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Two Techniques for Tongue-Tied Networkers
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General Networking
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By Alex Cureton-Griffiths
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As we mentioned in You Don't Have to be Talkative to be a Great Networker, knowing what to say is not the be all and end all of networking, and listening is important above all else. However, sooner or later you've got to hold up your end of the conversation. To keep a conversation going, and to keep the other person interested, there are two strategies to help you along:
Strategy 1: How did you____?
This is easy, and it's such an open-ended question that it can get the other person talking ad infinitum. Simply ask a question about how they got to be where they are today. For example:
- How did you end up in China?
- How did you end up coming to Shanghai?
- How did you get into the fashion industry?
- How did you find out about tonight's event?
Keep reading to find out strategy number 2: the parrot strategy Recommend this article... Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (34) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 74 |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 25 March 2007 )
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Read more...
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You Don't Have to be Talkative to be a Great Networker
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General Networking
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By Alex Cureton-Griffiths
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If you're like most people, one of your biggest fears when you just start out networking is not knowing what to talk about when you meet someone. I know that was the case for me. I'd worry about having nothing interesting to say and become anxious about "drying up."
Then I realised: how much you say is not so important when networking. The biggest part of socialising with other people is listening. When it comes down to it, people love to talk about a topic with which they are intimately familar -- themselves. All you have to do is shut up and listen. At the end of the day they'll remember you as being really interesting. Recommend this article... Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (34) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 64 |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 March 2007 )
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NextStep Tuesday: 20 Mar 2007
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Events
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By Alex Cureton-Griffiths
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Great networking for entrepreneurs, though not as many people as the last one
- Good range of people - less than last time though
- Quite a lot of entrepreneurs, around 50% of the attendants by my estimation
- Lots of new faces since last time
- Quite a good offer price-wise -- no entry fee and 35 RMB per drink
- Actually got a couple of good leads out of it
Keep reading to find out what kind of crowd attended Recommend this article... Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (34) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 68 |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 March 2007 )
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Read more...
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English to Chinese to English to Chinese to...
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Site News
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By Alex Cureton-Griffiths
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For our local readers, we've just installed a little translation tool at the top of every page. So, if you want to read the Chinese version, simply click the little red flag.
Since it's a machine translation (that is, automatically done by Google) it won't be 100% accurate, but may be easier or quicker than reading the English version. Recommend this article... Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (33) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 68 |
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Say 'no' to the jiu: How to avoid Chinese alcohol
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Networking with Chinese
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By Alex Cureton-Griffiths
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If you haven't yet encountered Baijiu (白酒 - pronounced bye-jo) count yourself lucky. It's a Chinese spirit made of maize or sorghum that makes drain cleaner seem palatable. The most common English translation is "white wine" or "Chinese white wine" though it's not a wine at all. For anyone who does business with Chinese (especially up north) baijiu can be a problem.
If you're stuck in a situation where you may encounter the vile substance, use the Tic-Tac tactic. Since Tic-Tacs are unfamiliar in China, a Chinese host may not recognize that those small white capsules are breath mints. This leaves you free to ram as many as you can into a medicine jar and claim it's your liver medication and that your doctor has forbid you from drinking anything stronger than beer.
If that doesn't work then head for the bathroom and, to be blunt, be sick. Make it look a bit worse than it actually is by thinking queasy thoughts and throwing some water over your face. It sounds drastic, but it's better than getting into a baijiu drinking match. Your liver will thank you the next morning.
If you're Chinese and reading this, remember that anyone who goes to so much trouble not to drink baijiu is doing it for a reason. Don't force it on them. Also, a better translation of 白酒 is "Chinese white liquor" or "Chinese white spirits" (not Sprite.) Wine always contains grapes. No grapes = no wine. Recommend this article... Comments (3) | Add as favourites (35) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 72 |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 March 2007 )
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Maximising Your Attraction: Networking that Works
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Events
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By Alex Cureton-Griffiths
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An interesting event geared more towards new networkers. Very good networking
By its very nature, a seminar about how to improve your networking attracts a good networking crowd. The mix was about half local and half expat and everyone was very approachable. Amongst the expat side was a wide range of nationalities, including French, English, Singaporean, American and a couple of Danes, quite a rare sight (for me) in Shanghai. Jobs-wise, there were quite a lot of lawyers and trainers/coaches, with a smattering of consultants and finance people and the usual random assortment.
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