If anyone ever tells you that they really love to network, chances are they’re either lying or they’ve time-machined from a decade that was up in arms over the cordless car phone. Let’s face it: making small talk with strangers in the back of ballrooms and bars can be pretty nerve-wracking. And unless you have that ever-so-quippy story about the time you project-managed your way into a senior position memorized verbatim, inventing chit chat on the fly is no fun.