Contrary to the popular belief of both introverted and extroverted people, both personality types have characteristics that can help them be excellent networkers. Sometimes extroverts assume they are the best networkers because of their willingness to meet and interact with large groups of people. There is also the misconception that all introverts are shy or aren’t engaging personalities. Introverts have just as much personality as extroverts, they just express it differently.

Here are four reasons why introverted people can be excellent networkers.

1. Networking is all about developing mutually beneficial relationships.

The key to starting a relationship is to make the other person feel appreciated and to show them that you are interested in them. Extroverts can meet a lot of people in a short amount of time through high-energy social interaction, but networking always comes down to one person interacting with another. Introverts prefer to have fewer and deeper relationships, so they will use their one-on-one people skills to help them cultivate constructive relationships.

2. Listening skills are vital to learning about other people.

People want to feel that they are being heard. And, to help them solve problems, you’ve got to hear them talk about their needs. Because introverts are less assertive in speaking, they are less likely to control the conversation. But this means that the other person is much more likely to steer the discussion toward whatever is heaviest on their mind. This creates an opportunity for the savvy networker to help solve the problem through an introduction, giving them a referral, or knowing how to solve it themselves.

3. Networking is about connecting people who can help each other.

Introverts tend to enjoy an inner world of deep thinking and problem-solving. Inside this inner world can be a great deal of knowledge and experience that can be put to use to help other people within their network. While an introvert may know know “everyone” (as people assume extroverts do), but if they will spend time reviewing their resources and know-how, they will become a valued friend to those they help.

4. Maintaining connections is vital to building long-term relationships.

With fewer contacts, introverts can put more resources toward keeping in touch with the people in their networks. They have stronger ties to fewer people. Even though the theory of “weak ties” (we get a greater variety of information from people outside of our tight circle) suggests introverts may be at a disadvantage, they can actually turn this to their favor. They may have fewer relationships themselves, but the stronger ties they develop should give them greater access to the people their contacts know.

Conclusion

While introverts may have to work a little harder at some aspects of networking, their personality style doesn’t mean they are at a disadvantage. In fact, some skills that is vital to developing a strong network of mutually beneficial relationship depends on the strengths of introverts, including listening, staying connected and problem-solving. If you are an introvert, don’t let those extroverts convince you that they have superior skills. Stay focused on your strengths to become a successful networker.

Looking for more networking tips, tricks, strategies & advice? Visit Meeting Wave’s Networking Motivator Blog.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator ™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at http://www.thenetworkingmotivator.com/ for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

The traditional view of networking, large groups of people randomly mixing at events, seems to be tailor-made for extroverted networkers. Indeed, they do tend to enjoy networking and gain a great deal from these events because they are able to approach, meet, and engage with a large number of people at these events. But they are still not above improving their networking skills in order to get better results.

Here are five ways that extroverts can improve their networking:

1. Slow Down

Extroverts tend to show more enthusiasm about people and activities that they enjoy. They enjoy the large-scale human interaction that takes place at networking events. But they can get carried away by their enthusiasm and rush through the time it takes to get to know someone. This might be okay if they are dealing with another extrovert, but if they are talking to an introvert, this can be very off-putting. Take time to really slow down, focus on the event and enjoy the moment.

2. Listen

The same enthusiasm and energy can also cause an extrovert to become very talkative. If their conversational partner is quieter or enjoying the monologue, this doesn’t have to be a big problem, but more often than not, they are missing out on important information and clues from the other person. Networking is about helping other people get what they want, but you can’t know what they want if they don’t get the opportunity to speak.

3. Don’t Sell

Extroverts make great sales people, especially if their product or service has engaged their passions. They can find everything the encounter to be related to their company or organization. This alertness for opportunity can be a great asset in finding prospects, but when uncontrolled, it can make them annoying in networking events. It’s vital to not sell people when you first meet them. Extroverts must work extra hard to avoid going into “sales pitch mode” if someone shows interest. It may be just politeness. They need to ask questions and listen before moving on to selling.

4. Meet Fewer People

Because extroverts are energized by interacting with people, they tend to want to meet and interact with as many new people as possible. While creating “weak ties” (i.e. more casual relationships) with a wide variety of people can be beneficial in gathering more diverse information, it’s also important to have deeper relationships you can count on for support. Extroverts can sometimes forget about their existing relationships in pursuit of new and exciting faces.

5. Follow Up

In our time-crunched society, follow up is a difficult task for anyone, extrovert or introvert. But for the externally stimulated extrovert, the tasks of adding names to a database or digging into records for a name to pass on aren’t the most fun part of their day. Extroverts have to set up an easy system, and remind themselves that the vast majority of results come from repeated interaction and not the first time they meet someone.

Conclusion
Extroverts definitely have some advantages when it comes to the “meet and greet” part of networking. Their outgoing personality and gregarious nature make it very natural for them to get acquainted with more people. But these same strengths can also be weaknesses. Extroverts need to work on improving their skills in these five areas to become better networkers.

About the Author: Beth Bridges is The Networking Motivator ™ and creator of the 5 Part Networking Success Plan ™, a simple networking system that can help anyone from business owners to sales agents to college students develop a powerful network. Subscribe to the weekly Networking Motivator Newsletter at http://www.thenetworkingmotivator.com/ for a quick boost of networking inspiration, information and motivation.”

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).