I have heard the above phrase plenty of times. The truth of the matter is that we often say this after we attend an event that is a complete waste of time. The real question is why did we hate the event. Did we do our due diligence before the event to make sure that it was the right event to attend? Did we come to the event prepared?
Both of these questions are important to answer. More often than not, we go to an event where we are not prepared and are hesitant to approach people as a result. We often don’t know what we are trying to accomplish and therefore end up talking to one of two people. Either yourself or someone that you came with.
I ran across these 5 tips for networking and mingling:
http://careeradvice.suite101.com/article.cfm/network_mingle_at_work_events
Take a look at these tips and make sure that you have a well thought out plan for the next event that you are attending. The majority of people do get nervous when they are meeting people for the first time. Planning will help you get past that and be the networker that you need to be.
Wow, I hate networking too!… Just kidding. It’s fun, if you choose to make it fun. I wrote a short article in which I provide some business networking tips… I’d appreciate your feedback: http://www.weblifellc.com/five-effective-business-networking-tools
Brian,
You are right. A lot of times our mindset kills it for us when we go into something with a bad attitude. Thanks for the post.