Haveo · What to say at a networking event when you don't know anyone
Small talk questions that are not boring
Ask about the present and the specific. "What are you working on at the moment?" beats "what do you do?" because it has an answer the person actually finds interesting. A good question is one they have not answered nine times tonight.
Twelve that work
- What are you working on at the moment?
- How did you end up here?
- What is the best thing you have seen today?
- Is this your first one of these?
- What is taking up most of your time right now?
- What made you want to come?
- What would make tonight worth it for you?
- What are you hoping to figure out this year?
- What is something you changed your mind about recently?
- What part of your job would surprise people?
- Who else should I be talking to here?
- What are you reading or watching that is any good?
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Why the standard ones fail
"What do you do?" asks for a label, and it lands badly on anyone between jobs or doing something hard to say in three words.
The weather is not a bad opener, it is a bad second question. It has no follow-up, so the conversation has to be restarted immediately.
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The follow-up matters more than the question
Whatever they answer, go one level deeper rather than moving on: how did that go, what made you pick that, what was the hard part.
Most conversations die because both people keep introducing new topics instead of finishing one.
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Two is enough to prepare
You do not need twelve in your head. Pick two you would actually say out loud and they will carry an entire evening.
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Rehearse it before you walk in.
Haveo builds your intro, lets you practice out loud with an AI coach, and keeps your notes one tap away in the room. Free on iPhone and iPad.
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