Tips to Work the Room Like a Pro!

What are the best ways to work the room? First ask yourself this question - why are you there? Is it a professional event, a friend's birthday, a reunion? The answer to this question will guide how you put these next tips into practice. 1) When you arrive at the event, get your bearings. Look around the room, look for the host, look for those you know, look for the bar. Then make your move. You can always go greet the host. You can also go to a friend/colleague you know well just to start conversation. If you don't see someone you know, go to the bar. Inevitably there is a line there and you can find someone to speak with. 2) But, do not stay at the bar or buffet for long! You are not at parties to eat or drink. You go to honor someone, meet someone, fulfill work obligations, etc. Do those things - not stuff yourself on bad quiche bites. 3) So go introduce yourself! If you do not know anyone at the event, walk up to a group that looks like it is having a good time and say, "Hi, my name is ____. Your group looked like it was having such a good time I thought I'd like to join." The group will pull you right in and in no time you will be making new connections. 4) Don't stay in the same group too long! It is important to keep moving throughout the party. While it may be comfortable to stay with one group the whole night, you should not. Stay a reasonable amount of time to get to know people, but do break that conversation to make a move to a new group. This will broaden your circle and make the most of the event. 5) In all the groups, have meaningful conversations. People like talking about themselves, so open ended questions that allow people to discuss themselves will always keep the conversation going. Think of "how" questions. Those make for easy open ended questions like "how do you know the host?, how did you hear about this event?, how do you plan to spend the holidays?, etc. The answer to these questions is usually a lenghty one that you can build a conversation on if you are listening! Party on! Marty