How to handle a monopoliser when networking

You may be aware that I spend a good chunk of my marketing budget on attending networking events. Over the past 25 years I’ve found them to be a great way to meet new suppliers and potential clients.

The art of great networking is to go expecting nothing and to aim to find out as much as you can about the other people there (in fact that’s the art of great relationship building!)

However, not everyone is aware of this and that means that you can find yourself stuck with a variety of people you’d rather not be in conversation with … the ‘overtalker’, the ‘interrupter’ and the ‘monopoliser’ all come to mind.

So, what do you do? Well, there are different strategies for each one but I think the hardest to deal with is the monopoliser who just wants to talk about themselves and never asks you a single question. You’re nodding politely desperately wondering how to escape.

 

 

In my experience I would say there are two different approaches.

1. Instead of cutting them off steer their story in a different direction.
2. Gracefully exit the conversation.

The first forces them to think beyond their personal story, creating space for an actual conversation. For example, if they are telling you at length about a trip they’ve been on … try asking them what advice they would give to someone planning something similar. Or if they’re giving you a long description of how interesting their career is then … ask them what the biggest lessons they’ve learnt are.

The second route (necessary if they just don’t get the hint) is to have a few phrases that you can use to exit as politely as you can.

“It’s been great chatting but I want to make sure I meet a few more people before the event ends” is one that works well. Or “I don’t want to take up all your time, I know there will be others here who’ll want to meet you.” And as a last resort … “I need to grab another drink … let’s catch up later.” And then walk away!

And if all else fails then direct them to my A-Z of attending face-to-face networking events where I have 26 tips on how to network effectively!