[nabentre] Networking article

[Mary Ellen]

I came across the following networking article on www.mashable.com, a site
for anyone interested in social media and e commerce.
 
http://mashable.com/2011/09/20/networking-tips/
 
The article dealt with seven tips for people attending networking events.
 
As a blind person, I sometimes find these events challenging.  I believe
that we could come up with a similar article for blind people attending
networking events.  All the tips in this article intended for the sighted
apply to us, too, but I'd be interested in the reactions of people on this
list.  I doubt I'm the only one who finds working a crowd a learned art.
So, what have you learned?
 
1.  How do you find people to talk with without awkwardly interrupting
conversations?
 
I listen for conversations going on around me and walk over to people who
seem to be interesting.  I stand quietly by until an opening presents
itself, introduce myself, and comment on the topic under discussion.
Sometimes this works well; at other times I fear I may have thrust myself
into a place where I'm not really welcome.  Partly it's a matter of
confidence, others are doing the same thing I'm doing, except that they're
making eye contact first.  Like everyone else, the conversation gambit works
sometimes, but not always.  How do you handle starting conversations with
strangers at a networking event?
 
2.  What about those chairs?  I have found that a blind person moving
through a room looking for conversations to join can appear lost to sighted
people.  Their reaction is often to place us somewhere safe so that we're no
longer moving.  It's common at such an event for a friendly soul to offer to
help me find food and then escort me to a table where I sit in not so
splendid isolation.  
 
If most of the other people in the room are seated at tables and tend to
stay there, then I find a table that's fairly full but has a few seats
remaining and hope it's an interesting group.  If most people are standing
and circulating, I either politely refuse to sit at a table or sit there
just long enough to finish my munchies and then circulate again.
 
I like to stand near, but not right at, the food table.  I often have some
food on a plate or napkin so that it's clear I've found the eatables I need.
People tend to congregate near the food or the bar, so it's easiest to join
conversations in those places.
 
It's tempting to continue a conversation with a congenial person, but the
purpose of these events is to meet people, as many people as possible.
After I've been talking to someone for a few minutes and get the sense the
person is ready to move on, or I'm ready to move on, I often say something
like, "Do you come to these events often?"  If the answer is affirmative, I
ask my conversation partner if he or she has met people interested in
whatever subject I choose.  The topic may be my reason for being there, but
it could be something totally random.  My purpose is to get an introduction
to someone else in the room.  Often I can meet quite a number of people by
openly asking to be introduced.
 
If I'm attending a gathering with a sighted colleague, or if a sighted
friend happens to be present, I ask them to help me find particular people I
want to meet.  I am also quite willing to ask a sighted person, even a
stranger, to describe the layout of the room.  If I have good information, I
can move with confidence.
 
Sometimes networking events are noisy.  I haven't found a good way to work
around the problem of music or ambient noise that makes it hard to find
people or hold conversations.  How do all of you handle loud gatherings?
 
Please write back with your networking event tips.