Snap talk: Infopros can open doors through the gentle art of schmoozing

Troy Wason, Principal & Chief Research Officer at Axxess Point Inc, shared his transformational journey from self-professed introvert to natural-born extrovert or ‘schmoozer’ in a snap talk at the AIIP 2019 Annual Conference. Ellen Naylor from Business Intelligence Source reports on Troy’s snap talk session.

Schmoozing often has a negative connotation in politics. Troy Wason’s definition of schmoozing is making social connections with friendly, non-aggressive chat. So, what’s the difference between networking and schmoozing? About 2 glasses of wine.

Troy started his talk with some statistics on introverts and extroverts.

• 90% of IT people are introverts.
• About 90% of attendees at the 2019 AIIP Annual conference are introverts.
• The population at large is about 50% extrovert and 50% introvert.

Troy has joined four organizations in his life. The first was the cub scouts which he joined in second grade. He traveled throughout Canada with his Mom, and attended 12 schools in 12 years. When he would just be settling in, it was time to move again. When he was in high school, he joined a second group, the soccer team. It was another group activity.

In 1983, he took a test that indicated he would be a good computer systems analyst. He entered the University of Calgary that year and voted for the first time in 1984. He joined the political scene that year too. He paid his $3 and started to volunteer. That was 28 years ago and has been life changing. He nominated himself to be a director. He met his wife through politics. Two guys he met 28 years ago were in his wedding and they’re still buddies. He’s had lots of opportunities to schmooze.

The 4th group he joined was AIIP in 2018. 2018 was his first AIIP conference. It was difficult for him, and he felt imposter syndrome.

He has 3 tips to improve your schmoozing, and they’re often small steps:

1. There is no prize for business cards collected. You need to develop relationships by talking to people. While you might feel a little uncomfortable, do it anyway.
2. Don’t flee at the first opportunity. You can be uncomfortable. Stick it out and be a part of it.
3. It’s okay to get up and leave when you need to. Give yourself permission to leave when it’s time to go.

Thank you to Anne Hengehold from Clarify Information Services for sponsoring the snap talk.