Strive to be memorable.

Carlos and I were walking into a Chamber breakfast one morning, hawking our business, Swirl, and doing our usual scouting of where to sit – we intentionally split up – when Carlos noticed a clown, yes, a fully dressed clown, sitting at one table. “I’ll sit there, ” he said, leaving me to sit across the room. I chuckled because, knowing Carlos, I knew he was up to something.

When Carlos Zapata and I were in business together at Swirl, early on, we did just about every Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Business Journal event, and social meet-up you can imagine. It’s important when establishing yourself to get out there, put a face on your business, and spread the word about your work – especially when you are in the advertising and design business. We had done our homework and had prepared “scripts” that we would recite when it was our turn to give the customary elevator pitch at these events.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Carlos was up to as I gazed across the breakfast room as he slid in next to the clown and introduced himself. The site of a fully dressed clown at a business breakfast is surreal. Seeing Carlos plop down right next to him made me chuckle. Everyone at our table, probably most of the tables, laughed about the clown at breakfast. It was a great device, and I couldn’t wait to see what service or product the clown was there to pitch.

Per usual, everyone at breakfast got their minute to introduce themselves and pitch their service or business. My part went off without a hitch, and I recited the boilerplate script well – I had honed this speech over multiple events, but I couldn’t wait to see what Carlos was up to.

When it was time for his table to give their speech, Carlos stood up, took the microphone first, and said dryly, “I thought I was going to be the only clown here,” This elicited a roaring laugh from the entire breakfast meeting. He seamlessly transitioned into how we didn’t take ourselves too seriously, a pillar of our mission statement, and sat back down.

In the end, the clown was there to sell his services as a clown. It worked well for him as he was not only selling a service, he was the service: a clown for rent. But the most memorable “clown” was Carlos, who had adeptly taken advantage of the impression and made it unforgettable for another reason altogether.

Standing out in this information wasteland we all must navigate has never been more critical. One timeless tip I can give you for building meaningful connections at a networking event is to strive to be memorable. Don’t be afraid to be yourself; remember, having fun doing what you do is ok. Cheers!