The scene described next will likely seem very familiar to you. After all, if you are reading this article, you probably already know that name badges are vital in networking.
Name badges – a necessity in networking
You have been invited to a networking meeting of an organization. Since you are a relatively new member, you don’t really know who’s who. Attending that meeting makes you feel as if you are attending your very first networking event. You decide to go anyway, but get caught in traffic, and arrive later than you thought. When you arrive, you realize that the parking instructions communicated to you were completely ineffectual. Anyway, fast forward 15-20 minutes, you are finally walking into the meeting.
Frazzled and embarrassed because of your tardiness, you take your place. Then you notice that nobody is sitting down but they have already started networking. The crowd is divided into small tight groups, making it even more difficult for you to insert yourself into them. And this isn’t even your first rodeo – you are a seasoned networker and yet you find the situation too much to handle.
Even so, you manage to engage a group of people. While conversing with them, you notice that some of them have helpfully worn name badges to the meeting. This makes it much easier for you to identify them, remember their names, and network with them. On the other hand, the others who showed up without the badges are harder to talk to. Even after you have made them repeat their names, it is difficult for you to remember them all.
The badges act like memory prompts every time you talk to a person wearing them. If you have conversed with them before, the name badges assist your brain in revisiting that conversation. Another helpful thing that happens is that due to the badges, you can easily pick out the people in the same line of business as you are. It also helps you find the key players of the meeting.
Name badges – the right way of using them
Name badges are only effective in networking, if they are used in the right way. Look at the following tips to learn how to make the most of this networking aid:
Age-related memory loss and dwindling attention spans may make name badges necessary and vital n business networking. However, as evident, there are other advantages to people wearing those badges. Why not make the most of them and form newer connections wherever you are in a business setting?