Do you panic when asked the inevitable social event question, “So what do you do?!!!” Try keeping it simple. Your aim is to get the listener interested, not give a canned answer. I love the idea of highlighting a talent or skill and providing a success story.
My favorite networking authors, Lynne Waymon and Anne Baber (Making Contacts Count, AMACOM) www.ContactsCount.com offer these examples of good answers to that question. Would you be interested in continuing the conversation if you heard these? Any examples of others you can give us for starters?1. Interior decorator: “You know how kids outgrow their clothes? Well, I consult with families who’ve outgrown their houses. I just helped a couple decorate a room for their new baby.”
2. Survey Methodologist: “I design surveys and questionnaires. I wrote one for soldiers returning from Iraq and figured out a way for them to answer online. We were amazed when that boosted the response rate by about 18%.
3. Human Resources Manager: “I’m in charge of the on-boarding process for all our new hires. I just spoke about some of our newest ideas at a conference for people from Fortune 500 companies.”
-- For quick access to a few recent posts:
When I point to well known introverted leaders, Warren Buffett is at the top of my list. One of the richest men in the world seems the most grounded to me. I love his practical approach to life. I laugh at his jokes. The successful introverted leaders I know make a point of nurturing this human side and WB is the best.
In this interview, Buffet shares a lesson he learned
I would guess that millions of dollars have been spent this past year on time management books and training programs. We all seem to want to know the answer to managing the chaos around us. Continue reading the rest of this article...
“Much of my work as a virtual assistant involves social media these
days. Initially, this was much easier for me to handle as an
(extreme) introvert. Strangely enough, I find that as friend counts
climb and the volume of online communication grows, I react with the
same sense of overwhelm, stress and exhaustion as I do to live or
phone communications. Have you heard this from others?”, she asks. Continue reading the rest of this article...
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elevator speech,
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My latest answer to the “What do you do?” question is, “I remind people how wise they are.” They always want to know more.