We’ve gotten mighty comfortable showing our best sides on social media. But if you need to brush up on your in-person, face-to-face networking skills, here are 5 Do’s and 5 Don’ts.

I recently overheard two people discussing social media. One was bemoaning the fact that all of her online contacts seemed to enjoy much more successful, productive professional and personal lives than she did. Her friend responded, “That’s because you’re only seeing the highlight reels. You don’t see the outtakes or the stuff left on the editing floor.”

In-person networking isn’t quite as forgiving as social media. You can’t take ten minutes to respond to a question. If you suddenly realize that you’ve just made an absolutely boneheaded comment, you can’t just delete it. And you look like what you look like.

In Real Life (IRL) networking, which we all used to do a lot before Mark Zuckerberg enrolled at Harvard, takes preparation and forethought. So keep some basic, common-sense networking etiquette in mind.

That said, DO…

• Get your ducks in a row before you walk in the door. Have an elevator speech ready to use when people ask you what you do. Conjure up some “safe” topics you can bring up if the conversation starts to flag. No politics.
• Listen more than you talk. If you’re introverted by nature, this should be easy. If you’re extroverted, try to tone it down.
• Know why you’re there. Having that clear in your mind will go a long way toward engaging the “right” people
• Follow up. Not on Facebook. On LinkedIn. When you’ve clicked with someone and there’s a good reason to stay in touch, send him or her a personalized connection request. Don’t “collect” contacts.
• Be genuine. If you’re a social chameleon and try to be whoever you think the person you’re talking to wants you to be, you’ll forget who you were to whom.

But DON’T…

• Order a chef salad. Big salads are good because they keep you occupied if the meeting fizzles, but think green stuff sticking in your teeth
• Sit down early during the gathering. Short of putting on your coat and eying the door, nothing says OK, I’m bored more than that.
• Show up late and leave early. Rather, come early and stay late. You’ll catch people when they’re fresh, and you’ll give the impression that you’re serious and interested.
• Look over the shoulder of the person you’re talking to so you can scan the room for more likely prospects. It’s incredibly rude.
• Let yourself be pigeonholed by one boor for the whole meeting. Move on, gracefully and graciously, without offending the offensive party.

Consistency is the name of the game both in person and online. It’s exhausting to try to be someone else, and it will catch up with you. So be the best you you can be.

Speaking of networking, I’ll be doing a lot of it this week at www.infusioncon.com. I’ll be meeting entrepreneurs from all over the globe. I can’t wait to report back on how it goes so watch this space! I’ll try to stay away from the salad bar…