...Customized for: Isaac (illin@mednet.ucla.edu) THE INTRODUCTION Vault Guide to Schmoozing Customized for: Isaac (illin@mednet.ucla.edu) 2 © 2009 Vault.com, Inc. Introduction What does schmoozing sound like to you? Maybe it sounds smug, unctuous, oily, slimy. It sounds, quite frankly, like 'oozing.' Schmoozing is far from slimy, but 'oozing' actually isn’t a bad description of what a schmoozer does. A schmoozer slides into opportunities where none are apparent, developing friendships from the slightest of acquaintances. Through formless, oozy, schmoozy action, a schmoozer moves slowly but inexorably towards his or her goals. What is schmoozing? Schmoozing is noticing people, connecting with them, keeping in touch with them — and benefiting from relationships with them. Schmoozing is about connecting with people in a mutually productive and pleasurable way — a skill that has taken on new importance in our fragmented, harried, fiber-optic-laced world. Schmoozing is the development of a support system, a web of people you know who you can call, and who can call you, for your mutual benefit and enjoyment. Schmoozing is the art of semi-purposeful conversation: half chatter, half exploration. Schmoozing is neither project nor process. It's a way of life. How does schmoozing differ from networking? Conventional networking is the clammy science of collecting business cards ad infinitum, of cold-calling near strangers to grill them about possible openings in their places...
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