This weekend I had an opportunity to attend the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Milwaukee, WI. As a huge Wisconsin Badger fan my brothers and I couldn't resist the opportunity to see our team play so close to home on the big stage. Of course this event would not be complete without a few trips to our favorite establishments in the Milwaukee area. As my Brother and I were enjoying a few Spotted Cows I looked over to the table to my left and saw a lady wearing a Michigan shirt watching the game on her tablet. I struck up a casual conversation asking her if she was going to the game that night and how long she was in town for. The conversation was brief yet enjoyable as she seemed to be a nice enough lady. My Brother then mentioned to me he noticed I have a knack for talking to just about anyone and he thought it was an advantageous skill to have. I took a second to reflect on his complement and agreed with him that in comparison to most I am fairly outgoing when I choose to be. A few days later something dawned on me: What better place to practice your networking and impromptu conversation skills than at your favorite bar?
You cannot lose here as long as you act with genuine interest in mind. What's the worst thing that can happen by engaging in conversation at a bar? Worst case scenario the person you choose to talk to ignores you or tells you to get lost. A more likely scenario is you end up learning something you didn't know while sharpening your networking skills. Odds are the person you engage in conversation is in a good mood-you are at a bar after all! Looking back I have learned some of the most unique things by talking to those slightly buzzed. I remember learning about website development, reinsurance, and corporate well-being trends among dozens of other topics. You are probably thinking, "That's great but I can just Google those topics and learn just as much in a matter of minutes from the comfort of my own home." I rebut with the famous quote, "You don't know what you don't know." As a continuous learner I enjoy hearing these interesting nuggets of knowledge and I think you will too. The next time you go out for a night on the town, make it a point to converse with at least 3 strangers. Give yourself a grade on how you did. We're you able to keep the conversation moving? Did the other person seem genuinely interested in speaking with you? Most importantly, did you learn something? Have fun with this and your networking skills will stay sharp, you will meet interesting people, and you will learn more than you think.
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