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Transcript
Sometimes we need to assess the situation and the circumstance. There are networking events or networking opportunities where this can be easier or clearer from the circumstance. So you probably are split in group, you have the chance to do some teamwork. So the the meetup or the networking events is usually better facilitated. So you actually have almost like a forced opportunity to interact with others and understand more and better. Who are the people that are in your group with you or joining the network can, even with you. And there, I would say it might be easier for you to actually understand what our people do. What are their experiences, what are their points? And in that case, I would definitely recommend to be an active part of the teamwork or the group work and try to come up with, solutions or experiences that are part of your expertise to almost show that you are carrying with you, something that could be helpful for the others as well. But sometimes networking events or networking opportunities are not so directly facilitated to bring people together in a strategic way. So you might need to find your own way to step up and catch the opportunities yourself and how you can do that.
First of all, try not to force the conversation if you realize that the person in front of you probably is there because it’s health interested or because they are not really into the networking. They’re more like, they’re just because they’re curious or because maybe they don’t even know why they’re there. Try to understand where the energy in the room is and where are the people that could be beneficial for your intention of creating connections. You don’t have to network with everybody in the room. So it’s really important that you assess the group and you try to map. I know it sounds a bit like artificial, but just follow your intuition. Sometimes in a room we’re able to kind of catch or understand where a more active energy is or proactive energy is. So try to readdress your presence and your interest towards those groups or those people.
And simply genuinely go there and ask some questions, just engage with the starter and try to, see who in the room is being more interested to either share openly or talk about their experiences. And there, you can slowly get in or even just listen. And then at some point, try to understand what is the good time for you to actually get into the point, pitch your solutions, but also very like again, generally intuitively share your pain points, share your areas of interest, and then see what are people say, how do they react? And there is where you actually create engagement organically. And then you’re able to actually identify who are the people that are closer to you, or naturally more connected and with whom you’re going to actually keep an organic interaction even after the event.
So I would say, think about that all the people in the room are like you. There are no people there that are not there for networking. Of course people might be there just because they’re curious or they are there because friends drag them there. So of course there will be different players on the stage. But think about that everybody is benefitting from creating connections into networking. So you’re not the only one interested in coming up with nice conversation and nice opportunities to create long lasting networking or like people around you. My recommendation is, um, try to always go back to your own motivation and your own interest and think about that this is a very great, nice opportunity for you to step out of your comfort zone and try to think about what is the worst that can happen if you actually approach someone? If you will have probably two minutes of awkwardness, which is completely fine. It always happens.
And if the person doesn’t match, or there isn’t a match or there isn’t a click, it’s totally fine. You will always find a way to get out of the conversation either faking that you’re receiving a phone call or just say like, “okay, cool that was nice. So let me describe a coffee or go to the toilet.” It’s totally fine. But if this clicks and it actually matches, think about what are the great benefits and advantages that you’re going to get by approaching this person.
So it’s a lot about negotiating your fear with your courage to expose yourself to almost like an emotional risk, but also like to a great great opportunity for you to extend your network and also like have nice conversation and inspiring conversation with people that will probably help you going to the next step with whatever you are going to do or you were doing.
