Tips for Making Small Talk and the Art of Working a Room

Do you need a job? Does the prospect of walking into a room full of strangers make you break into a cold sweat? If your answer to either of these questions is “YES,” then I encourage you to keep reading.

Looking for a job can be terrifying and time consuming, and networking might seem like the least attractive part. When I graduated and heard anyone talk about networking, I would tense up because I had absolutely no idea what to say to people. However, in the past few years, I have come to realize that networking really isn’t that difficult. The key is being open and willing to have a conversation with someone. The ability to connect with people through small talk is an acquired and practiced skill, but it can lead to big things like job leads, mentoring opportunities, and professional connections.

This article focuses on mastering small talk and how you can go from wallflower to social butterfly. The tips offered here are simple and will make it easier for you to speak to people at networking events, business functions and other social events.

1. Be the first to say "hello." It is not going to kill you to take the initiative and start a conversation. Plus, it takes the pressure off the person you are introducing yourself to and makes them more likely to engage in a conversation. Offer your name to ease the pressure. Smile first and always shake hands when you meet someone.


2. Pay attention during introductions. Make an extra effort to remember names and use them frequently. It shows people that you are interested and are taking the conversation seriously.


3. Don’t be afraid of clichés. Break the ice by talking about the weather, sports, movies or TV shows. These topics put people at ease because they are topics that everyone can talk about and will usually lead to other subjects. If you stay up to date on current events in your field (or desired field) you will be able to talk intelligently on a wide variety of subjects, making it easier to talk to people.


4. Use conversation builders such as "What do you think of...?" “Have you heard...?" and “What is your take on...?" Stay away from negative or controversial topics, and refrain from long-winded stories or unnecessary detail in casual conversation. Talking about the time you threw up on someone at The Union is not a good networking conversation.


5. Be honest. If you are sweating bullets because you are nervous about the situation, it is okay to say so. Say something like, “This is the first meeting I have attended, and I’m never certain what to say or what questions to ask. You really handle yourself well. Any suggestions for me?” If you are honest about it, people will probably be empathetic with you. Most people will understand your feelings. Most were probably uncomfortable in networking situations before, too!


6. Ask questions. The best conversationalists mix talking with listening. As people talk about themselves, you can ask about their job, company, or business projects. This frequently leads to opportunities where you can indicate how your skills can be of benefit or how you might be able to help. To obtain really good information, ask open-ended questions. For example: "Why?", "What if?", "What is your opinion?", or "That's really interesting. Can you tell me more?" By asking questions and showing sincere interest in a person’s response, you come across as both professional and communication savvy. If you ask questions and do not appear interested in the person’s answer, you will have lost an opportunity to establish a good personal or business relationship. Listen intently and do not interrupt. Give feedback and maintain eye contact. Sincerity brings you respect and admiration, and people hire individuals they know and respect.


7. Accept business cards gratefully. If someone hands you a business card, accept it as a gift. Don’t just throw it into your briefcase or pocket without a glance. Take a moment to read it to show that you appreciate receiving it.

8. Act confident even when you’re not. If you look uncomfortable, you are going to make the people you are talking to uncomfortable. Don’t stare at the floor, shift your weight or stand with your arms crossed.

9. Be respectful. If you decide to enter a conversation that is already in progress, stop to observe and listen. Don’t just interrupt the conversation because you want to get involved. If you stand to the side and show interest, it is more likely that those in the conversations will notice you and invite you to join.

10. Exit gracefully. Exiting a conversation is often tougher than starting one. Have a few exit lines ready, so that you can gracefully move on. For example: "I've enjoyed talking with you. I've noticed a couple of new guests that I haven't met as yet. Would you please excuse me?" or "I need to check in with a colleague over there." If all else fails, head to the restroom. Don't be embarrassed to move on; you do not want to overstay your welcome. One of the biggest mistakes in networking is to talk too much. You want to make a good impression and leave people wanting more. To do that, “Mingling Maven” Susan RoAne advises: "Be bright. Be brief. Be gone."


11. Follow up on leads. If a person gives you their business card, give the person a call or send them an email a few days after the event and thank them for taking the time to talk with you. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't get a meeting or job lead. You are no worse off than you were before. But if you make the call, odds are something will materialize. At the very least, you just might make a new friend who is willing to keep any eye out for other job opportunities.

12. Attend every opportunity possible to work a room or connect with new people. Something is bound to come from these small talk opportunities. If nothing else, you will gain practice in the art of working a room. And we all know that practice makes perfect!

Sharon Metzung (BSJ 2003) is the Publications & Graphics Manager at Lake Metroparks in Concord Township, Ohio. Sharon can be reached at s_metzung@yahoo.com.

Political Conventions

Although I really never planned on attending a Democratic or Republican national convention, I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend both earlier this month. My firm, Lesic & Camper Communications, is working on an issue education campaign called the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, which is aimed at educating policymakers, elected officials and health care stakeholders about the need for better prevention and management of chronic diseases in our health care system. Because chronic diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and others, account for 75 percent of our health care costs.

So my boss and I went out to Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul with the Ohio delegations of each party to help spread the word. We were able to have breakfast speakers at both Ohio delegations' events, and delegates received PFCD t-shirts, pedometers and brochures. It was pretty cool to see some of the delegates actually walking around with the pedometers!

But enough about work. These trips were fun too. I was able to see speeches by Hillary Clinton and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner at the DNC Convention, and Fred Thompson at the RNC Convention. I also caught glimpses of celebrities like Ashley Judd, Chevy Chase, Aisha Tyler, Cyndi Lauper and Jon Voight.

However, my favorite part was meeting Luke Russert in Denver. As you may know, he was covering the youth vote at both conventions for NBC. I was even hoping to meet him before I went out there, and I just happened to see him outside of our hotel. So I asked if he'd take a picture with me, and he graciously agreed.

Sometimes working in public affairs may not sound like the most exciting option as a student, but I certainly have valued some of the opportunities I've had this fall.

Reasons to Move to DC: public transportation, go-go music* and chili-dogs**

Thinking about moving to the Nation's Capital? A few things to consider:

1) Washington, DC is a wonderful city - full of an eclectic group of people from around the world all pursuing different goals. From politics and lobbying, which seem to go hand-in-hand, to associations, banks and media organizations – employers are wide-ranging and far-reaching! A few suggestions if you are interested in looking for a job/internship:

http://www.dcjobs.com/ - comprehensive list of jobs

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/jjj/ - not only can you find a job/internship on Craig’s List, but also an apartment or a used toaster if you so desire!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wl/jobs/home - another reliable, comprehensive list of jobs

http://asi.careerhq.org/search.cfm - numerous association headquarters are located in the DC-Metro area from the Association of Pickle Packers (google it – it does exist!) to more well-known associations like the National Education Association. I have/had friends who work for associations – writing for their trade publications, blogging about the DNC and RNC, event planning, etc.

http://www.rcjobs.com/ - Capital Hill jobs – from policy jobs, to the press side of things – your journalism degree can certainly translate well into a job on the Hill

http://www.hillzoo.com/jobs/ - Capital Hill jobs

2) DC offers public transportation - http://www.wmata.com/ - which not only cuts down on commuting time and money, but allows you to get anywhere in the city without a car! Go green!

* Go-go is a subgenre of funk that originated in the Washington, D.C., area during the mid- to late-1970s.
** http://www.benschilibowl.com/

NBC Finally "Gets" this Internet Thing

It wasn't too long ago that NBC was scrambling to remove it's now infamous SNL "D*ck in a Box" skit from Youtube (and any other site that was impinging on its 'copyrighted' material). Their official and on-record vigilance about removing any trace of the SNL skit caused thousands (maybe millions) to be unable to access and view it. The only problem with this course of action, of course, is that while protecting their intellectual property, NBC was shelling one of their first truly "did-you-see-that" talk-value SNL skits in a long time.

SNL had started to go the way of the dinosaur, and NBC seemed determined that viewers would only be rewarded with content if they tuned in at 11:30 on Saturday nights for the original broadcast. And the attitude at NBC seemed to be a big "too bad" if you were eating, sleeping, or doing anything else than making an appointment with your TV for SNL viewing. In a time of fragmented consumer attention, this was totally counterintuitive-- as if NBC was single-handedly going to buck the will of millions of consumers by re-introducing a literally captive audience to their television broadcasts.

That was a little over a year ago. Enter the 2008 Olympics. The games are taking place in a country that is many time zones removed from ours, forcing NBC to re-think this tune-in-live-or-too-bad policy. NBC partners with Microsoft for live streaming video from the games, hosting on NBCOlympics.com. This would appear to be a vast improvement, with NBC now allowing their 'copyrighted' material to circulate on the web.....

Except for one little catch. The time zone thing was tricky for prime-time broadcasting-- NBC decided to delay showing big events for prime-time TV in an effort to draw a large audience to the broadcast. If those events were allowed to be viewed online live, that meant NBC's prime-time broadcast might be hurt. So, only select streams were made available live, and some streamed only after the on-air broadcast. Personally, I didn't watch an ounce of the Olympics in prime-time. Even as a rabid sports fan, the idea of knowing the result hours beforehand tends to kill the impact of the match. I did, however, stream online when NBC allowed me to.

The site was a step for NBC, nonetheless, and one that paid off--42 million unique visitors to the site, spending an average of 27 minutes during the games. That's a huge amount of eyeballs, and a depth of engagement that no doubt, NBC was happy to capture-- and didn't want to miss by not streaming events online.

Now, NBC has joined the networks that stream popular shows online. It even has a fancy new tagline, "Chime In." This is likely to highlight they are coming out of the dark ages and allowing conversation around their own product. A small move that I noted and appreciated, but I wasn't sold on NBC as a network that was innovating or embracing online conversation by any means.

The real watershed for selling me on NBC came with Sunday Night Football this year. Like many ridiculously-addicted NFL fans, I was thrilled when the season opened on September 4th. Like many NFL-addicts who live on the West Coast, I was upset that the game began during the workday here on the West Coast. Millions of NFL fans have been forced, in the past, to settle for bad text updates via mobile phone or internet browser ("Manning incomplete pass on 3rd down"). This compared in no way to watching a game.

NBC shocked me by beating ESPN's Monday Night Football to the punch, and launched Sunday Night Football's site, http://www.sundaynightisfootballnight.com/. Besides being a beautiful site, it's also rich with what is the best streaming sports coverage to-date. The interface of the game is the same you would see on-screen, PLUS PLUS. It offers 5 different camera angles, ability to see plays in instant replay, and overall, adds up to the most satisfying sports experience online. ESPN has been innovating at a rate far beyond its stodgy network competitors for years-- but NBC nailed this one. I was highly disappointed on Monday when I looked to stream Monday Night Football from ESPN.com, only to have the same old text-tracking experience that frankly, wasn't worth monitoring. For the 2008 season so far, NBC Sports, 1 : ESPN, 0.

Oh, and the latest SNL skit to go to "must-see" status is Tina Fey's recent rendition of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. I missed the live broadcast of the SNL skit, but I caught it on Youtube. Because NBC allowed me to catch it on Youtube, in addition to displaying the skit for video play prominently on their own homepage.

Thanks, NBC, for finally "getting it" and realizing that if your content is good enough to be sought out online-- that isn't a bad thing, but an incredibly good thing. An incremental kind of thing, not a detrimental kind of thing.

I'll be streaming Sunday Night Football while I watch the broadcast on Sunday. Have you seen the site yet? What do you think?

Communications Manager Position (Springfield, Ohio)

This job notice comes by way of Scripps alumnus Kyle Rose, who knows a thing or two about the position: It's his old job.

Position Purpose:

Develop, administer and execute effective communications strategies and plans for the Springfield Plants, inform and consult with Plant management in an advisory capacity to ensure effective internal and external communication and establish sound Company relations with employees, organizations, news media and the general public. To effectively market the Springfield plant and assist the plant in maintaining positive customer relations.

Basic Requirements:

Bachelor's Degree in Journalism, Communications or Public Relations; or 7 years of Journalism, Communications or Public Relations experience At least 5 years of Journalism, Communications or Public Relations experience

For application details, see https://jobs-internationaltruck.icims.com/internationaltruck_jobs/jobs/candidate/job.jsp?jobid=8350&mode=view.

If you'd like to know more, contact Kyle directly.

The Smoothest Sell

"I'm Ira Glass and you're listening to This American Life"-- listening, not watching. Because as we all know, This American Life is a radio show. But last night, I watched This American Life, live, in a movie theater. To recap, that's a radio show, broadcast live from New York, seen (as well as heard) in real images in real-time on a giant movie theater screen?

One might say that is a strange combination of different media.

Some of you may know that Showtime worked with Ira Glass to create a 6-episode pilot season of This American Life, the TV series, last year-- bringing the stories of America into the Era of Pictures. This ruffled some longtime listeners, as the show was viewed as "selling out" to the medium that radio purists might say killed the radio, TV. But despite some objections, TAL became a radio / TV show last year.

Last night, it became a radio show / TV show / live event / movie. Ira and company were broadcasting live from New York, sending out a live signal to movie theaters across the nation. TAL might have recorded live shows before, and broadcast to radios across the country, but never have simul-cast images as a layover, as they did last night. It was hard to imagine what I was watching-- was it a movie (the smell of popcorn and a huge screen), a live event (a stage and presenters with Q&A), a TV show (TAL the series), or the radio show (Ira's voice) that I have always loved?

That's when I realized that it was a hybrid of all of these, but with a defined purpose.

Leaving the show, I was entertained and happy-- I had just seen what amounted to an exclusive-showing, long-play TAL with pictures. Quite possibly I had just witnessed some form of entertainment heaven. But this entertainment made me a consumer and led me to an action. How's that? The screening of TAL on the big screen in the media melee last night really amounted to a Season 2 preview for the show (that's right folks, it was advertising, or at least, some form of it).

During the movie / radio show / event / TV show, Ira casually mentioned that Showtime's season two of TAL was beginning on Sunday. Although a regular listener of the TAL podcast, I often listen well after the fact (like many Americans), and would have absolutely missed the opener of the second season of the TV show Sunday had I not been sitting there.

Whew-- just in time to set my DVR.

I think the event / movie / radio show / TV show I saw was incredible, and it just might have been the smoothest sell I have ever had in marketing, too. My DVR is ready for Sunday.

Is yours?

Deceiving to get the story

These college reporters told the governor's office they were interested in one story to get a tour when they were really after something else. The Gov's office was mad at the deception.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10301407

Is it OK for journalists or PR people to lie ``in the best interests of the public'' or company they work for? My general rule is to be totally up front with people about what you are looking into. And if you think it will scare them off, then tell them nothing rather than lie. Why would students need to even say what the story was about? They are doing a story involving the Gov. residence and would like a tour. If they had it cold that the tour guide was there, they really didn't need the tour except for color.