Not everyone is comfortable walking up to strangers and saying hello. However, this is a necessary part of making new business connections, especially if you attend networking events. While some individuals choose to go to classes and meetings in their industry to simply take the class or watch the lecture and leave, they are missing out on valuable opportunities to meet new people and forge relationships that may be useful in the future. Here are some networking tips for talking with people you haven’t met before:

Introduce yourself
The best way to start a conversation is not by hanging back and hoping someone comes to talk with you. Initiate the conversation with a handshake and your name. “Hi, I’m John” goes a long way towards forming a potentially-beneficial relationship, especially compared to not saying anything.

Talk about the event
Once you’ve made an introduction, a great way to get the conversation rolling is to talk about something you have in common. “But I don’t know this person,” you may be thinking. This is true, you don’t yet know them, but they too are at the event you are attending, so you already have something to talk about. Mention what you liked about the speaker such as a particular point they made. Then, ask your new acquaintance what they thought. This will show them you were paying attention to the event and you are interested in their opinion. Soon you’ll be talking about your own companies and maybe even swapping embossed business cards.

Don’t give a pitch
When networking, you’re not trying to secure investors. Instead, you are visiting with others in your field who may become helpful sources for advice and other professional assistance. Even if you are seeking an investor when you happen to attend a networking event, now is not the time to pitch your company. If you do meet someone who may be interested in becoming financially involved in your business endeavor, exchange information and set up a meeting for a time outside of the event. This will allow you to be fully prepared and not get interrupted during your pitch. Plus, potential investors tend to love visual aids, like a slideshow presentation, and scrolling through PowerPoint on your phone is not going to cut it. They’ll take you much more seriously if you set up an official meeting.

Know your company
One very embarrassing moment that can happen to entrepreneurs in the early stages of networking is being caught off guard. When someone asks you, “So what motivated you to start your own company?” you don’t want to spend 10 minutes regaling them with tales of your high school days as you earned less-than-great report cards. That may have inadvertently led to you starting your own business, but this is not the time to share the particular details. Instead, have a clear and positive story in mind. Maybe you had a great teacher who encouraged you to think outside the box and create your own career path. You combined that with your love of antique lamps and here you are, learning about marketing at a community college class. Use a short story to sum up your motivation for starting your own company. This way you can easily explain it at any networking event.