Let’s share some best-of networking exit strategy tips

In a week, I’m heading out to a rather large industry event. That means a lot of networking.

The point of networking events is to meet people that are relevant and useful to you and what you do, right? But at big events, chances are you are going to meet much more people that are NOT relevant or useful to you. So how do you gracefully get out of the conversation so you can go in search of people that are relevant? What’s the conversation exit strategy?

To politely end a conversation with someone that doesn’t require follow-up, I find the following useful. Gain extra bonus points for niceness if you use the person’s name as well. (That’s where name tags and business cards come in handy, especially if you quickly forget names!)

Keep is simple: variations of the “nice meeting you, have a great event” tactic

• “Nice meeting you. Enjoy the rest of the event!”
• “It was nice meeting you. I’ll leave you so we can both meet other people.”
• “It was great meeting you. I have to work the event a bit more and say hello to some more people. Perhaps I’ll run into you a bit later. Good luck with the rest of the event!”
• “If you don’t mind, I’m going to say hello to a few more people. Best of luck with the rest of the event.”
• “I’m sure there are other people here you want to meet, so I’ll let you get to it. Have a nice evening.”
• “Please excuse me. Enjoy the rest of the event.”

I like these variations better than the white lies that some people use, such as “I see a friend over there, please excuse me”, or “I need to go refresh my drink” and then they actually don’t. It’s much easier to break away politely, with no false excuses, and then be free to wander at your leisure in search of the next person to meet without worrying about being caught out by the person you just left.

Ask for a referral

Before you exit a conversation, it's always worth asking the person you are talking to if they met someone at the event, or knows someone else outside of the event, that would be relevant to you. Ask!

Try a variation of this:

“Did you meet anyone here or do you know anyone that is interested in xyz topic?”

If yes, bonus! Continue with:

“Can you please introduce me or pass along their contact details?”

What are your best-of conversation exits when trying to politely break away from a conversation? I would love to learn what works for you, and possibly use it myself!

Happy networking!