What to say when you walk in alone

The hardest sixty seconds in networking are the first sixty. Everyone in the room has lived them. Here is how to get through them with your confidence intact.

Arrive with one line ready

Have a single sentence about who you are and what you do. Say it out loud once before you walk in, so it is there when you need it.

Head for the edge, not the center

People standing alone or in pairs are more open than a tight circle. The sign-in table and the coffee are natural first stops with a built-in reason to linger.

Open with the situation, not a pitch

Comment on something you share: the event, the venue, the speaker. Is this your first time here works every time, because the answer starts a conversation either way.

Exit gracefully

It was great meeting you, I am going to say hello to a few more people. Short, warm, final. No one expects a twenty-minute first conversation.

You belong in the room

You were invited or you signed up, which means the room is for you too. Walk in like it.

Words to know: pitch, first visit.