SOME PEOPLE understand it takes more than good grades, skills and degrees to move up the career ladder. They realise that mastering the art of schmoozing, or social networking, can put you on the fast track to the executive floor.
This is because, whether you like it or not, success in life is often the result of who you know rather than what you know.
Schmoozing is a contact sport, and you must be prepared to get out there if you want to play.
According to the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast in the United States, more than 40 per cent of adults suffer from social anxiety, and 75 per cent of this is experienced at large gatherings such as parties.
That means entering a room full of strangers is difficult for most people but, since such occasions are also a key arena for networking, these fears must be overcome.
'We were taught to avoid talking to strangers at an early age. So when we have to talk to people we don't know, it feels strange,' said Bernardo Carducci, founder of the Shyness Research Institute. 'The key is just to start.'