Question emailed to the show...

Can shy people network?  I network by email, but I don’t get very many responses.

I am a shy person. Maybe even an introvert.  I can’t walk up and start a conversation with a complete stranger.  My face gets red, my hands get clammy and I get so nervous I get the hiccups.

Here are some tips for the shy individual:

1. Crowds can be over whelming. Get there before the event starts.
2. Volunteer when you get there.  See if you can help set up tables.  Sometime as people arrive, the event rep. will introduce you. Also, now you will feel you have a purpose for being there. If they need help at the registration table or working with name tags that is an ideal position for you to be in.  You will meet the members as they come in and you can see who you want to talk to.  You won’t be walking up to them cold; they will remember you from the table.
3. If there is a registration table, talk to the person in front of you and the person in back of you.  Now you know two people.  Same thing if there is a food table.
4. When you walk around the room and you see someone else standing off in the corner by themselves, walk up talk to them and walk around the room together.
5. Sometimes you can see a group of people looking like they are having a good time.  Go over and stand next to them. When there is a break in the conversation, someone will turn to you especially if you just opened a roll of mints.
6. Goals – 5 new people.
7. Personal reward.