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What Should I Take with Me?
A politician’s checklist is not the usual, “Let’s see, my comb,
cologne, and breath mints.” They pack more functional network-
ing tools in their pockets or purses.
If corporate cats will be prowling the party, they pack a pock-
etful of business cards. If it’s a gala where people are gadding about
on the social ladder and they want to exude old-world elegance,
they grab a handful of social cards containing only their name and
possibly an address and phone number. (Some feel giving out a
business card in a purely social setting can be gauche.) The most
vital tool in their party pack is a small pad and pen to keep track
of important contacts.
Why Is the Party Being Given?
The politician’s perpetual philosophy of “penetrate the ostensible”
enters here. (That’s just a fancy way of saying “look under the
rug.”) They ask themselves, “What is the ostensible reason for the
party?” A big industrialist is giving his daughter a graduation
party? A newly divorced executive is throwing himself a birthday
bash? A floundering business is celebrating its tenth year?
“Nice,” politicians say to themselves, “that’s the ostensible. But
what’s the real reason for the party?” Maybe the industrialist wants
to get his daughter a good job so he’s invited dozens of potential
employers. The birthday boy is single again so the guest list is
heavy with attractive and accomplished females. The business des-
perately needs good PR if it’s going to stay around another ten
years. So they’ve invited the press and community makers and
shakers.
Politicians have expert under-rug vision to spot the host’s real
agenda. They will, of course, never discuss it at the party. How-
How to Work a Party Like a Politician Works a Room
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ever, the insight elevates them to a shared state of higher con-
sciousness with other heavy hitters at the bash.
Their knowledge also makes them valuable agents for the