10 Networking Tips for People Who Hate Networking

If you are shy or socially awkward, you probably hate networking. Even if you find it difficult to approach professionals in your field, you can still alleviate some of the stress with these ten useful networking tips.

1 Know who will be there.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Knowing the attendees in advance gives you the chance to beef up on the company’s goals and show interest in its latest achievements. It also removes the fear of the unknown. Naturally, some people you weren’t expecting will turn up. However, as they say, half a loaf is better than no bread. Start off talking to the people you prepared for until you feel confident enough to approach the others.

2 Ask open-ended questions.

To avoid awkward silence, aim for open-ended questions rather than yes-no questions. Listen carefully to the response and try to think of a follow-up comment or question to keep the conversation going. If someone asks you a question, “And you?” is an easy way to continue the discussion.

Do you work at IBM?

What motivated you apply for IBM?

3 Set definite goals for the interaction.

Don’t you love playing a video game and hearing the words: “Level complete!” You can generate that feeling at networking events by setting interpersonal goals. For instance, commit to staying at least a half hour. After the time is up, leave without guilt. Or, set a goal to talk to at least five new people. Setting objectives makes networking events seem less overwhelming because you have a manageable goal in mind. Also, you might find that once you get the ball rolling, you can push yourself past the minimums that you set.

4 Arrive early.

If big groups freak you out, it’s best to come while the crowd is still thin. Besides being quieter, a room with few people is less intimidating than one packed from wall to wall. Punctuality also gives you a conversational advantage. You’ll find it easier to approach others if they aren’t already in the throes of conversation.

5 Find the connection.

What do you have in common with the person with whom you are conversing? In 1929, Frigyes Karinthy proposed that each individual in the world is only six or fewer steps away from any other person. Granted, there were fewer people on earth back then, but you should be able to find some common ground. Did you major in the same subject? Do you share hobbies or causes? Challenging yourself to find the connection will motivate you to keep the conversation flowing. As a bonus, you will have a great excuse to exchange contact information with your new buddy. Later, you will feel comfortable asking for advice or a job referral. If you really hit it off, you can invite your contact to an event that you think you will both enjoy.

6 Have a few emergency ice-breakers ready.

If you find a conversation going stagnant, plan a few interesting ice-breakers. In a small group, you might try a getting-to-know-you game that involves everyone. The following idea comes from EventManager Blog: Ask everyone to think of one word that describes a topic of your choice. (For a group of doctors, for instance, you might choose “medical school.”) The responses should give you some laughs and opportunities to share experiences.

7 Look approachable.

The extroverts will flock to you if you look welcoming. Smile and try to make eye contact. Practice open body language. That means no folded arms or hiding behind your hair! This warm, friendly demeanor will make others want to find out who you are.

8 Rely on your tribe.

Why go at it alone? Invite colleagues and associates to attend networking events with you. Even if you don’t spend much time with them, their friendly faces will make you feel at ease. You can also practice your elevator pitch with people you know and ask them for feedback before the event.

9 Make a good last impression, even if the first one wasn’t ideal.

Even if you felt like you failed to impress in person, you still have a chance to shine on paper. Send a brief thank you note or email to show how much you enjoyed meeting the participant. You can thank them for taking time to talk with you. Once you make contact, you can update them about the status of your job search (or ask them about theirs if they are a jobseeker too.)

10 Follow through on referrals.

If you fail to follow through on referrals, you are letting all your hard work go to waste. A lack of response also shows disrespect for the people who vouched for you. Even if you don’t accept a job, you should still thank the referrer and the hiring manager for their time.

Networking is necessary, and it doesn’t have to be evil! Admit it; these networking tips won’t be impossible to try. Which one do you want to tackle first?

4 Reasons You Should Form a Proofreading Habit

Even rats have habits. MIT professor Ann Graybiel trained rats to run a T-shaped maze. First, Graybiel’s team rewarded the rats for turning right or left based on a tone. Even after the researchers stopped giving treats, they found that the rats still responded to the sounds as if by habit. The human brain forms habits too, so why not make them rewarding ones? Here are four reasons why proofreading should be a habit you pursue.

Typos make you seem angry.

Harvard Business School doctoral candidate Andrew Brodsky says that unintentional typos are “a window into our emotions.” In his experiment, he presented subjects with angry messages. Subjects perceived the senders of angry messages containing typos as more enraged than the senders of mistake-free notes. Why do typos make emotions seem more intense? Perhaps because humans are always looking for cues in face-to-face communication. The expression in your eyes or your body language lets others know how you are feeling. In written communication, readers only have the words on the page. They may assume that typos mean a powerful emotion distracted you. It’s strong motivation to review your messages before you send them. Oh, and use emoticons.

Typos land you on TV, but not in a good way.

Your bizarre texting typos might appear on the Ellen Show. In a part she calls Clumsy Thumbsy, Ellen DeGeneres ridicules the nonsensical guesses of the autocorrect feature built into smartphones. Autocorrect is supposed to save you time, but it doesn’t always know what you are trying to say. Other errors might simply be the result of ignorance. Text messaging has its own lingo, so only use abbreviations and phrases that you understand. Did you hear about the woman who thought LOL meant “lots of love”? Grieving family members who received her message didn’t understand why the death of a family member was laugh-out-loud funny.

Typos can cost you millions.

One S cost Companies House an estimated £8.8 million, or about $12 million. Companies House is a British government agency that registers businesses throughout the United Kingdom. They mistakenly recorded that Taylor & Sons Ltd was shutting down its operations. Unfortunately, the company that was going out of business was Taylor & Son, a completely different enterprise. A few days later, Companies House made the correction, but the damage was already done. Thanks to the Internet, the news spread like wildfire. The 124-year-old Welsh engineering company was closing! Suppliers withdrew credit and canceled orders. It didn’t help that the managing director was on vacation when the mistake occurred; clients thought he was trying to run and hide. In short, it was a disaster for Taylor & Sons. They sued Companies House and won.

Typos can make you think your whole childhood was a lie.

Spinach is good for you, but it’s not going to give you superstrength. It turns out that the creators of the Popeye cartoon consulted an 1870s German study to find out how much iron spinach contains. Because the printers placed the decimal point one space too far to the right, the published research claimed that the leafy greens had ten times as much iron as they actually contain. Had it not been for that study, Popeye might have gotten his power boost from watermelon, dark chocolate, or lima beans—foods that contain as much or more iron than spinach does.

The reward at the end of the rats’ maze wasn’t spinach, or they might not have been excited to receive it. They enjoyed sugar water and chocolate milk. The rewards for a mistake-free piece of writing are even sweeter than those treats. You won’t get sued for millions. You won’t need to endure public ridicule. You won’t seem angrier than you really are. You won’t mislead an entire generation of children. Aren’t these reasons enough to form a proofreading habit?

How do email mistakes affect your impression of brands?

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Which kind of writing mistakes most reduce news articles’ credibility?

This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.

Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!

If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.

Does spelling accuracy influence your opinion?

This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.

Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!

If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.

Are Pun Competitions a Real Thing?

Around 400 people gathered on Sunday, November 6, at a Kuala Lumpur coffee shop called The Bee. Inside, there was barely enough room to stand, but that didn’t stop people from having fun and enjoying what they’d all come to witness—Malaysia’s very first pun competition. Adequately titled Pun Competition Malaysia, the event was a massive success, and by the end of it, Malaysia had its first winner of “The Punniest Ever” title, a guy called Zim Ahmadi.

Punning (also called paronomasia), is a type of wordplay that feeds on words with multiple meanings, or different words that sound similar. When you say that the cannibals didn’t eat the clown because the clown tasted funny, the joke relies on the fact that “funny” has two meanings. When you say that Bilbo Baggins started walking without his shoes and it turned into a hobbit, you’re using the fact that the words “hobbit” and “habit” sound alike, and that Bilbo is, in fact, a hobbit.

Puns have had a way of coming in and out of fashion throughout history. They were popular at the time Jesus lived, as the Bible has us believe (Matthew 16:18, anyone?). Cicero was a prominent punster, and a very funny member of Roman society. Shakespeare wasn’t afraid of using a pun now and then, and the author of Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift, wrote a guide to punning. Swift’s guide came at a time when puns were being attacked by people such as the English essayist Joseph Addison and the English godfather of lexicography, Samuel Johnson, among others. Even though we’re well past the eighteenth century and the great punning uproar of that time, puns are still met with cringes. Or so it seems.

The very first Malaysian Pun Competition is interesting not because it’s an isolated event—it’s not—but because it shows that love of punning is a real thing. The O. Henry Pun-Off has seen people doing their best punning every May since 1978. But newer torch-carriers have been popping up left and right. PUNDERDROME is a Brooklyn-based punning competition that’s been running since 2011. Pundamonium is a pun-slam competition that’s been held around the United States since 2013. The UK Pun Championship celebrated its fourth birthday this year.

So yes, pun competitions are a real thing. People actually turn up and enjoy listening to puns and have a good time. This shouldn’t come as a surprise though—the stigma against punning has been heavily challenged by the likes of late-night talk show hosts Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers, the creator of BoJack Horseman Raphael Bob-Waksberg, and the legions of people who have contributed to making Tumblr the best place on the Internet for hilarious punning. Bad puns are still bad, just like bad jokes are, but good puns will make people watch a TV show, check out a website, or come to an event to share a laugh with other punthusiasts.