TJ Walker breaks down how to introduce yourself at networking events in 30 seconds. Hit curiosity, state what you do, offer something free like a book, and ask for their card. The goal is to be memorable enough that people want to talk to you after.
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One communication challenge that many people face and find stressful is how do you introduce yourself at a networking event? Whether it's a Chamber of Commerce event, some other business event, everyone has to stand up and introduce themselves in 30 seconds. What do you say? You don't want to sound awkward and say, well, my name is this and I'm a lawyer at such and such firm, and we do commercial and litigation. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's boring. No one will remember it. It's completely uninteresting. You don't really sound comfortable. You don't have to be funny when you introduce yourself, but you do need to communicate in a way that's interesting to people, memorable, and gives them an excuse to come talk to you when the networking session starts and the formal program is over and you can just talk. So, for example, I'm going to tell you how I introduce myself at networking events when I occasionally find myself at one. It's not that this is a perfect introduction, but it works for me. So the person before me has just sat down. I stand up. The very first thing out of my mouth is this. Imagine the New York Times calls you and wants to interview you about your business. They're going to talk to you for 20 minutes, and you're only going to get two or three quotes in tomorrow's newspaper. Are you completely confident that you're going to get the exact message you want, the exact quotes you want, or are you a little bit uncomfortable about this? Hi, I'm TJ Walker and I'm president of Media Training Worldwide. I coach and rehearse executives and people just like you to look your best and sound your best for any media interview, whether it's the New York Times or CNN or the BBC. I can help you look your best, sound your best, have a message, and speak in sound bites. If you want to know all the tricks of how to do this, I'm happy to give you a free copy of my book, Media Training A to Z. Just give me your business card before you leave. Boom. That's it. It's only about 30 seconds long. I sort of aroused their curiosity at the beginning because I talk about them. How would you feel if the New York Times called you to interview you and then, and only then, tell them about me, my name, my business? And then I offer something of value, a book, a PDF. It's not going to cost me anything if they give me their business card and people come up quite often, I get every business card in the room again, is it brilliant? No, it's just following a basic formula. It's much better than just your name, rank and serial number and not having anyone come up to you afterwards because they don't remember it. So give some thought to your introduction. It is a type of speech. It is a presentation. That's why you get nervous. That's why your heart is racing a little before you stand up to speak, so you might as well make the most of it.
