By Kurtis Bell

There are two types of people in networking. There is the networker who makes you feel comfortable in conversation and there is the networker who seems to be verbally sparring with you yet never allows you the opportunity to raise your hands in defense. Most of us have a little of both of these types in us, which always leaves room for improvement. Here are two simple things you can change to boost your credibility as a networker.

Chances are, you have heard someone talk about “dynamic synergistic business opportunities” that will change your life forever. If you are lucky enough to have been shielded from dynamic synergy, maybe you have heard of terms like nextgen, stratcom, or bizmeth. Buzzwords are annoying jargon that is thought to make the speaker seem to be of an elevated level of intelligence. Just because you have combined words to make a phrase like nextgen (are we in a 1970’s science fiction movie?), or use terms like synergize does not mean you are suddenly the most interesting person in the world.

Another red flag is when I hear someone say “honestly”. Excuse me, but have you been lying to me up until you said “honestly”? If you are having a legitimate networking interaction it should go without question that you are being sincere, so there is no reason to qualify your statement by saying “honestly”. Hopefully is another qualifier that will chip away at your credibility. Be certain of what you want and then go get it. Make moves, do not hope.

Now, reflect on your own practices and patterns to see if you are guilty of using buzzwords and qualifiers. Identify any that have made their way in to your day to day interactions, and do your best to limit or eliminate them. Hopefully, you leaned something here and we have the opportunity to synergize some day.  Honestly, it would be awesome. See how bad that sounded. I cringed typing that. Thanks again for reading and as always, happy networking!