My sincere gratitude to God for the privilege to be working under Maestros Leadership Team and to have worked with great minds and honorariums such as President Barack Obama, Dr. Strive Masiyiwa, H.E. Patricia Scotland, Sir Kofi Annan and many more maestros. Let me share with you some tips on how to best engage with such figures when at a meet and greet or in an instant.
01. CONTROL THE EXCITEMENT/ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE – Nobility is key when introducing yourself to dignitaries and trust me when I say rushing for autograph requests is a deal breaker. Plan and align your 60 seconds pitch/ thoughts/ questions in a strategic manner, be calm and articulate yourself gracefully, Ohh! Remember to COMPLIMENT THEIR WORK. I usually have an opening line as an icebreaker to make myself memorable, for instance, when I met Prince Charles, I capitalized on our names and the life of the late President Kamuzu Banda, whereas when I met with President Obama I subsidized on the similarity of our visions for Africa. Please don’t try too hard to make them laugh in this phase.
02. THE GAME CHANGER: THE WHY
This powerful and penetrating exploration of what separates you from the masses is very imperative when introducing YOUR AGENDA. Explicitly point out what drove your attention to them. THIS MEANS you must first do your assignment by engaging in an extensive research on what they do and most importantly WHY THEY DO WHAT THEY DO.
03. DONT BEG FOR HELP, DONT ASK FOR A JOB, DON’T ASK FOR FUNDING, CHANGE THE NARRATIVE
Ok guys let’s get this right; First things First. Asking for funding at a meet and greet is a sure way to getting your proposal rejected before you even mention it. Everyone is doing exactly that, so Instead, CHANGE the side of the coin by offering value to their organization/ company, show them goal integration pointers and how your work is in In synchrony with advancing their mandate. Have something significant to offer.
04. GRATITUDE & TIME MINDFULNESS
The idea is not to take all the time but to leave an impression for future possibilities. Appreciate them for their time and don’t be clingy, the whole room is most likely waiting to have a moment with them. If you did your introductions and value proposition well, they will definitely offer you a follow-up meeting, somewhere exclusive. REMEMBER GRATITUDE IS KEY TO MORE GRACE.
05. CONTACT – I encourage official business cards and printed pitch decks, BUT I urge you not to rush into asking them for their contacts or give them your business cards, there is a high probability they won’t use them.
I would recommend you ask for the protocol, “who may I contact in your office/institution/ company to take this forward.” Let them be in charge of choosing the communication medium; whether you should contact them directly or they have the perfect personnel in a specific department they can refer you to. REMEMBER the idea is to have integrity.
Author: Charles Lipenga.
