Why Telling People What You Do Too Soon Can Sabotage Your Networking
January 25th, 2010
There are four words that, when strung together, are very dangerous – I already knew that. Most of us know when we’re in a class or workshop it’s best not to be wearing our expert hat, but did you know it applies to talking about what you do?
When you’re out introducing yourself, remember that everyone you meet will be wearing their “expert hat” – their pre-conceived notion – about what your job title means. If you tell some me you are a financial planner for example, most people think they know what that is, decide from past experience whether it applies to something they care about, and walk away from you if it’s not.
If, however you say something like, “I help baby boomer women achieve financial independence” (or something like that), your listeners “expert hat” will come right off because they won’t understand exactly what that is.
Case in point. One of my students is a “holistic healer”. She was at a networking event and someone asked her “what do you do?” Fresh out of the workshop she really wasn’t sure what I taught her would actually work so she said, “I am a holistic healer”. The person who she was talking to said, “Oh my gosh. My mother went to a holistic healer and they said she was going to die within a year!”
OK – End of conversation.
Most of us know that’s not the kind of thing a holistic healer typically does. Her listener had a misconception about the title because of a bad experience. She had her “expert hat” on about what that profession meant, and since she was a bit traumatized by the experience, a further conversation would be problematic.
This same thing will happen to you no matter what your profession is if you introduce yourself and state your profession in the first two or three sentences.
If I told you I was a writer (which I am, by the way) what would you think?
Maybe I write romance novels, maybe newspaper columns or magazine ads. I wouldn’t get to the part about what I actually do (teach people how to write and deliver elevator speeches). You would have already decided that I do what your “expert hat” has told you about what a writer does. You would have stopped listening and being curious because you thought you knew. Have you ever experienced this?
This is normal. We all do it (even me) and doesn’t make you – or anyone else for that matter – a bad person. People are busy and have short attention spans. When we’re at an event it’s easy to be distractible.
Remember, when you introduce yourself. Tell how you help people, who you help and who you are looking for. You’ll meet allot of great people and maybe even get an introduction to your dream client!
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Networking Expert, Karen Frank publishes Networking News, a semi-monthly newsletter devoted to helping you avoid marketing disasters and networking faux pas. Get the home study course “The Seven Deadly Sins of Networking and How to Avoid them” Free when you sign up for Networking News at www.misskarensproductions.com
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