I was doing a really fun 5-minute speed networking roulette wheel yesterday at a gathering of an organization I’m a member of.
About 10 or 12 really fun conversations in, I was matched with a new person who started with a long sigh... seemed a little flustered, and said, “OK, let’s see... I gotta go through my shpeel here.”
Then, after looking up their notes, continued: “My name is [X], I’m counsel at [Y], I’ve been working on [Z] projects,” and so on.
👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼
That is the WRONG conception of networking!!!
In my prior 10-12 conversations, we talked mostly about: our zoom backgrounds; our pets; our hobbies; our families; our cities; but, rarely, our work!
Think about it like meeting a new friend, or going on a date. Do you talk about what you do, or how great you are? Or do you try to find commonalities, and just have a good conversation, a light time?
Networking is so much more fun and easier than folks think — I always say, networking is NOTworking... that’s fun enough!