Humans like putting things in categories. Whether it's movies, music, or restaurants, it's comfortable for us to parse things into different groups in our minds. It's one of the traits that allows us to manage a world of staggering complexity. We also like to do it with our relationships. We put people into relationship buckets: he's my work colleague, she's my friend, he's just an acquaintance, etc. But it's not always as clear cut as we would like it to be. What about a long-term client who has become a friend or a friend who you hired to work for you? This has only been exacerbated by the advent of social networking platforms … [Read more...]
The Easy Technology that Super-Charges Business Relationships
Let me ask you a question: How many hand-written notes did you receive in the mail in the last week? Or maybe the better question would be: Did you get any hand-written notes in the mail last week? Getting mail isn't too common these days. And I'm not trying to point out how few friends you have. I'm also not trying to start a rant about how letter-writing has become a lost art (which, sadly, it kind of has). I am pointing out the opportunity to stand out that every master networker and salesperson takes advantage of. They send physical, personalized, hand-written notes. Stand Out By Doing What Others Don't In a world … [Read more...]
Simple Solutions to Big Networking Fears: 10 Surefire Ways to Remember Anyone’s Name
It's an experience we've all had. We're at a party, a conference, or a reunion. Up walks someone that we know we know...but we can't for the life of us remember their name. It's right there, at the edge of our memory, but it won't come to us. We mumble an apology, ask for their name, and carry on with the conversation. But we feel bad because of it. Even though it really doesn't have a massive negative effect on our relationships, most of us are really afraid of forgetting other people's names in social situations. We dread that moment of staring at someone and drawing a blank. Maybe it's because we don't like it when others … [Read more...]
How to Network Above Your Pay Grade and Move Up the Ladder Yourself
You might feel comfortable networking with your peers, but what about networking with professionals who are more senior in age, experience, job title, or reputation? It’s easy to think of networking as “peer-to-peer”, but the real world is rarely that simple. Learning how to interact and engage with people who are more established in their careers is a key skill. It’s the same conundrum that you face when looking for your first job: companies want to hire someone with experience, but how can you get experience if they won’t hire you? First of all, remember that you don’t need a network of CEOs and presidents to be successful. You can … [Read more...]
The Magic Opportunities that Will Supercharge Your Internal Network
"I'm not in sales and I don't run the company, so why bother networking?!" I often hear a version of that question when I tell people about the power of networking, especially when talking with professionals who work for large organizations. It's easy for these people to think that networking isn't for them; that they just need to show up and do their job well. But this couldn't be further from the truth! Networking isn't just about selling - it's about building mutually-beneficial relationships with the people around you. In a large corporate environment where there can be thousands of employees in different departments scattered … [Read more...]
The Right Way to Make a Networking Introduction
Remember "connecting the dots" when you were a kid? Starting with a page full of random points, you ran a line from dot to dot (following the numbers, of course) and got a picture of a flower, animal, or your favorite cartoon character. The "hidden" picture had revealed itself and you had a piece of art to hang on the refrigerator. Good networkers approach professional relationship-building in the same way. They find ways to make connections to create something that wasn't there before. One of the most fulfilling parts of networking is making connections between two people who could benefit from knowing each other. When you look … [Read more...]
Why Was That Brilliant?
Some of the most useful (and entertaining) professional development classes I’ve ever taken have been improv-comedy classes. Besides making me a little less unfunny at parties, I’ve learned some powerful and practical communication skills in these classes. One of them came from a brilliant teacher, Tim Whetham. (He was the teacher who pointed out on the first day of class that, “everyone is already good at improv, we do it 24 hours a day). In a class on performing an improvisational scene with a partner, Tim pointed out that your focus in the scene should be to validate the choices the other actor makes. In the heat of the moment it’s … [Read more...]