Intro: Networking events are a great opportunity for connecting with like-minded professionals and establishing meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships. Here are twenty conversation starters to help break the ice and start a meaningful conversation at your next event.
1. What made you decide to attend this event? Explain – This is an easy and straightforward question that shows an interest in the other person and allows them to explain what drew them to the event.
2. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned so far? – This is an open ended question that helps to engage the other person in an interesting conversational direction with the potential to learn something new.
3. What has been your greatest success as a professional? – This is a great question to draw out the other person’s experience and successes and demonstrates an interest in learning mode about them.
4. What industry trends are most impacting your job? – This is a great way to learn about the industry from the other person’s perspective and gets them thinking about their job and the industry.
5. Are there any big projects you are currently working on? – This is an open ended question that can lead to some interesting conversational topics and help get a better understanding of the other person’s work.
6. What type of networking events have you found most beneficial? – This is a question to draw out the other person’s past networking experiences and gain some useful insights into what has worked best for them.
7. Are there any pressing challenges in your job that you are dealing with? – This is a great question to open up a conversation that allows the other person to be open and honest about the current challenges they are facing in their job.
8. How can I help you succeed in your work writing? – This is an offer to help that shows a genuine interest in the other person and their work.
9. Do you attend similar events like this regularly? – This is a question to learn more about the other person’s approach to networking and opens up a conversation about what works for success in their experience.
10. What motivates you to keep connected with a professional network? – This is a great question to draw out the other person’s motivations and drives for success and their approach to networking.
11. Is there any advice you’d give to someone new to networking? – This is an open ended question that can reveal some useful insights into the other person’s approach to networking and how they have been successful in their own adventures.
12. What was it that brought you to this event today? – This is a simple conversation starter that allows the other person to explain what attracted them to the event and why they decided to come.
13. What have you found to be the best way to make meaningful connections? – This is an open ended question that reveals the other person’s approach to networking and offers some useful insights into what works best for successful connections.
14. What do you think the biggest challenge facing the industry is? – This is a great question that can open up an interesting conversation about the current challenges in their industry and their experience of it.
15. What have you been most proud of in your professional career? – This is a question to draw out the other person’s proudest professional achievement and learn something new about them.
16. What do you think makes a networking event successful? – This is a great question that can draw out the other person’s opinion on what makes a networking event successful and reveals what how they have traditionally approached different events.
17. How did you first get interested in this industry? – This is an open ended question that can draw out the other person’s story and experience of getting involved in their industry.
18. What do you think is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your professional career? – This is a great question to draw out the other person’s lessons and wisdom that can be used to further a conversation.
19. Are there any networking strategies you have found successful? – This is a question that can reveal the other person’s strategies for successful networking that can be shared and explored in conversation.
20. What are your goals for the next year? – This is a great way to gain some insight into the other person’s objectives and to get an understanding of what they are looking to achieve in the next year.