Passing Business Cards

I was at a networking event last night with about 150 people. It was very crowded and noisy, so it was difficult to talk to many people. Towards the end of the night, a woman was making her way through the room handing everyone her card, asking for their card and then just walking away.

Generally a card that I am handed blindly gets thrown out. The only way to really network is to talk to people and actually make a connection. Then it makes sense to trade cards and get in touch in the future. Often when someone hands me a card without us speaking first, I have no idea what they do and it is a waste of paper.

Take the time to speak with someone first if you are interested in getting their card or giving them one of yours. Don't waste time just throwing cards at as many people as possible.