Page 112 - Perfect Phrases ESL Everyday Business

How to Network

• Leave at least one hand free to shake hands and to exchange
cards.
• When you find time during the event or soon after (before
you forget), write notes on the backs of the cards you receive.
Here are some sample notes to write on business cards you
collect:
• Best time to call is early A.M.
• Needs info on Japan, wants to go in January
• Wants to meet before next week’s teleconferencing call
• From Ecuador, wants to have lunch and practice English
with me
• In the printing business, call for quote
• Introduce yourself and others to new people who join the
group. It is a good way to practice the new names you’ve
learned.
• When speaking in a small group, try to face the door and have
your listeners face in the other direction. That way, they can
pay more attention to you and not focus on people coming
into the room. You should focus on your listeners and not
glance around the room.
• Before joining a conversation in progress, look and listen
quietly. You wouldn’t want to interrupt by adding something
inappropriate. If the group doesn’t open up to accept you,
when there is a lull in the conversation you may be able to
introduce yourself and dovetail into what the group has been
speaking about (e.g., “I’d like to hear more about your ideas
on this issue”).

If you are going to remain in the United States for a considerable
length of time, make it a point to repeat visits to networking events
of the same organization in order to build relationships. People like to
do business with people they know.

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