How to Create a Story for Your Business Networking

Storytelling is an incredibly important skill for power networking. If you can tell a good story, it not only clearly conveys who you are, but also makes you more relatable, trustworthy, and memorable. Here are some ways you can create a story to use in your networking efforts. 

 
Your Introduction Story 

When you attend a networking event or other opportunity to meet new people, you’ll find yourself having bite-sized conversations with a number of people. You’ll need to have a simple, short story that conveys who you are which you can rattle off to each person or group you meet.  

The goal of your introduction story is to convey to people who you are in a way that’s concise and easy to understand. 

 
Crafting Your Introduction Story 

The key is that your story should be short. It should only include the key information you want people to know about you before they move on to the next person.

It should answer 3 questions: 

1. Who are you? 
   
2. What do you do? 
   
3. How do you serve? 

The third question is important because it conveys to people how knowing you can benefit them, which is the whole point of networking. 
So, your introductory story might tell people that you’re a consultant specializing in coaching for small businesses that are trying to keep up with rapid growth.  
Try to anticipate what questions people might ask when they hear your story. For example, if you introduce yourself as a writer, people will ask you what you write or where you’ve been published. 

 
More Stories for Networking 

In addition to your introductory story, you should have some other stories prepared and look for opportunities to share them. 

A good standard one is the story of your business. It tells how you came to do what you do. The best business histories include a challenge or conflict that you, the main character, overcame.  

For example, your business might have been born out of a problem you faced and struggled to overcome. You hit upon a great idea that solved the problem, and then built your business around it. 

This is much more compelling than simply reeling off a list of facts about your company. 

 
Tips on Creating Effective Networking Stories 

Go over every area of your business and look for stories waiting to be told. The best opportunities to write stories are when there has been a big change. This includes not only how you founded your business, but how it grew, faced a challenge in the market, developed a new product line, and so on. 

If you actually write out and plan your stories, you’ll have the chance flesh them out and improve them. Try to make them humorous, engaging, and relatable. Also try to write them in such a way that they emphasize the unique benefits you offer. 
 
Run your stories by colleagues and acquaintances to get feedback, which will help you make the stories better. Go to your next power networking event with a repertoire of interesting stories you can reel off at a moment’s notice.  




About The Author  

Pat Simes is a business strategist, a blogger and Founder of Innovative Business Solutions and Innovate Academy. She currently resides in the Midwest and is committed to inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs to transform their vision to reality.