Interested versus Interesting

Conversation is a two-way street. However, in the interest of networking effectiveness, you really need to be more of a listener.

Again, to quote the late Walter Cronkite, we need to be more interested than interesting. That is to say, listening, being interested, is by far preferable to working hard at being interesting.

Start a conversation with a question. Guide the discussion toward your conversant. Listen carefully and build on each question. Learn something about who they are and what they do. Where did they go to school? Are they a local native? Why did they choose their career? What's it like to do their kind of work?

You get the idea: this isn't about you--yet. When the conversation turns to you (and it will, if your conversant does what you do), politely answer questions, but go back to them. From your perspective, you'll learn more about them and you by sharing.

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