Handing Out Business Cards
Jay pointed to this entry from The Yeti a while back. Let me just say that I don’t I give out my business cards hoping to get a date, especially if that someone has a significant other.
Networking is a very big part of my profession. That’s why I distribute my cards. But now I’m thinking back to this outing with conference goers a few months ago when someone I met previously asked me for a business card. When I gave him one, the other people around him also wanted me to give them business cards, so I obliged. Innocent enough, right? When a member of the opposite sex asks you for a business card before you offer one, could that then be interpretted as a gesture of interest?
About two years ago, I was at an archive with my then-significant other. One of the staff members kept watching me. Finally, he approached me saying I looked very familiar. He also looked familiar to me. It only took a moment for us to figure out that he attended a talk I gave on copyright law about a year earlier and that’s why we recognized each other. He gave me his business card, so I gave him mine in return. I wondered if he was possibly hinting at something a little more than just an innocent exchange of cards, but seeing as how I had a ball-and-chain right there and I’m a total dunce when it comes to people hitting on me, I was kinda stuck. I considered sending him a follow-up e-mail a few days later just saying, “It was nice to meet you. You have a great archive. Let’s do lunch” in a totally professional context. But, alas, I never did.
Thank you, Yeti. I will never give or receive business cards the same way again.
February 3rd, 2004 at 8:21 pm
Professional networking is still high on the list for reasons.
But when there is absolutely no business interest, or one so fragile it makes you wonder if the person is daft - it’s usually a good sign.
And you giving your card when someone asks is not the same as you passing it on to them.
Depends on the look in your eyes when you do so.