By Hazel Walker

Good networking takes good listening.  Unfortunately, most people believe that good networking is telling everyone about himself or herself.  What good is word of mouth if nobody is listening?

Think about the last networking event that you attended, was everyone quietly listening, maintaining eye contact, asking valuable questions, and responding to you with more than just uh huh. 

Listening is the most important part of good networking, it allows you to learn what others are trying to accomplish, hear others express needs they may have, and be able to connect those who can help them.

Following are 7 tips for better listening at your next networking event;

1.  Maintain active eye contact.  Don't look over the persons shoulder as if there might be someone better coming into the room. 

2.  Ask great questions.  People love to talk about themselves, so ask them, questions about what the do, why they chose to do it, how did they get into their business, and what do they love to do when they are not working.

3.  Find some common ground. When you ask about skills or interest, you will often find things that you have in common.  Common ground leads to good rapport.

4.  Take notes whenever possible, you can jot a few notes about what you have learned on the back of the business card.

5.  Stay engaged in the conversation.  Most people are busy thinking about what they are going to say and not hearing what is being said.

6.  If the room is too noisy, making it difficult to hear, ask your partner to step out of the crowd.

7. At the end of the conversation give some feed back, emphasize something you may have heard or learned from that person.

God gave us 2 ears and one mouth, let's use them proportionately.  Listen twice as much as you speak.  By doing so you will be able to connect more people, give better referrals, and become a better gatekeeper.