Leaving a networking event the other morning I boarded the next elevator down from the 10th floor lobby. As I am known to do, I struck up a dialogue with the other occupant of the downward bound car.
“This is about the brightest elevator I’ve ever been on. How about you?” I said to the woman standing next to me.
This was the start of very valuable conversation.
The young woman picked up the thread and we were quickly engaged in a crisp dialogue. By the time we reached the ground floor, we knew each others first names, what had brought us to the event and who we knew in common. Then the doors opened.
Usually this is when leave-taking kicks in and people go their separate ways. Not today. This was a variation of the “car door conversation” or, as my friend Eli says, “the Jewish goodbye.” We continued our conversation on in the lobby.
This is a great illustration of why you engage people face to face and take advantage of being in the same room (even if it is moving between floors and has only one door) with someone. You never know who you are going to meet, when you will meet them and the context they will hold in your life (and for how long). I’ve met people who turned into business partners, employers and long-time personal friends.
Try it sometime. Screw up your courage and say hello.
That woman in the elevator? We have yet to set a meeting, but she is considering me as a speaker at one of her upcoming networking group meetings. I’ll keep you posted on where it goes and how it ends up.
Relentless
