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Conversation ‘outs’ for Successful Networking


Before we get started on the topic of conversation ‘outs’, it’s worth perusing the Networking article first to get in the zone of networking success.




Now that you’ve done just that, this is a key part of successful networking: knowing how to move on from conversations without offending your fellow conversationalist or making things awkward.

You can picture the scene: you’re at an event and it’s the ‘networking over refreshments’ part after the main speech or activity, you’ve got about half an hour until you want to be on your way home but there a few connections you need to make before you can go – maybe this was your goal for the evening.

You spy a professional and friendly looking person perched by a table looking thoughtfully around and there’s your next chat victim. You introduce yourselves and find out they are nothing to do with the industry you’re in, but you politely continue the talk with a series of questions that are met with short answers equivalent to blunt instruments, and inside are panicking about the time ticking and the time being wasted.

Of course, this might not be the common situation; you might be having a great conversation with someone and made a good connection, even swapped contact details and agreed to meet in the near future. But rather than drag out the discussion further you want to make the most of the last half an hour and meet more people.

Either way, you need an out. If it doesn’t seem like the conversation will be wrapped up by the other person you need a few verbal bullets ready to fire. Here’s some ammo for you:

The honest one
  •       'It’s been so good to talk to you and we’ll definitely have to follow up with a meeting soon. I’m keen to catch a couple of people before they leave but I’ll drop you a line later in the week.’
  •      ‘I’m glad we met, and it’s been really interesting speaking to you. There are a few people I wanted to connect with before I go, so I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of the evening and thanks again for your time.’

The super polite one
  •         ‘I’ve no doubt you have plenty of people to connect with here and I don’t want to take up any more of your time – it’s been lovely meeting you and enjoy the rest of the event.’

The desperate one
  •      ‘I’m going to grab another drink before they wrap up / the speaker comes on / while I can, so I’ll catch you later in the evening.’
  •      ‘I must run to the bathroom but no doubt I’ll see you in a while!’
  •      ‘I’ve just seen someone that I need to catch up with, please excuse me while I try and grab them for a quick chat.’


Check out next week's blog for more top tips on your skill development!

@theiamhub
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