Don’t fall into the trap
Dinner parties have their place. They are perfect for connecting with like minds. Good food and, hopefully, great wine encourage conversations.
To be a great guest at a dinner party requires:
- Have a short, effective narrative about yourself.
- Two or three stories that focus on that story.
These two things are hard to do. To master those two elements takes years of practice, and it is worth doing.
Great things can start at dinner parties.
They seldom, however, finish there.
You can impress people with Jeopardy Knowledge (seemingly useless knowledge that always impresses people) at those parties because you’ll rarely need context to tell a great story. It is great for the ego. A few laughs and you are out of there.
However, the next time you sit down with the people you’ve met at that party, the setting has shifted. If you retreat to telling those stories, you are wasting both your time and theirs.
Relationships begin at dinner parties. Afterward, they grow, and the growth starts with your follow-up. That is where you can “go long.”
The beauty of a long form follow-up is the power to ask questions. You can go deep.There is an opportunity to say “I don’t know” and grow.
Don’t waste that chance to go “long” by protecting your ego.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 