What Is Your Networking Icebreaker?

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Alexander Fernandes, Maryam Mehrtash, and Shane Gibson on their go-to conversation starters.

Alexander Fernandes, 
President and CEO, Avigilon Corp.

“If you haven’t got people’s mind-share, you can say anything you want and they aren’t going to listen. So the first thing is to capture people’s attention. Make a joke if you can, but it depends on the audience. And put yourself in their shoes. Think about what they’re most likely to be interested in. Then turn it around. Ask questions. People will tell you what they want to know.”

Maryam Mehrtash, President and Founder, Boundless Films Inc.

“People in film are a bit more skeptical. If you’re a really successful producer, you get so many things pitched at you that they all end up going in a pile, so you don’t want to get lost in the shuffle. I’m actually pretty shy. I wait until someone introduces me if I want to talk to somebody. I think that’s the best icebreaker; it builds a level of trust.”

Shane Gibson, Author and Speaker

“My icebreaker, really, is social media. I recently bumped into someone I hadn’t seen in years and said, ‘Wow, we should catch up.’ And she said, ‘I know exactly what you’ve been up to; I’ve been following you on Twitter.’ And that’s not an uncommon comment. It’s just me telling my story one tweet at a time, but it’s totally warmed up the cold calls and the networking events.”