“In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey.” Beck

Over the past 10 years I’ve mentored a lot of graduates entering the media industry, an industry that has its fair share of events where people are busy networking while pretending that they aren’t. I’ve been asked to share the tips for dealing with these events that I’ve taught over the years. These are ideas that anyone can use to make work events less daunting and more fun. Some are tips that professional performers have passed down over the years, others I’ve discovered through experience. I hope you find some of them useful.

Imagine a skilled and experienced performer who has been hired for a networking event. Lets call him David. It doesn’t matter if David is a magician, a mind reader, a psychological entertainer or a caricaturist, just imagine David is very good good at what he does. David’s job is not just to entertain people but to act as a catalyst for the event, helping people to meet, to talk and to make useful contacts.

How does David approach a group of people? Who does he talk to first? What does he say? How does he bring other people into the group? How does he deal with difficult audiences? How does he politely leave a group and move on to the next? How did David first learn to work an event in this way? Does he get nerves and if so how doe he overcome them?

Over the next year I’m going to discuss these questions in detail. For now, lets start with a simple question.

Imagine you arrive at a party. Before you talk to anyone you take a look around and ask yourself how you think the party is going. Is everyone talking to each other? Are there any people who look awkward and alone? Do people seem to be relaxed and having fun? Is there one group that is noticeably louder or quieter than the others? You don’t think about meeting anyone yet, you just try to read the atmosphere.

Now imagine that this is your party. Pretend that you are the host. And ask yourself this question, “If this was really my party who would I talk to first?”

Your answer to this question will tell you a lot about how you socialize.

Now ask yourself, “Who would David approach first?”

I’ll return to these questions next week.