What do you say at a networking event in English?
Introduce yourself with your first name and an open question such as "What brings you here today?". Ask "So, what do you do?" and describe your own job in two short sentences. Leave with an offer to stay in touch — "Shall we connect on LinkedIn?" — and a friendly "It was great to meet you."
- Sequence: introduce yourself, ask about work, offer to keep in touch, leave politely.
- Key lines: "Mind if I join you?", "So, what do you do?", "Let's keep in touch."
- German traps: "I work by…", "I work as engineer" and "I make marketing".
B1 · Small Talk · 10 minNetworking in English, taught brick by brick.
A structured ten-slide lesson for B1 learners. Hear how to end a networking conversation in a friendly way, meet the lines for introducing yourself, asking about work and saying goodbye with a tutor, then practise them in interactive drills before a final quiz. The whole arc takes about ten minutes and nothing requires a signup.
- CEFR levelB1 · Intermediate
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- SkillsBusiness English, Listening, Speaking, Writing
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
What a networking conversation is for
At a networking event — a trade fair, a conference reception, an industry meet-up — you talk to people you do not know yet, usually for a few minutes each. The aim is not to sell anything on the spot. The aim is to find out who the other person is, to let them know who you are, and to leave with a way to stay in touch if the contact could be useful for both sides. That makes a networking conversation easier to plan than it sounds. It has three moves. First, you join a person or a small group and introduce yourself. Then you talk about work: you ask what the other person does and give a short answer about your own job. Finally, you end the conversation in a friendly way, often with an offer to stay in touch. At B1 level you do not need a large vocabulary for this. You need a handful of reliable sentences for each move, practised until they come easily. This lesson gives you exactly those sentences and shows where German speakers tend to slip: in the question about the job, in the prepositions and articles of their own introduction, and in the goodbye.
02 / 06
Joining and introducing yourself
Joining a conversation is often the hardest step, so keep it simple. If someone is standing alone, a friendly "Hi, mind if I join you?" is enough. With a small group, wait for a pause and say "Hi, may I join you?" Then give your first name: "I'm Anna, by the way." At many international events people use first names from the start; if someone introduces themselves with their surname, follow their lead. Next, ask an open question that invites a longer answer than yes or no. "What brings you here today?" works at almost any event, and "How do you know the organisers?" works better at smaller ones. Listen to the answer and react: "Oh, interesting." or "Me too, actually." When someone tells you their name, use it once in your reply: "Nice to meet you, Tom." That helps you remember it and shows that you were listening. If you miss the name, ask straight away: "Sorry, what was your name again?" Asking early is much easier than asking after twenty minutes.
03 / 06
Talking about work: "What do you do?"
The central question at a networking event is "So, what do you do?" It asks about your job, not about what you are doing at this moment. "What are you doing?" means "Was machst du gerade?" — that is a different question. Answer in two short sentences: first where you work, then what you do there. "I work for a logistics company in Hamburg. I'm in charge of our customer team." Or: "I'm an engineer at a car supplier. I work on battery systems." Two sentences are enough; the other person can ask for more. Useful frames are "I work for…" or "I work at…" for the company, "I work in…" for the field ("I work in marketing", "I work in IT"), and "I'm in charge of…" or "I'm responsible for…" for your role. Then pass the question back: "What about you?" or "And what do you do?" The exchange works like a ball game: each side shares a little and passes the question back. Avoid long lists of tasks or job titles that only make sense inside your company; a simple, concrete description is easier to remember.
04 / 06
German traps in your introduction
Several small slips come straight from German. The first is the preposition. "Ich arbeite bei Bosch" becomes "I work for Bosch" or "I work at Bosch" — not "I work by Bosch", because "by" does not express that a company employs you. The second is the article before a job. German says "Ich arbeite als Ingenieur" without an article; English usually needs a or an before a job that many people do: "I work as an engineer", "I'm a project manager". For a position that exists only once, the article often disappears: "She was appointed head of sales." The third is time. "Ich bin seit 2019 bei der Firma" is not "I am since 2019 at the company" but "I've been with the company since 2019" — with "since", English uses the present perfect for something that started in the past and is still true. The fourth is single words. "Visitenkarte" is "business card" in English, and people often just say "card": "Here's my card." And "Ich mache Marketing" is "I work in marketing", not "I make marketing". None of these slips stops communication, but together they make an introduction sound translated. Practise your own two-sentence introduction until it is right every time.
05 / 06
Swapping details and leaving politely
Ending a conversation is a normal part of networking, not a rude one. Most people at the event want to meet several others, so it is normal to move on after a few minutes. Prepare a short exit in two steps; the two can come in either order. For example, first offer a way to stay in touch if it makes sense: "Shall we connect on LinkedIn?", "Do you have a card?" or "Here's my card. Let's keep in touch." Then close with a friendly sentence and go: "It was great to meet you. Enjoy the rest of the evening." Other natural exits are "I'm going to get another coffee. It was really nice talking to you." or "I should say hello to a colleague over there. Great to meet you, Tom." Notice the form of the goodbye. "Nice to meet you" is typical when you are introduced; at the end, many speakers switch to "It was great to meet you" or "Nice meeting you". "I must go now" is grammatically correct, but on its own it can sound abrupt; a friendly sentence before it makes the exit softer. Avoid exits that suggest the other person was not worth your time, such as "I need to talk to someone important."
06 / 06
After the event: following up
A networking contact only becomes useful if you follow up. In the next few days, send a short message that reminds the person where you met: "Hi Tom, it was great to meet you at the logistics fair in Hamburg yesterday. I enjoyed our chat about delivery software. Let's keep in touch." If you promised something — a link, a contact, a brochure — send it with the message: "As promised, here is the link to the study I mentioned." Keep the message short and friendly, and do not attach a sales offer to the first contact unless the other person asked for one. On LinkedIn, add a personal line to your connection request instead of sending it empty; that way the person knows straight away who you are. If you want to talk again, suggest something concrete: "Would you like to have a quick call next week?" A clear next step is easier to say yes to than a vague "Let's meet sometime." The message uses the same sentences you practised at the event, so the conversation continues in writing where it stopped.