How to Work a room

Before I explain to you how to work a room to your maximum advantage there are some basics which you need to know as well as some back-up ideas which you may want to implement.

Strategic positioning

To improve upon your chances of meeting people and in particular any target clients who you know you could recognize, try and position yourself midway between the toilets and the pub or the eats. People who come to these events generally walk along these routes. That is when they bump into you.

If there is someone in particular that you want to meet and spend some time with and the event involves a sit down presentation, you should try and ascertain exactly what time the guests will be asked to take their seats. Shortly before this announcement is made try and link up with your target contact and start your discussion. When the announcement is made for guests to take their seats you can simply ask if you can join the contact in the presentation; this way you can get to continue your planned discussion uninterrupted at least until the presentation begins.

Get the guest list

Before you attend an event with networking opportunities you should try and established how many people will be attending. First prize would be to obtain an actual guest list so that you would know who is attending that you may wish to be introduced to or to whom you wish to speak. By having sight of the guest-list in advance allows you sufficient time to research target clients. If your research leads you to discovering something about your target clients business that you may be able to assist them with, you may appear highly knowledgeable and intuitive if the subject is raised in conversation and you are able to provide up-to-date comment on it.

You could also ask if anyone else from your industry has been invited to the event so that you can prepare yourself to show contacts how your offering differentiates from that of your competitor. You might also want to find out which guests are local and who is coming from out of town. This would be important if you choose or are required to serve clients from particular areas only.

Always take a sufficient number of business cards to ensure you do not run short when asked for a card. You should also consider that some clients may ask for more than one card as they may have contacts or referrals apart from themselves who may need your help. Don't forget to write down your agreements and commitments on the back of your contacts business card after obtaining their permission to do so.

When you call to confirm your attendance, try to make sure that your details have been correctly recorded. This saves you from having to explain to every conversation partner that your name tag is incorrect. You would also be saved from being given a handwritten name tag when everyone else's has been nicely typed out. I hate this when it happens as it gives the appearance that I’ve gate crashed the event or hadn't taken the trouble to respond to the invitation on time.

This little tip is seldom used but is very clever. Some very professional net workers carry their own name tag with them every time they attend an event, just in case. By doing this, their name is always spelt correctly and is displayed in the format they have chosen. It also makes sure that they get noticed as their name tag is different from everyone else's and is always beautifully presented; it often boldly displays their chosen slogan “The leverage Guy”.

Understand that in a networking situation people anticipate that others they have never met before may approach them. It is also accepted that conversations may be relatively short before people move on to talk with other invitees. You can use these norms to your advantage as you move around and work the room. If you arrive at an event and find that you do not know anybody there, you could always ask the receptionist or the host to help you feel more comfortable by giving you an overview of who is in attendance that they think you might like to be introduced to you, given your field.