Twitip

By Emma Merkas of 30 Dollar Date Night. Follow her @30dollardate.

#Networking can be a daunting prospect for Tweeps who are used to networking of the internet variety. If you’re an introverted person who is most comfortable communicating in bite sized chunks of 140-characters at a time, I suggest you throw open the comfort circle and delve into some #Networking.

Yes, I’m talking face-to-face networking. For you, it may conjure up images of all those A- type personalities gaily laughing over canapés and glasses of fine wine, being all witty and interesting with no effort whatsoever made on their part…

Wrong. I’ll let you in on something… the extroverts are secretly just as daunted as you are. And the good news is – networking is a skill that can be learned.

And believe it or not, #Networking is a great way to complement your online efforts. Meeting someone face-to-face makes you a standout from the rest of the online world. People suddenly want to help you, refer people to you and refer you to other people they know that may help you (did you catch all that?) all just because you’re standing face-to-face with them!

Networking engenders a community spirit – and one that is sorely needed if you spend your days at your keyboard in the privacy of your own home.

All it takes is a little practice, dear Tweeps. I started my career in Public Relations at a very young age, and would front up at events where everyone else had a good 5-10 years on me, feeling extremely out of place and nervous. Luckily, I was taught by one of the best in the business – she is still a great mentor of mine and I have never seen someone disarm a stranger the way she can. I learned a lot from her, and have since developed my own techniques that set me in good stead.

So here are some of my very best tips to get you started. Even the most shy people can get by with a few simple tricks:

1.Pick your events wisely
Networking groups are popping up all over the globe that are meant specifically for Bloggers, Tweeters, Diggers and every other social networking and bookmarking site you can think of.
These are an ideal start because not only are they relevant to you and what you do, but EVERY other person there will talk your language. Hell, every other person there probably also had to specifically get dressed just to leave the house and attend the party! The good news is, you have a common ground before you even get there.

2. Fly Solo
Being social in Real Life is a different story to being social Online. It can be daunting, standing alone in a roomful of people that you don’t know at all. It may be tempting to take a buddy for moral support, but if you think you can manage on your own, then go for it. Chances are, if you take a friend then – you’ll end up speaking to your friend all night while eyeing off the rest of the room suspiciously, wondering whether you should make your move or not.

3.Think like a peacock – stand out from the crowd!
In a roomful of people, you want to be noticeable (in a good way!) when people are scanning the room for who to talk to next. They say first impressions count, and that they are also very hard to change. These impressions are literally made in three seconds flat – and in those three seconds people will decide whether they want to talk to you, or not.
What can you do to stand out in the right way? Try making a particular effort to look polished and professional, a bit edgy, or to wear something will act as a talking point: a witty slogan t-shirt, a statement piece of jewelry or something quirky and fun that relates to your blog or online content. This gives people something to anchor to when they open a conversation. Try it, and you’ll be surprised at how many people will come up to you through the night and say “I love your tshirt/shoes/jewelry,etc.”

4.Use your biggest asset – a friendly smile!
The quickest, most effective way of disarming someone is to smile at them. Immediately, their instinct is to mirror you back and in most cases, a smile enough to engage them  enough to approach for a chat.
That said, just don’t openly stare at them, smiling, for a full five minutes like some stage-five clinger… that’s a little freaky. A quick smile and acknowledgement across the room is a perfect opener.

5.Don’t be afraid to approach others.
Remember – everyone is there for the specific purpose of meeting other people! Preferably, to meet lots of other people.
This means you won’t look at all like a total weirdo by walking up to someone and introducing yourself. You don’t even need a pickup line – something as simple as “Hi, I’m Bob. What do you Tweet/Blog about?” will get the ball rolling. Alternatively, use a compliment as your opening line.(this works particularly well for girl-to-girl chats – “I love your necklace/shoes/dress, etc”, as per before, works both ways.)

6.Know your Elevator Pitch
“An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words).” – Wikipedia
Do you have an elevator pitch for your blog/Twitter account/business? When someone asks you what it is you do, it pays to have a short, sweet version to deliver them right away.
For more information on how to develop it, I recommend this great post from Problogger Write An Elevator Pitch For Your Blog

7. Talk about their favorite subject.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret… there is one topic that will get everyone firing on all cylinders straightaway: Themselves.
The easiest way for you to have a great conversation with someone is to talk all about them. What do they do? How do they like it? How did they fall into that? How long have they been doing it for? Where do they live? Do they love living there? Are they married? Do they have children?
The conversation doesn’t all need to be about business. It’s inevitable that you’ll cover it a little bit, but don’t keep steering the conversation that way. In fact, if everyone else there is talking business and you’re chatting and laughing about fun stuff, you’ll be the standout raconteur for the night. They’ll remember they had a great time with you, and that is all that matters the next day – being memorable.
Listen properly, ask vivid and insightful questions, laugh with them and show them a great time. Then, after they are stunned with your “conversational powers,” take their card or @username down and do the business part later.

8.Share the love around the flock
Don’t feel like you have to talk to the same one or two people all night. You are there to meet as many different people as you can. Once there’s a lull in conversation, there is no problem in excusing yourself to go and get another drink or to go to the bathroom, and falling into the next conversation with the next person.
An alternate method which works quite well is to draw a third person into your conversation and introduce everyone before slipping away quietly to your next interaction.
And don’t be offended if the same happens to you – I used to take it personally if people walked away from my conversation to join another group, but then I just realized that people are there for networking, not to talk to me all night!

9.Follow up.
Networking is useless if you never speak to the people you meet again. The art of the follow up is paramount. Get business cards, URLs and usernames for every person you speak to and connect with them or contact them the next day.
Something as simple as a direct message to say “Lovely to meet you” is great, or even better – if you have thought of a person or resource that they might like, flick it their way for them.
Be proactive about following up – don’t sit back and wait for people to contact you.

10.Give, and you shall receive.
One golden rule I love – be useful to people. Don’t expect to get something for nothing. If you can recommend services or other contacts for them, send them articles that you think they might like or just entertain them in general, then you can start asking for favours back.
Be prepared to put in the work to build a relationship and you will reap the rewards of a strong and health network of Real Life People.

For those in Melbourne – @tweetupmellers and @MTUB Networking events are regular events. Feel free to add your own local #Networking group in comments.