Hey GBD!  One of my recent challenges now that I’ve been back in school, meeting lots of new people, and getting ready for professional school interviews has been the art of networking.  Networking, mingling, making small talk, however you want to approach it – when you’re speaking with someone whom you’ve never met and don’t know if you have much in common, maintaining a steady, natural conversation can be difficult.  Breaks in a conversation can seem awkward, but I never want to seem like I’m interrogating the other person when I’m asking them what are hopefully stimulating questions.  Here are a few tips that I’ve found to be helpful when I’m trying to mingle:

• Encourage the other person to talk about him/herself. Showing interest in the other person and letting him or her tell a story tends to put him/her at ease.
• Be a responsive listener. People feel more comfortable in a conversation if they feel like you as a listener are equally invested in it.   Eye contact is good (but don’t stare!), as well as other nonverbal communication such as nodding and smiling.  Ask questions if something interests you and relate it to your own experiences.
• Don’t be afraid of pauses.  I’m talking about natural pauses in conversation, not 30-second silences.  I always feel like every natural pause is drawn-out and awkward, but if you try and fill every time gap with words and don’t leave any breathing room, it’ll feel even more awkward!

What sorts of things do you GBD-ers do to make conversation when meeting new people or networking?  More tips are appreciated!