Get confidence at business networking events

The thought of networking is enough to scare anybody who may not be the most confident person in the world. You are there in a room full of strangers and you have to make conversation as well as promote yourself and business. All this, while seeming confident and approachable. It can be quite an experience walking into a crowded room, whether it be a social event or a business networking event, you will need to mentally prepare yourself if you lack in confidence. A good thing to remember is that a lot of the people there are also feeling the same; you won’t be alone with your thoughts and feelings. It is rare that anybody can go into a room with 50+ strangers and feel 100% confident, but there are ways to hide the fact you feel like this.1) Think to yourself this, you are missing paid work for this, you need to make the most out of the time there. So use it wisely, collect business cards, chat, and really promote yourself. Otherwise at the end of it all you may feel as though you have wasted valuable working hours for nothing.2) Talk to people with open and inviting body language, these are the people who aren’t in a closed circle chatting. It could be awkward if you try and join in to a closed group of people.3) Set yourself a target of how many useful contacts you want to gain before you arrive, try and exceed the target if you can. It’s best to set yourself a realistic target, 3 or 4 is a good amount and then it gives you time to chat and get to know them. If you exceed your target you will feel as though you have achieved something.4) Remember that everybody there is there for the same thing, business networking. They all want to meet new people and gain business contacts just as much as you. The chances of somebody rejecting you and not speaking to you are slim and even if you have nothing to talk about exchange business cards as you never know, you may need their services in the future and vice versa.5) Believe in yourself, you have the expertise in your area of work and enough knowledge to talk about what you do. 6) If somebody does seem rude or condescending, remember, you don't have to talk to them if you don’t want to, get away from them if you are uncomfortable and find somebody a bit more inviting to talk to.7) Know what you are doing. Talk to people with as much confidence as possible. Giving enough eye contact and hand gestures as needed but keeping it appropriate for the conversation.These are just a few things to think about, it’s not going to make you queen bee of the networking event but it will make you seem more confident when speaking to people. It gives you some structure so you aren't a stuttering mess and can really help you gain some useful business contacts and hopefully get you some work yourself.