NETWORKING: BREAKING THE ICE Conferences are great for networking. You might lean some new ideas at the presentations and workshop, but it's during the coffee breaks and the evening events that make conferences such a good use of your time and money. Conferences are all about meeting people and, of course, making friends. Although some of those new contacts may become your customers, you shooldn't try to sell them anything at the conference. Most of the people you meet there won't want to buy from you, but they might be able to recommend some potential customers that they know. so, don't try to too hard, just be yourself and allow any business partnerships to appear naturally. The most difficult part of networking is always starting a conversation with a stranger and keeping it going for those first five minutes. it can be incredibly haunting to walk into a room full of people. all of whom seem to know each other and are involved in deep conversations How could you join in? In fact those people might be in the same position as you. Half of them also don't know anybody and are trying to get involved.The busy looking people who are walking around the hall are probably pretending to be busy so they don't have to admit that they are alone The best thing to do is to try to participate in one of the conversations lt is polite to introduce yourself and ask if you can join the group, but there is nothing wrong with standing and listening for a few minutes first. Don't worry that the groups are discussing top secret business deals. They almost certainly aren't The worst thing to do apart from standing in the middle of the hall by yourself is to walk around looking busy. If you really feel shy to talk to strangers, maybe you should go home and try to network at the conference the following day, A much better solution is to move slowly around the room, make eye contact with people, smile and say'hello'. Remember the old saying: "Smile and the world smiles with you' It's a real magic.