What Seinfeld can teach you about networking

Overcome your fear of networking with the right opener

Seinfeld. The show about nothing, or what everyone referred to it as, but one of the most successful shows in the world. After more than a decade of being off the air, people still remember what station it was on, what day of the week it was on, and what time.

So what made the show so great and memorable? The same thing that Jerry Seinfeld was known for on stage as a standup comic, and the same thing that can take ordinary networking or your fear of networking and make them shine: Universals.

What’s a universal? It’s something that a lot of people share. Jerry Seinfeld and George Carlin were both masters of pointing out the universals in our lives. Seinfeld had a routine about the secret lives of socks that hilariously explained the inexplicable, like the lone sock in a laundry basket (its partner escaped) or on a sidewalk (an escapee that failed) in compelling stories that made a peculiar sort of sense out of everyday mysteries. George Carlin made a living pointing out our inability to use the English language, especially when it came to things like airplane safety protocols (”What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?”) and political correctness.

These are universals. Funny references to daily life; outside of corporate speak, outside of wordy press releases filled with jargon. Universal experiences are experiences that many, if not all of us, have shared. They’re the social glue that give us common ground to start conversations.

Ever wonder why so many conversations start with the weather or sports? They’re our universals, things that are interesting enough to talk about but still safe, common, shared experiences. Try starting a conversation with politics, sex, or religion and you’re just as likely to seriously offend the person you’re talking to as you are to get them to talk to you.

So when going to a networking event or dinner, come prepared with some interesting universals that you know will safely break the ice. Going up to a stranger and asking them if they caught the (insert your sport here) game on TV last night, or how do they like the weather that has been occurring in your area, will almost definitely guarantee they will respond to you and is much safer and will get the person to start talking.

After the conversation is started, begin to ask the person about themselves. People might not want to talk much, and could be as timid and scared as you are, but if you get them talking about the one subject that they are experts in, themselves, you can not go wrong.  Everybody loves to talk about their life; it’s what makes us human!

Good luck and better networking!

excerpts from blog post by Christopher S. Penn, http://newmarketinglabs.com