I read a lot of posts about networking and how to be great at it, and I always feel like they can be summed up in two words: Back Scratching.
Good ol' fashion back scratching is a Southern tradition so I get to hang around some of the greats on the regular. The basic premise is this: You take two people with pesky itches and bring them together. The 2 people soon realize that they both have 2 capable arms so in a very NATURAL/common sensical interaction, they decide that both will help each other get rid of those itches and commence to some scratchin'. Both parties walk away feeling good and knowing that if there ever have an itch again, there's a damn good scratcher in the Rolodex. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.
If you are going to attend a networking event, establishing your purpose, doing your research, and preparing a great elevator pitch all needs to be done BEFORE you get in the door. Once you get there, it should be all about finding the itch and scratching it...
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