What Happens if You’re Sitting Next to the Talkers?

When you go into a networking event you have to decide where to sit.

While this may seem like a small concern, who you sit with is going to determine who you talk to throughout the event. The next few posts are going to cover the types of people you will find in groups sitting together at networking events.

The Talkers

That talkers come in two varieties:

1. The people that came to power network. They don’t want to listen to the speaker, they don’t want to listen to people introduce themselves from other tables. What they want is exchanging of business cards and the opportunity to tell everyone what they do.
2. The Mommies or Daddies. We all have families, but we don’t all go to networking events to talk about them. If you find yourself at the table where most of the people are talking about little kids and how adorable they are, either look for the other bored person and talk to them…or try to get the conversation steered back toward business.

If you can get a word in edgewise, do your best to be engaging. The talkers will stop talking if you are more interesting than cupcakes, princess parties, and Tonka trucks. While it may be difficult, if you can get the talkers to pay attention to you and listen while you talk about your business, these people are going to tell others about you. They are potentially great referral partners.