Ah yes,"how can I help you" and "what keeps you up at night". Sounds like a genuine interest, but I agree, if it is a line, it is obviously a line and that becomes less sincere.
Regarding the word "help". I hear more and more people say that word is degrading. Do you hear that? The funny thing is when I ask what word they use instead, many use the word "help" in a more wordy description. Or, just replacing with assist until they put in context of assisting the elderly; than they ban that word in networking. Don't studder over the words and be sincere in networking...it does take time like Julia says.
moderator note: Julia copied this topic in Industry trends where there has been some additional posts/comments on
"The new schmooze line in networking", check it out!