaking through whatever bottleneck is holding you back from getting the results you want and deserve
- Becoming a published author and marketing your book successfully
- Improving your virtual presentation skills
LEARN MORE AND SCHEDULE A CHAT: www.robbiesamuels.com/coaching
Robbie is excited to support you in reaching or exceeding your goals.
Keynote Speaker
Interested in booking Robbie to speak? At www.robbiesamuels.com/speaking you’ll find video clips and a description of his talks.
Watch his TEDx talk “Hate networking? Stop bageling and be the croissant!” at www.robbiesamuels.com/TEDx.
Stay Connected
- Connect with Robbie on LinkedIn
- @RobbieSamuels on Twitter and Instagram
- New to his website? Start here
- On the Schmooze podcast archive – weekly since July 2016!
SIGN UP for his free weekly #NoMoreBadZoom Virtual Happy Hours – www.NoMoreBadZoom.com
Affiliate Links: Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links above are “affiliate links”. This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products and services I use personally and believe will add value to my listeners. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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