Whether you are preparing to attend a conference (think BlogHer, Blogalicious, etc.), or you just want to feel more comfortable socializing offline, here are four ways you can ease your nerves:
Make a habit of saying “Good Morning” in the elevator. Go even further and ask how they are doing. This is great practice in starting a conversation with someone you don’t know. It will prove to you that most people are friendly and will speak if you speak.
Make sure your elevator speech sounds like you. Your 15-30 second description of you and your business and/or blog should flow easy in conversation. Having an elevator speech that is comfortable will help you feel confident talking about yourself.
Have a list of icebreaker questions in mind. Some of my questions are:
- What have you enjoyed most so far?
- What drew you to this conference?
- How was your travel?
As you see, these questions are designed to get the person comfortable talking, and are pretty safe subjects. They also do not signal any type of self-fulfilling motives.
Arrive early. This one you may have seen before, but I added it here because it works. Arriving early does two things. First, it saves you from walking into a room full of people that you do not know. Secondly, you can pick your spot, which saves you from having to take whatever is left (you know, that chair in a middle row that forces you to squeeze past numerous people in that awkward “I don’t want to put my butt in your face” position).
Do you have any tips that have worked for you?
LOL!! I know that postion very well. i just came back from a large national conference and was in that spot myself!!