Make it a rule to have something in your stomach before you get out of your car for a networking event. You may be diving into the deep-end and swimming with great new contacts; but make sure you have eaten recently and somewhat substantively.
You don't want to end up ravenously shoveling in hors d’oeuvres or tempted to take:
• Large amounts of food in your mouth so you can’t respond to questions or talk while chewing;
• Large servings of food falling off your plate; or
• Anything which can be potentially messy, i.e. larger than two bites or which can miss your mouth. Don’t wear your food.
Sometimes when you are nervous, talking, netWORKing or under stress, you can inadvertently drink more to relax yourself, to give yourself the courage to be more outgoing, or just to have something in your hand to hang onto. If you have something solid in your stomach, the effects of alcohol can be diminished.
In any event, be careful and always limit your fluid intake, you don’t want to have to be excusing yourself in the middle of a conversation with your possible new boss.
Keep track of what and how you eat and drink and you won’t have to be excusing yourself after the event either! Use Making Conversation manners.
To learn more tips and techniques for better communication results, please contact Making Conversation at www.makingconversation.com. Peggy Wallace, Making Conversation LLC. (www.makingconversation.com) can improve your communication skills and enhance your interview preparation.
Present your best self by being authentic and enthusiastically showing your own unique personality; open doors by winning with words.
Contact Peggy for private sessions at Tel # (760) 803-2641 or e-mail Peggy at peggy@makingconversation.com
Be authentically yourself. Establish rapport. Making Conversation can assist you to develop responses which are thought out ahead of time, not the "automatic” or “right" response, but your personal best answer. If you communicate effectively with confidence and ease, your answers will persuade the interviewer to become your advocate.
Author Bio: Peggy Wallace's Making Conversation offers group and private conversational skills sessions as well as private interview preparation, with videotaped interview practice. Interview prep for college, jobs and scholarships assists you in developing clear, concise, persuasive and relevant personal stories which exhibit your individual strengths. Peggy is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania/Wharton School and Boston University School of Law. Peggy was a regional alumna volunteer interviewer for undergraduate admissions to Penn/Wharton for over 25 years. Peggy's business experience includes corporate attorney, fundraiser and financial services sales consultant.
