5 ms·

I can't emphasize the body language part enough. A lot of the time, and I have been guilty of this, people go on and on about a project they're working on, even

by kyro 17y ago

I can't emphasize the body language part enough. A lot of the time, and I have been guilty of this, people go on and on about a project they're working on, even when they sort of notice the other party not interested, hoping that the person's mind will change once they hit some critical part of their monologue, or that once done, the person listening will evaluate the idea as a whole and finally get it. Learning how to pick up on the nuances of body language is really important. The angle at which the person you're talking to is standing, their eye movement, how engaged they are, are all cues to their level of interest. If a person isn't standing parallel to you, that could mean that they're preparing to walk off, or are opening the ground for others to enter, and if you pick up on that, quickly move to what you want and end it. If you keep going, it's more than likely that the person really isn't listening to a word you're saying and cannot wait until you're done. Shifty eyes, or occasionally smiling at passer-byers, etc, are also signs that the conversation isn't really going anywhere. Being able to read body language in general is good skill to have (interviews, friendly interactions, etc).

jacquesm 17y ago
This all comes down to good preparation. If you know you're going to be running in to someone simply set up a meeting before you go. And inquire if they'll have some time. If they say no you know where you stand. Approaching people 'cold' is a hard to master art anyway, most people are busy and most of them are too busy right now for you. But if you give them a chance to work you in to the schedule most of them will give you a bit of their time. I personally avoid tradeshows and such like the plague, hardly any business of any significance gets conducted there. Everybody in the know already has a fair idea of what will happen, and otherwise you'll get it in the press or on the web the next day. For internet companies to host 'events' is a little weird, the real action is on the web, and your press contacts should be well prepared long before any physical meeting, and even then it is probably better to have them one-by-one than all in one go. The panel discussions are slightly different, it is a format that translates badly to the web, and it sometimes can give some insight in the personalities of the people behind the names. But you're clearly not open to approaching them on a personal level in that setting, it's 'many-to-many'. Better to save that for another time.

by kyro 17y ago

jacquesm 17y ago

This all comes down to good preparation. If you know you're going to be running in to someone simply set up a meeting before you go. And inquire if they'll have some time. If they say no you know where you stand. Approaching people 'cold' is a hard to master art anyway, most people are busy and most of them are too busy right now for you. But if you give them a chance to work you in to the schedule most of them will give you a bit of their time. I personally avoid tradeshows and such like the plague, hardly any business of any significance gets conducted there. Everybody in the know already has a fair idea of what will happen, and otherwise you'll get it in the press or on the web the next day. For internet companies to host 'events' is a little weird, the real action is on the web, and your press contacts should be well prepared long before any physical meeting, and even then it is probably better to have them one-by-one than all in one go. The panel discussions are slightly different, it is a format that translates badly to the web, and it sometimes can give some insight in the personalities of the people behind the names. But you're clearly not open to approaching them on a personal level in that setting, it's 'many-to-many'. Better to save that for another time.