Success in any kind of endeavor relies upon the quality of the relationships which you feed. Whether you are part of an organized networking group like BNI, participate in conversations with others at social networking sites like Mashable, or regularly attend Chamber of Commerce events; the principals of networking remain true. Today we will be discussing networking at live events. Please comment on this post and add your top networking success and failure examples to the list.

Here are 3 common mistakes that will make a networking event into a not working event for you:

1. Attend an event with a group of friends and spend all of your time talking with them. If you wanted to hang out with your buddies and grab a beer, you could have done so in your basement. Plan on splitting off from your friends and regrouping later. Make a plan to introduce yourself to a minimum of five people. You never know where these new relationships may lead.

2. Don’t do your homework, finding out who will be there and brushing up on the current events of the group. People who are skilled at networking listen 90% of the time and talk 10%. People who never see results from networking events won’t shut up about themselves. Brushing up on the local business news for two minutes prior to walking into an event can make the difference between participating in a conversation and being left in the dark.

3. Frown, mumble, and look grumpy! Would you engage someone in conversation if their body language sent a message saying, “I’m grumpy!”? Obviously not! Realize that everything in business and life has seasons. Check out my previous blog post, Is the Sun Shining In Your Business? for perspective. Tactics that have been effective for me include listening to my favorite music before entering the event, writing down 3 things that I’m totally grateful for, and chatting with one of my favorite friends. Just do whatever you must do to feel upbeat.

If you think of yourself as shy, read this post titled “How to Network: 12 Tips for Shy People” .  What are some of your best networking vs. not working stories? There is another fantastic article that can be found here: https://outwittrade.com/networking-tips.

What are some of your most solid networking strategies?