Business cards aren’t going out of style anytime soon, but there is one serious misuse of these calling cards that I want to share with you.

I recently went to a networking event with about 300 people. A client had invited me and then got stuck downtown at jury duty. With the delay—and rush hour traffic—she didn’t make it. Did I run back to my car and say, “Oh well…” No.

Even though I didn’t know anyone, I stayed,  mingled and watched.

And I remembered a lesson from many years ago about business cards: Don’t give anyone your card unless they ask for it.

Why?

It’s a waste of our collective time –and paper. I’ll bet most business cards given without being requested land in a:

• Car
• Desk drawer
• Purse
• Jacket pocket—and then the garbage

When we take a few minutes to connect human-to-human with a meaningful conversation and rapport, we can then decide to hand over a card. Not everyone will be a good fit...