Tips to Overcome Anxiety when Introducing Yourself at Networking Events

If the thought of giving a brief introduction of yourself and your business at networking meetings makes your palms sweat, read on . . .

When participating in various networking meetings or functions, even if you’re there as a guest, the fact is that you will be required to introduce yourself sooner or later. Preparing a script for introducing yourself will improve your results. One of your scripts should be an overview of what you do – your basic self-introduction. (Other presentations can address various aspects of your product or service.)
I recommend this structure for your script:

• Your name
• Your business or profession
• Brief description of your business or profession
• Benefit statement of one of your products or services
• Your name (again)

Your name and your business profession are easy enough. A brief description and a benefit statement can be separate items; however, they are often intertwined in your message. It is fairly easy to combine your business with the benefits of your product or service. I suggest telling people what you do, as well as what you are. Example:

“I’m a financial planner and I help people plan for their future” or “I’m an advertising and marketing consultant; I help companies get the most out of their advertising dollar.” These explanations are more effective than saying, “I do financial planning,” or “I plan advertising campaigns.”

In many situations, you’ll be introducing yourself to only one or two people at a time. Some business networking organizations have all the members stand at each meeting, and in round-robin fashion, give a 30- or 60-second overview to the entire group. If you are a member of a group like this, it is vitally important to vary your presentations.

Many people who are in networking groups that meet every week have a tendency to say the same old thing, time after time. From what I’ve seen, many weekly presentations are done weakly. If you don’t vary your presentations, many people will tune you out when you speak because they’ve already heard your message several times.

Remember, your fellow networking members are the people who will be looking for referrals to pass to you; they need to learn about your business and about YOU. It is helpful to focus on the benefits that the prospective customer receives “after” the product or service you provide – how you and your business help the situation or problem.

It’s important to educate your business networking group about the type of referrals you would like to receive. Your best strategy is to give a brief overview, then concentrate on just one element of your business for the rest of your presentation.

If you prepare your introduction using these techniques, you will build more confidence when introducing yourself and, even better, you’ll begin to get better networking results. I’d love to hear about your results using this type of introduction at your next networking meeting or function – leave a comment below.

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