Small talk and networking?

Hi,

I'm very shy and i want to learn how to do some networking. it would really help for work and my social life. I work in the art/design world i would love to get some tips on how to make a phone call not so business like. Also what to do when we have events and all this art/designers show up. I'm and assistant director so meeting with this people and getting them to remember me its really important.

any ideas? all ideas are greatly appreciated

thanks!

Small talk and networking?default myspace

I'm also uncomfortable in the one-on-one, "cocktail-party" type of setting. Three tricks I've used are (1) Ask questions. People love to talk about themselves or their jobs, and once ou get them started, you just need to smile politely and listen; (2) Read the front page of the newspaper and the front page of the sports section - great conversation starters and even if you don't know that the Detroit Tigers play baseball, you can parrot the headline you read about how their star pitcher's out with a shoulder injury. Finally (3) work out an "elevator pitch" - a 60 seconds or less articulate summary of what you do that you can rattle off when the opportunity presents itself.

Hope this helps!