You’re at a networking event and you’ve just shared the smooth “elevator pitch”(see last week’s blog) you so carefully crafted. So has the person you’ve just met.

What’s next?

Sometimes, there’s thisdreadful, awkward silence, where you both look at each other and nobody saysanything. If that’s happened to you before, with what you’ll learn in thisblog, that’ll be the last time!

Derived from my years as a newspaper reporter and in the decades of successful networking since then, I invite you to add the following set of questions to your post-elevator pitch experience.

Who-What-When-Where-Why and How.

These questions can breakdown the barriers and open up a meaningful dialogue. Personalize each one.

• Who do you know here?
• What part of your work do you enjoy most?
• When did you move here/join your firm?
• Where are you from originally?
• Why did you decide to come here today?
• How do you see your business/role changing in the coming year?

Follow-up Statements

Of course, it’s notenough to just ask these critical questions. You also need to listen carefullyto the answers and acknowledge what is said with an appropriate comment beforemoving on to another question.

• That’s really interesting.
• I wasn’t aware of this before.
• Thanks for sharing what you’ve just said.
• That’s cool. I had a similar experience with …
• Wow! What a story,

When you focus your elevator pitch on the person in front of you along with asking the right questions, and actively listen to what they reply – magic can happen. Doors will open. And the whole world becomes a more welcoming, connected place.

Any presentations coming up soon?