Have you ever been to a networking meeting and felt totally out of place and awkward? Or have you ever been part of a conversation when someone enters it and the whole group falls apart? Sometimes this happens to us all. It only means that the atmosphere or chemistry of the group does not match our outlook. Good chemistry in a room has energy, people talk and smile. There seems to be a good feeling when you arrive. But what happens when there is not chemistry and you walk into the room and everything is dead? There will always be someone who tries to liven up the crowd but usually fails. If you look around, you may be able to pin-point the problem.

Do you remember the personality test we did? If you quickly analyze the mix of personalities in the room, you may find there are too many Lions or Beavers to get the excitement going. See if you can engage them in a conversation about a serious subject rather than trying to get the crowd to be livelier. If that fails, it is time to go home and try again another time.

When chemistry is lacking, you often have to dig very deep to gather the strength to start a conversation. Even at that, you need to like the place you are in. By trying to change your own attitude, you may change the mood others seem to be in.

Another tactic for the lack of chemistry is to find someone else in your organization to make the connection. If you have learned about personality types, then you should be able to match this potential client with the appropriate colleague.