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/biz/ - Business & Finance

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233352 No.233352 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /biz/
How does one get better at small talk and networking? Or even just speaking in general

Is there somewhere where you can practise it in a controlled environment with feedback etc.?

>> No.233354

just learn pick-up, the principles are universal

>> No.233358

>>233354
Aren't most PUA's mostly bs'ers? what a good one?

>> No.233377

Practice. Learn about stuff you don't particularly like but most of the world does. Watch the news so you know what is current in the world. Pay attention to what people around you are talking about. Have an opinion about things you normally wouldn't have. If you hate sports well end that shit because there is a 90% chance the people you talk to will not only enjoy sports but entertain clients with tickets to games.

On that note, sports bars are a great place to talk to random people. Find a BWW or something similar, sit at the bar during a game and force yourself out of your bubble and chat with people. A beer or two will help. You just need to realize there isn't anything scary about speaking to strangers.

Like anything, it takes practice. So when you do speak to strangers in a non business setting, pretend like it is one. Make eyecontact, if there is a handshake don't limpwrist it, stand up straight and talk like you are the king of the goddamned world. Especially talk about things you know nothing about but act like you do. You will need a few levels in bullshit when it comes to interviews, plus it'll make you that much more confident when you do understand something and you're forced to talk about it.

Fix your speech patterns too. Cut out the umms and ahhhs and wat have you when you can. Don't be a lawyer and precede everything with "i guess" or "maybe" or "it might" Fuck that. You fucking KNOW and your words are facts (even when they aren't, especially when they aren't!)

I could ramble on more but:

tl;dr: Treat every conversation like an important one and you will never fuck up the ones that are

>> No.233380

>>233354
this
i was introverted as fuck, now i usually meet new people every time i get out, it really helped me

>> No.233460

>>233377
Cheers. Thanks for the advice

>> No.233467

you could go to a toastmasters club...

i hear they are really helpful

>> No.233529

Fix your posture. Stand ramrod straight, push your shoulders back a little and tilt your chin up a few degrees. Makes you look and feel a lot better.

>> No.233644
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233644

>>233377
>Don't be a lawyer and precede everything with "i guess" or "maybe" or "it might"
yep cos thats common lingo for lawyers

>> No.233745

>>233377
I used to talk like that, claim certainty on subjects I wasn't actually 100% about. I got more honest and changed my way of speaking when it comes to subjects I don't fully know, using "I believe the most common.." "I think" etc. I feel dishonest otherwise.

>> No.233764

>>233745

sometimes I sit back and wonder if all these tips about how to network, how to be professional, how to do proper business talk is what leads to so man insufferable people in the business world

>> No.233805

>>233644
Actually it is. Lawyers (especially trial lawyers), prep their clients before they give depositions or are put on the stand to not make unsubstantiated claims. You never want to say anything that will incriminate you or destroy your credibility. Because of this, lawyers teach clients to use a lot of "I don't really recall...", "I believe so...", "to the best of my recollection...", "I might have?...". This is so that if they are ever proven wrong they can say it was due to a memory lapse. Inevitably, this is going to seep back in to a lawyers speech as well. Ask a lawyer a matter of opinion like "am I fat?" and he will say "of course not you look great!". Ask a lawyer a matter of fact like "were you at the stripclub last night?" and he will say "Hmm what did I do last night... I might have gone to eat dinner. I don't really remember what I did after..."

>> No.233873

>>233644
Not common lingo, but a person who lacks confidence will not speak with certainty. I called it lawyer talk because its exempting you from being proven wrong, because you never committed to a real answer, just sort of pussyfooted around the question.

Confident people don't care if they are proven wrong later on, they care that when they spoke, you think they are 100% correct.

>> No.233937

>>233644

I guess it might be right, maybe.

>> No.233954

>>233644
you're probably right lol.... I guess.

>> No.233958

>>233764
it absolutely does among other things

>> No.233968

>>233764
>how to do proper business talk is what leads to so man insufferable people in the business world
You notice how those are the types that you tend to remember the most? Even if they pissed you off? Think about all the other people in the room whom you can barely recall. People don't have good memories and the guy running the company is an old fuck who really doesn't have a good memory. Sometimes you have 30 seconds to stand out among a sea of suits and ties, just enough for someone with a position to hire you to say "I remember that guy, hire him"

>> No.235390
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235390

>tfw naturally charismatic
Its a useful skill to develop, I found years of sharpening my wit through argument has helped wonders.

>> No.236434

>>233352
I've tried getting good at small talk by joining random ventrilos and starting conversations with strangers but I usually end up spilling spaghetti through the mic.

>> No.236441

>>236434
Nobody jumps on a bike and can pop wheelies You gotta fall down a lot

>> No.237093

>>235390
make a greentext

>> No.237108
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237108

>>233352

>usually the one to talk to a random bro or grill at parties
>dont really get laid cuz i used to be pretty chubbie and had gf
>help my bros hook up tho
>go to quickbooks class today
>qt3.14 from a small town 6 hours away is sitting next to me
>blue eyes, blond hair, innocent country girl look
>think about what i'm going to say to her for first 3 hours of class
>go on break
>we both just kinda sit there awkwardly
>i finally try to ask her where she works nd stuff
>i start shaking
>mfw this usually never happens
>cannot control my voice, i sound like a little boy or something
>thinking so much about how i sound that i don't even hear what she is telling me
>i just say "well i'm going to go walk around"
>go out to main hotel lobby and start drinking beer at 12 in the afternoon on a monday

Fuck, i feel like i really fucked up my only chance. we still have the last half of the class tomorrow, but i think if i try sitting next to her she'll be creeped out or something..

i supose it didn't help that i was hopped up on adderall the whole time tho