Haveo · How to prepare for a networking event when you have social anxiety
The hour before a networking event
Decide two things before you leave: what time you are going home, and what would make the night worth it. Then say your opening sentence out loud once. Eat something. Do not re-read the attendee list — at this point it only raises the stakes.
Make the two decisions
An end time. A real one, on the clock. Everything gets easier when the evening has a known edge.
One thing that would make it worth it. Two real conversations, or one specific person. Something you can finish and then stop.
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Say it out loud once
Your opening sentence, spoken, not read. Thirty seconds. The first time you hear your own voice say it should not be in front of a stranger.
If it sounds wrong out loud, that is the point of doing it now, when there is still time to change it.
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Eat something
Anxiety and an empty stomach produce almost identical physical symptoms, and at an event with a drink in your hand they compound.
It is the least interesting advice on this page and the one most likely to change how the first hour feels.
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Stop researching
Reading the attendee list one more time does not prepare you. It enlarges the room and adds names you now feel you should recognize.
If you were going to look someone up, that was yesterday's job.
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Expect the doorway to be the worst part
For most people the peak is arriving, not talking. Knowing that the hardest ninety seconds are the ones in the entrance, and that they pass, is worth more than another rehearsal.
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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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