PART EIGHT
How to Work a Party Like a Politician Works a Room
The Politicians Six-Point Party Checklist
When invited to a party, most of us waft into a fluffy thought prcess.
Our random reverie goes something like this: Hmm, this could be fun....
Wonder if theyre going to serve food.... Hope its good.... Might be some
interesting people there.... Wo der if my friend so n so is coming....
Golly, what should I wear?
Thats not the way a politician thinks about a party, however. While
politicians, heavy-duty networkers, serious socializers, and big winners in
the business world are staring at the invitation, they instinctively surf to a
different channel. Before they RSVP with yes or no, their brains craft
journalistic campaign questions. Its the Six-Point Party Checklist. Who?
When? What? Why? Where? And How?
Lets take them one by one.
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Who Is Going to Be at the Party?
More specifically, who will be there that I should meet? Serious
networkers calculate Who must I meet for business? Who should I meet for
political or social reasons? And, if single and searcing, Who do I want to
meet for possible love?
If they dont know who is going to be in attendance, they ask. Politicians
unabashedly telephone the host or hostess of the party and ask, Whos
coming? As the party giver chats casually about the guest list, politicians
scribble the names of the people who interest them, then resolve to meet
each.
When Should I Arrive?
Politicians do not leave arrival time to whenever they finish geting
dressed. They dont ask themselves, Hmm, should I be fasionably late? They
carefully calculate their estimated time of arrival and estimated time of
departure.
If the party is bulging with contacts, biggies get there early to start
hitting their marks as each arrives. VIPs frequently come early to get their
business done before party regulars who hate to be the first one there start
arriving. They are never embarrassed to arrive early. After all, the only