Fake It ‘Till You Make It?

You know who I’m talking about.

• The guy who flashes his gold watch at every opportunity.
• The woman who manages to mention her Prada bag once per conversation.
• The loud one that keeps talking about how successful his company is.
• The uppity looking lady that seems to be looking down on everyone.

You’re at a networking event for a reason. Everyone knows you are there to sell something – service or product – to the masses at the event. Pretending you don’t need the peons at a networking event makes you look downright silly, because if you didn’t need to be there…you wouldn’t be.

Very few people attend networking events for fun, as such, acting like you don’t need to be there or shouldn’t be there or are too good to be there just makes you look fake.

I know there are a lot of reputable authors that say you need to act successful to become successful. What they mean is having a confidence that is deep and strong. A confidence that isn’t seen by the people you’re talking to, but felt by them. It’s unconscious, and certainly doesn’t have anything to do with a gold watch or Prada bag.

The flashier you try to be, the less people will want to talk to you.

How do you act different when you’re in a crowd of people? Do you clam up and become a wallflower, or do you become overbearing and clumsy or something in between or entirely different?