Turning Small Talk into Business
We all like to work with people we know. There is much less stress, much less room for error and over all, a much greater chance of you being able to do your work while they do theirs, as promised. It’s important therefore, to have your little spiel in tact to turn small talk into business.
There is nothing worse than those annoying business people, with the flashy smile, business card at the ready, their ulterior motive, insultingly obvious. These cards I normally throw away.
So how do you avoid cramming your information down other people’s throats? After all most of these meetings happen post work hours.
You approach it like a human being. When the opportunity arises, let people know what you do, if you are as passionate about it as a good entrepreneur should be, your enthusiasm will be infectious soliciting questions and requests for more information.
Stuttering a reply to ‘what do you do?’ is never a good first impression. Have your answer at the ready particularly if you do more than one thing.
For instance mine is always, “I am a singer by trade but I also produce TV shows, write books and am on the telly in Australia”, that way I’ve covered the bases I want covered.
It’s no use forgetting one thing then saying, “oh yeah, I do that too” when someone mentions a topic - you don’t look particularly credible.
It’s not hard to turn small talk into business. Be inquisitive, friendly and prepared.
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