Effortless Networking Moving On Without Being Rude

Writen by Sri Dasgupta

How do you end any conversation?

At the end of a chat with a friend, how do you wrap it up? Does this approach work for you and your friend? If so, why not use the same approach in the business context?

For instance, just the other day I spent a couple of hours with a friend. I hadn't intended to talk for so long. So when I noticed the time, I had to end our conversation quickly.

I told my friend that I really enjoyed our chat, and I had to go pick up my son from school now. Perhaps we could schedule another get-together soon. My friend agreed. And we went our separate ways.

This is very similar to how I end social conversations at parties, and business conversations at networking events.

The main difference is that I may or may not want to meet with these people again!

The other important difference is that I usually offer to introduce the person I'm talking with, to someone else.

If someone is at a networking event, I figure they're there for a reason. So I ask what they're looking for. Is there an introduction I can make? Is there someone they want to find?

If I can make the introduction or help find whomever they're looking for, I do so.

If not, I introduce them to someone else who may be able to help better.

Either way, it clears the way for me to move on.

And far from being rude, it's actually a positive ending.

I can think of at least two cases where people I met just once remembered me years later just because we ended our conversation in this manner. When I encountered them again, their words were (more or less):

"Oh yes, I remember you -- you introduced me to so-and-so! That was really helpful."

(c) Copyright 2006, Srirupa Dasgupta Srirupa Dasgupta is the author of Effortless Networking: Everyday Wisdom to Transform your Business and Life. She helps small business owners, entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals build, sustain and leverage the professional and personal network that is necessary to succeed. To get a free 15-page guide on the "5 simple ways to Network Successfully", visit her website at www.EffortlessNetworking.com .