coffee-wednesday-300w

Talking Points When Networking

Hey, there!

Networking with other members of the voiceover community should come as naturally to you as breathing, whether the people you’re meeting are other VO talent, casting, writers, game designers, studio engineers or whatever.

I say “should.”

But for some of you, the lack of something brief yet potent to say to a stranger makes us stop dead in our tracks.

Here’s how to fix that.

What you need is something memorable and appropriate to open that dialogue.

You need to present yourself with a hook. You need a talking point.

Say you’re at one of my VO classes. And we have a special guest who’s a casting director for a major animation studio. You just did your animation demo with Trevor, and you want to get a moment to connect with that CD. And you want that moment to count.

What exactly do you do?

Here’s what I do. I wait patiently if there’s a line, resisting the urge to jump in to the conversation already in progress with another attendee.

When it’s my turn, I say, “Hi there! My name is David H. Lawrence the seventeenth, and I wanted to thank you for your time and wisdom today – please, go ahead and pick a card.”

Now, while I was saying that sentence, I was reaching into my pouch, pulling out my set of MOO Cards, and fanning them for my new friend to choose from:

IMG_1035 2 IMG_1035

What are MOO Cards? They’re about half the size of a regular business card, and in the case of Moo Cards, less is more – and boy, do they create a talking point, as your new friend asks about the different images.

See, the great thing about MOO Cards is the option to have different pictures on each card within each set of 100 cards. Up to 100 different pictures, actually.

I add new pictures to my MOO Card set whenever I shoot a new episode of a show, add a headshot or do stage or VO work – I’ll take a still while I’m there. I only have 32 different pictures in my set, so I get 3 of most and 4 of a few in my set of 100 when I reorder.

Once you’ve broken the ice with your offer of a MOO Card, it’s a heck of a lot easier to continue with the conversation. And you’re a performer. This is a great opportunity for a nice, calm, professional, brief performance.

Then, be generous.

Give the next person in line their shot at networking.

Here’s where you can find Moo Cards: https://www.vo2gogo.com/get-moocards – enjoy.
Hope this helps.

David

5 Responses to Talking Points When Networking

  1. Kila October 19, 2013 at 12:20 pm #

    I love Moo cards product line – gets me excited to show them to people, and when you’re genuinely excited about something it’s easier to get over that initial anxiety. Thanks for the reminder :-)

  2. Shirley A Smallwood October 19, 2013 at 4:35 pm #

    Thank you David for your wisdom. I love moo.com. I get great compliments. Thanks to you, I know how to make a conversation short and sweet.

  3. Jesse Aran Holcomb October 19, 2013 at 6:26 pm #

    I love moo cards!

  4. Stu Norfleet February 10, 2016 at 5:50 am #

    Stupendous (use that word somewhere today!!) idea, David! As always, many thanks for your ideas!
    Stu

  5. Kelli Maroney February 10, 2016 at 11:08 am #

    Congratulations! Did everyone see David on The People vs O.j. Simpson last night?! Loved it!

Leave a Reply