How to Network With Important People - The Muse

How to Network With Important People - The MuseHow to Network With Important People Last month, I had the honor of being named one of Glamour magazines Top 10 College Women. The award came with all sorts of perks, including a cash prize, a three-day trip to New York, and recognition in the May 2015 issue. (Shameless plug Go pick up the magazine)It welches all amazing. But perhaps, the fruchtwein intimidating and awesome part of the entire experience welches getting invited to an intimate dinner with a bunch of impressive women after the awards ceremony. When I arrived at the dinner, I was surprised to see that there were seating place cards. I was even more surprised to see that I was placed between Dana Perino, former Press Secretary during the Bush administration, and Cindi Leive, the Editor-in-Chief of Glamour. If that wasnt intimidating enough, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner was diagonally across from me. Talk about pressure. A lot of times, when we talk about chatting with important people, its usually about giving them our elevator pitch and getting a quick word in. Up until this point, most of my experiences with impressive people have been along those lines- saying hi to them at a networking event or asking them a question at a conference. Neither experience couldve prepared me for speaking to people at the top of their fields, in an intimate setting, for an extended period of time.So, what did I learn over the course of a two-hour dinner with some of the most powerful and important women in the nation (and even the world)? Enough that Ive got a couple of pointers for when you find yourself in a similar situation.1. Treat Them Like Real PeopleMy first thought when seeing that Cindi Leive was eating dinner two seats away from me was to scream, CINDI LEIVE, YOU ARE MY IDOL and hug her. Obviously, not the best idea. While you dont want to go in the opposite direction and play the too cool for school game, try not to spend your time openl y fangirling over the partie youre talking to. Its actually quite uncomfortable to have people gushing over you, and it doesnt allow for you two to talk as equals. This all sounds really obvious (and no one did this at the dinner I attended), but Ive heard horror stories about people totally losing it when meeting someone they admire. If youre worried about being starstruck, think of it this way How would you act during any other networking opportunity? Youd probably ask the other person lots of compelling questions, listen, and see what you can learn. For instance, when we first introduced ourselves, Dana Perino commented that it was cool we were all pursuing things we were interested in so early, because her career path looked so different in college. This paved the way for me to ask a natural conversation starter Did you ever see yourself doing what you do now back when you were in college? She then joked about her first college job, and it set the tone for a really great dinner. Important or famous people shouldnt be treated any differently. Sticking to what you know really does go a long way.2. Dont Be Afraid to Get a Little PersonalTalking to important people about their professional lives is already intimidating enough, let alone when they start diving into something personal that doesnt have anything to do with their career. For instance, among groups of women, talking about careers naturally progresses into a discussion about work-life balance and the challenges that comes with it.Keep in mind that real relationships are built once you start straying away from simple small talk, so if the other person opens up that opportunity to really connect, dont shy away from it If youre afraid of asking or saying something too personal, you can just listen along and do some nodding. Again, take a page from the Networking 101 playbook Fake it til you make it.3. Dont Skip the Follow-UpAfter youve had the opportunity to talk to someone whos successful and impressive , you might feel like youre being a nuisance by following up after the event. Dont beIf you have the chance before that person leaves, see if its okay for you to follow up (Id love for us to chat about this again), and if so, ask for the best way to get in touch. For example, during another networking event through Glamour, one of the women I met told me to get in touch with her through Twitter (she spends a whole lot more time on there than she does in her inbox). A little unconventional? Yes. But did I get a response when I tweeted at her the next day? Absolutely. And now were meeting up for coffee when Im in New York next month.If theres anything I learned from my experience, its not to be intimidated when cool opportunities like this come your way. (Oh, and yes, in case you were wondering, I did feel quite glamorous.) Photo of interview courtesy of Shutterstock.