Networking is one of the key components to success in a business environment.
Whether you are representing a company or yourself as an individual, networking can reap many benefits such as a platform to source for new business leads, job opportunities, or garner more information into industry insights and news.
In our earlier article, we shared three unexpected ways you can kick off a networking session in a professional setting.
And, if those are not enough for you to connect with new contacts, please take a look at Harvard Business Review’s interesting methods to start the conversation rolling:
What excites you right now?
This open-ended question can reveal many insights into a person. They could drop suggestions about their interests or lead you into new developments in their industry or company.
Depending on the nature of their answer, it can give you an idea on how to further the conversation – whether to stick to business or delve into family and personal interests.
What are you looking forward to?
Whether it is the end of the week or a pre-planned vacation, there are many areas to go into this topic. You can start by sharing your answer first and asking them for their views and ideas.
If the person does not have anything to bring forward, you can pop in some suggestions to rev up his/her enthusiasm. However, if he is not responsive, then you can take the cue and move on.
What’s the best thing that happened to you this year?
This is a question that may guarantee a smile. A gift, marriage, or the birth of a child can elicit enormous amounts of joy.
However, if the person shared that he got retrenched, got hospitalised, or had encountered any ill-fortune, you can empathise and share some words of positivity and encouragement those bad situations are unexpected ways for us to learn and grow.
What causes do you support?
Animal welfare, climate change, environment – there is a chance that the person you are trying to network with has a cause that he or she fervently supports.
As companies go green and harness sustainable strategies, employees are now walking the talk as advocates for reducing carbon emissions and charitable causes.
Other than causes, you can flip the question and ask which self-care routine they subscribe to like yoga, cross-fit, meditation, gardening or mindfulness.
What’s the most important/interesting thing I should know about you?
A bold question to ask – some people might get stumped with this, but others might give you a surprisingly exciting answer.
The person could reveal a hidden talent or desire or ambitious plans to further his or her career.
Sometimes, during the conversation, he/she might bring up quality or experience that you can conclude as the most interesting thing you’ve heard so far. Such a statement can allow the person to feel valued and unique.
These conversation starters are meant to create trust and build a positive and long-lasting relationship.
But, in any situation, there will be a chance that the person might be unresponsive if the question might seem provocative initially. If so, ask the question and deliver an answer first to break the ice.
Main image from Pexels
