Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 4: Prepare
• Method 2 of 4: Making contact
• Method 3 of 4: Talking Tricks
• Method 4 of 4: Develop networking skills
• Tips
• Warnings

No matter how the networking process is described, introverted people who are looking for a job think they won't succeed. They often ask themselves: "What if they refuse me?" or "What can I say to start a conversation?" If you belong to this category of people, you will understand that the fear of new acquaintances prevents you from establishing the necessary business contacts. Here are a few steps to help you improve and develop these skills.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Prepare

1. 1 Check your assumptions. There are several common misconceptions about networking that can easily confuse the conscientious introvert. Among them:
   • Don't assume the worst. Do not think that you are bothering someone. Most people will love to hear from you, especially if you have something to say or if you were introduced to a mutual friend or colleague. We are sociable creatures and we need new acquaintances.
   • Don't look too serious (or don't take it too seriously). You can relax a little. In general, smile! Smiling will not only win over you, it is also a psychological trick that will make you feel better. You will feel more confident and everyone will notice!
   • Don't feel like it's impossible to make connections if you don't have an innate skill. This skill, like any other, can be learned.
2. 2 Watch your body language. There are ways to communicate that you are in a good mood or want to chat with others (as well as ways to demonstrate that you don't want to talk to anyone). Here's what you should keep in mind:
   • Be attentive and passionate. Show your friendliness by staying relaxed and open. Try not to slouch or cross your arms over your chest.
   • Maintain eye contact. Maintaining eye contact can be difficult. It's a natural human instinct to look away when you're feeling insecure. Remember to focus your attention on the person or group of people with whom you are communicating. While gazing is interpreted differently in some cultures, the habit of avoiding eye contact can be considered rude or boredom in the United States.
   • Try not to fuss. If you constantly straighten your clothes, drum your fingers, or constantly look away, this shows that you are not interested in the conversation and you are thinking about something else. You can use these movements to calm yourself down, but the other person can easily decide that you want to get away as soon as possible.
3. 3 Hold something in your hands. If you find yourself constantly fussing, grab a glass of water, your conference brochure, or a stack of papers. This will keep your hands busy and keep you focused on the conversation.
   • It is not recommended to hold a phone or other electronic device in your hands, which will hint that you are waiting for something more important than the person with whom you are talking. Moreover, if you hold your phone in your hands, you will be tempted to answer the call instead of politely continuing the conversation.
4. 4 Remember to breathe. Chances are that at some point you will panic or get nervous, especially if you are communicating in a place that is too noisy or mobile for you. If you feel your heart rate pick up, take a deep breath, gathering your courage, and if necessary, rest for a couple of minutes in a quiet place. Being in too noisy places can be stressful, so make sure you have time for yourself - even if just a couple of minutes - to rebuild your strength.
   • Taking a five minute break to recover can do wonders. Step out into the cool (or warm) air, look at the sky, birds, cars in the parking lot, whatever. Or walk into an empty room or side hallway to catch your breath (a restroom isn't always a good option). Clear your head and head back.
5. 5 Practice the art of networking. Working with a responsible instructor or career counselor can be very helpful. Explicit improvements are noticed in clients who have practiced the art of networking because you are taught real skills that work in most situations, as well as fallbacks if the original idea doesn't work. When this skill is second nature, you become more natural and focus on what you want out of the situation, rather than trying to impress or just get lost in horror.
6. 6 Be sure to have a plan. Be completely confident in what you want to get out of this communication. Ask yourself: What is the ideal outcome of the conversation? How she looks like? What am I waiting for? If you have thoughts about what you are going to do, then you will most likely succeed.
7. 7 Serve as a source of information. One way to overcome your fear of networking is to be the person to be contacted for information. If you are on a committee and your knowledge is important to its members, people will look for ways to communicate with you. Then it will be easier to bring the conversation to your career goals.
8. 8 Turn networking into exploration or a puzzle to be solved. Think of gathering information as research, not networking. Introverts usually like to solve puzzles, so it is a good idea to look at these activities as the puzzle you are trying to solve - where the pieces of the puzzle are put into place and how the pieces are connected.

Method 2 of 4: Making contact

1. 1 Become a member of the association. Join an association or working group, then you will have something in common with the members of this organization. This will make it easier to start a conversation with another member of the organization, since you have common goals. Some of the best working groups become members of the program or public affairs committee. You can also choose a workgroup that will encourage you to move outside your comfort zone and learn new skills.
   • The best list of associations you might be interested in is The Encyclopedia of Associations, the best source for in-depth information on over 162,000 non-profit organizations around the world. The Encyclopedia of Associations database provides addresses and descriptions of professional communities, trade associations, trade unions, cultural and religious organizations, fan clubs and other groups of various types (Use the database and don't even try to buy it - on Amazon, the edition is in four volumes sells for 2 thousand dollars! If you go to hold a book in your hands, you better go to the library).
2. 2 Become a permanent member. Once you join an organization, attend regularly.It will take people six months to start getting to know you and saying hello, so at first you may feel uncomfortable on your first visits, but focus on what you are learning. It's okay if you are quiet at first meetings, because if you keep showing up, month after month, eventually you will be recognized as a "permanent member" and you will feel more comfortable. Soon you will be able to communicate without any problems at all.
3. 3 Use technology. If you feel uncomfortable making face-to-face connections, try social networking sites such as LinkedIn or Twitter, which are great for your purposes.
   • The People Finder feature on LinkedIn can help you connect with people you haven't heard of in years. Another big plus of this site is that it has a list of professional groups that you can join and expand your contact list significantly.
   • Twitter is also a very useful social network. Here you can enable search for topics of interest and follow people whose tweets you find interesting. After that, you can visit their blog, leave comments and start a conversation. If you get to know them well enough, you can suggest joining you on LinkedIn.
   • There are also chats, podcasts and webinars available, although they are less social than social media, they provide an opportunity to gain professional knowledge that will help you when you start a face-to-face conversation at an event.

Method 3 of 4: Talking Tricks

1. 1 Use your natural style. Learn to use your naturalness when attending events so that you are not considered fake. However, here we give you the following important hint: it is worth going to such events with a sociable colleague who will introduce you into the conversation. You can even make a plan of action with a colleague before you even go there.
   • For example, discuss who you would like to meet and how long you would like to continue this conversation. Your coworker may “professionally” interrupt you to introduce you to someone else when the time is right or when you signal.
   • Ask to introduce you to others. Another strategy adopted at events is to ask people you know to not only introduce you to others, but also keep the conversation going until it gets off the ground.
2. 2 Try to start a conversation. The big challenge for an introvert is keeping up a conversation. If the person you are talking to is an extrovert, this will not be a problem - ask a couple of leading questions, and then just listen politely. However, when talking to other introverts, ask questions about themselves. For example, ask how they came to this position - this can give you a strong clue in your quest. You can also ask about their careers - what project they are currently working on, learn about the pros and cons of the position, and the like. Ask about the family, which professional association they belong to and why. Listen carefully and try to find out if you can help them - you might be able to help with something that will improve your ability or help you bond with them.
   • Get more from what you know. Take the time to read the industry newsletter before attending a business or social event, or when preparing for an informational contact interview, so that you feel comfortable sharing the exciting news you hear.
   • Forget the idea of ​​a company blitz resume in 30 or 60 seconds. You probably know all about such short speeches, but you need to present yourself in a completely different way! In reality, you only have six seconds to introduce yourself, which is difficult for spatial representations. Instead, choose a short, succinct statement, such as:
     • "Hello! My name is...My company, senior management, Limited Liability Company, can help you succeed in the field ... ”. If your presentation is bright and interesting, you will be invited to submit a business plan.
3. 3 Focus on what you do great. Introverts usually don't like talking about themselves; they prefer to talk about their ideas. Force yourself to talk about what you are doing. Don't brag and make sure your topic is about the general discussion. In doing so, you will help extroverts remember you and, most importantly, they will be able to discuss your qualities or your character when they listen to information about your achievements. While you may be mistaken for being who you are, rather than judging your accomplishments, the truth is that many in the business world judge a person by his or her success.
4. 4 Don't pressure the person with your conversation. Introverts usually don't like to talk about trifles, they prefer long discussions. If you have the opportunity to chat with someone, make sure that you are not wasting his or her time, and that body language will tell you when to end the conversation. Most people go to these events to mingle with more than one person, so make sure you don't completely monopolize someone else's time. Instead, make sure that your short conversation is remembered for a long time, and after that you exchange business cards. On the back of the card, you can write what you talked about to make it easier to return to the conversation.
5. 5 Find someone who stands alone. Do you know how many people there are who hate to attract attention? Such a person will most likely stand alone with a glass in hand and desperately wait for it to be over. Come and say hello. You may find a soul mate and a new friend.

Method 4 of 4: Develop networking skills

1. 1 Analyze your results. Introverts who are intuitive and analytical can use these skills to determine if they are good or not. Results can help you figure out where you get the most tangible returns.
2. 2 Help others. Perhaps this will lead you to job seekers. You do not need to talk to them, but they will remember that you have done them a favor and will consider you a friend. Try to make a list of job search sites where you can find jobs for friends who have recently lost their jobs. They will be grateful for your help and the time you saved them.
   • Focus on how you can help others using your talents and abilities. The fact that you are an introvert does not mean that you have no talent and ability. On the contrary, you can become a valuable asset for the right person! The main thing here is to help others with your skills and abilities, while helping yourself. A good way to start this practice is to write down questions on the sheet that you can use in conversation and that will indicate your skills. You can use these questions when making business contacts and people you can help achieve your goals. This dangerous undertaking should be beneficial to both of you.
3. 3 Find “intermediaries” in networking. Don't make it your goal to find one person who can introduce you to another person, or worse, who doesn't know anyone. Instead, work with a middleman - someone who knows multiple contacts at once. If it's hard for you to do it yourself, you'd better find yourself intermediaries - five people, each of whom will know ten more people, and then try to establish contacts with fifty people. Although this strategy can take a long time, because it can be very difficult to find intermediaries, and they ask for high fees.
   • Two suggestions: Look for introverts whose work makes them communicate a lot, or extroverts who can share their contacts with you.
4. 4 Arrange an event. When hosting an event, business meeting or party, you can focus on the comfort and relaxation of your guests rather than yourself. Make sure you have a lot of food and it's easy to prepare so you don't have to spend all your time in the kitchen. For example, try making pasta bows with different sauces so guests can choose their own. Treat guests to a glass of wine. Prepare a salad for the meeting, for which guests will choose their own dressing and side dish.
5. 5 Come to meetings and events in advance. Get in the habit of arriving very early, among the first guests. It is much easier to make acquaintances when you arrive earlier than when you are late, and all the guests have already gathered and split into groups. Another benefit of arriving early is that you can get to know the event organizers who are likely to be influential people who can introduce you to some of the guests.
   • Another tactic is to introduce people to each other. This will release the pressure from you, and you will be able to join the conversation by "actively listening."
6. 6 Remember the saying “Life is a cabaret, my friends!". Relax and enjoy.

Tips

• Try public speaking. Ironically, many introverts are great speakers and great actors. They are used to focusing more on a group of people, rather than specifically one person. One of the key benefits of being a speaker is that people will come to you on their own, making it easier to form friendships.
• Start developing your connections by building on your followers. First of all, establish contacts with your mentors, close colleagues and friends.
• It has been proven that four out of 10 CEOs in America are introverts! To reach such heights, they had to learn to behave as if the world around them was a big stage where you can play and be yourself. You can do the same.

Warnings

• Don't spend too much time making contacts. If you’re worn out, you don’t even want to. Accept that you have your limitations and go to one or two events a month. You will have to build such a relationship for a long time, so it is better to stick to several groups, rather than exhausting yourself by attending all events for ten groups of people in two months.