Nothing pains me more than to hear someone say, "I did not go to that event, because I did not have anyone to go with me."  Sometimes you have to go it alone.

Enter the networking event with confidence:

Shoulders back

Glass in left hand, shake with your right.

Self-stick name tag just below your right shoulder, because that is where a person's eye goes when shaking your hand.

Do not scan the room like a lion looking for a fat zebra. Make eye contact with the people in front of you.

Introduce yourself.

Start and keep conversations going by asking others about themselves.

Hand your business card to people with the words facing that person.

Follow up by phone or by personal note.

Now get out there and network. 

The Etiquette Tip of the Week may be forwarded to others who really, really need it, pinned to billboards, taped to the water cooler, blogged, Twittered or used to fill that last little hole in your newsletter.  Giving credit to the Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/ is the polite thing to do.