Mercer

I recently went to my very first networking event. A few minutes before I walked into the room filled with people I had never met before, I was terrified. I thought that going up to complete strangers and introducing myself would only lead to me stumbling over my words and growing very, very red in the face (I blush A LOT, for no reason whatsoever).

There was something that I kept silently repeating to myself and it was "Mercer. Mercer. Tess Mercer. Tess Mercer. Mercer." - for those of you who are not familiar with Tess Mercer, she is a main character in the eighth, ninth and tenth (the final) season of Smallville. Without giving too much away, Tess is an incredibly strong businesswoman, who follows her head and keeps her cool. Most of the time anyway. She presents herself as unyielding and independent, someone who is not afraid of power and will go to great lengths to get what she wants.
For someone who initially was not one bit keen on entering the big bad world (in miniature), she provided an imperturbable inspiration. I love acting, and so I reminded myself of her great triumphs, her posture, her manner of speaking and so on and so forth.
But something happened when I finally did step into that room: I grabbed a glass of champagne and became my very own version of Tess Mercer. No reminder needed, no inspiration.
Not a single thought was wasted on how I ought to behave, how I should present myself. It dawned on me that I had seen enough portrayals of powerful women to not be reminded how to be like them. It came completely natural. All this was obviously aided by the fact that I knew exactly what I was talking about (namely future FILMS of mine and CINEMA in general).

After about an hour, I stopped and basked in my very own glory for a minute or two. I had done what I came to do (mostly), I had not made a fool of myself, I had not gotten drunk (occasionally sipping on the drink and never getting a top up will prevent this). SUCCESS.

If it won't come to you naturally, I suggest you find yourself a persona to aspire to during these events. Nevertheless... A word of caution: do not stray too much from yourself. People will eventually understand if you're pretending to be someone you mostly definitely are not (if they are paying attention). So find a balance between acting confident and revealing the right amount of "you".

Mottos can help, as can songs that make you feel empowered. For me, the clear winner in the latter would be "Starlight" by Muse, a tune I was listening to when I got accepted into my first choice university.

Once you will have conquered your fear of the room full of strangers, you will feel an enormous surge of confidence. How long that will last only you can decide. Same goes for what you will do with the many contacts you will make at the networking event.
Throw yourself into it, body, heart and soul.
Literally.