TheWorkingWardrobe.com

Statement Accessory as Business Icebreaker But Doesn’t Have to Thaw Your Assets

When walking into a networking event or trade show as the sole representative of your business, the confidence that you usually carry on your shoulders can falter quite quickly.

There are many good ways to break into a social situation with networking skills, however one of the easiest that isn’t focused on in “How to Network” seminars is wearing something that causes someone to stop you and ask where you purchased it. If you’re wearing a simple suit with a blouse under it, you blend into the rest of the crowd and have to work twice as hard to get noticed. Add a chunky necklace, a statement handbag or a really interesting ring, and your chances of being stopped for a fashion bonding session are much higher. Then business cards are exchanged, conversations are started, and connections are made.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to spend your entire commission on a few statement pieces. You don’t need a David Yurman to make a statement. I have a ring that I have had since I was in college. It is a gold band chunky ring with a cluster of lightly-colored small oval gem stones mixed and matched atop the band. I have been stopped at work events and even on the street with that ring. I purchased it for $32 from Banana Republic. After discovering its uncanny skill of drawing people in at work events, it is now as important to my work ensemble as is my business card holder. Through the years of being in the social business world, I also realized that shockingly David Yurman has a much lower chance of making the networking statement as a slightly upscale piece of costume jewelry. For example, almost everyone owns a pearl necklace. But what about a black leather strand with a cluster of pearls as a pendant with bits of marcasite throughout? Or multiple strands of pearls connected with ribbon worn fitted around the neck? I’ve seen both of these necklaces, and those who have worn them were never alone at work events. And I was part of the group asking excitedly where those pieces were purchased.