The best advice I've ever heard about networking had to be "keep asking questions". If you want to initiate a conversation, try to learn about the other person.

The best advice I've ever heard about networking had to be "keep asking questions". If you want to initiate a conversation, try to learn about the other person. A lot of people (myself included) think, "Oh, I'll start with a hilarious anecdote about myself" (or a joke about the venue, comment about the event, etc.). This is terrible, and it gives the other person nowhere to go - either they agree and say yes, or they disagree and you're fucked. If you open the conversation by getting the other person to talk, you can pay attention and think about what they say. At this point they're either genuinely interesting, and you keep going, or you politely find an excuse and get the hell out. Let people talk about themselves, but don't get glued to a middle manager at a carpet factory for an hour because he has a million stories about accidentally delivering the wrong pile, or whatever.