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What to do when he’s got no Whatzit

Say you have scrutinized the body of the important business contact you want to meet. You’ve searched in vain from the tip of his cowlick to the toes of his boots. He’s not sporting a single Whatzit.

If you strike out on finding something to comment on, resort to the Whoozat technique. Like a persistent politician, go to the party giver and say, ‘That man/woman over there looks interesting. Who is he/she?’ Then ask for an introduction. Don’t be hesitant. The party giver will be pleased you find one of the guests interesting.

If, however, you are loathe to pull the party giver away from his or her other guests, you still can perform Whoozat. This time, don’t ask for a formal introduction. Simply pump the party giver for just enough information to launch you. Find out about the stranger’s jobs, interests, hobbies.

Suppose the party giver says, ‘Oh, that’s Joe Smith. I’m not sure what his job is, but I know he loves to ski.’ Aha, you’ve just been given the icebreaker you need. Now you make a beeline for Joe Smith. ‘Hi, you’re Joe Smith, aren’t you? Susan was just telling me what a great skier you are. Where do you ski?’ You get the idea.

Technique 13:

Whoozat?

Whoozat is the most effective, least used (by nonpoliticians) meeting-people device ever contrived. Simply ask the party giver to make the introduction, or pump for a few facts that you can immediately turn into icebreakers.

Now the third in our little trio of meeting-who-you-want tricks.