Recently I was invited to help ‘warm up’ a room of young professionals from the beauty industry who had paid to attend a night of networking with the very prestigious CEW board. The invitation was both flattering and frightening in equal measures for me!
The CEW board is made up of extraordinarily successful and senior women who have worked in/with the beauty industry for many years from companies such as Estee Lauder, Shisedo, Global Radio and Mintel. I was asked to talk about the power of networking and along with the free bubbly and wine help smooth the way for a productive and useful networking event.
In the days leading up to the event, I had the opportunity to really think about my experience and perspective of networking, both from my corporate media days through to more recent years as a business owner and trainer.
The first realisation I had was that I used to hate networking. The very word, what it represents (shaking hands with people you don’t know, making chit-chat, selling yourself/your company) used to make me feel uncomfortable for many years. The second realisation I had was how much I had learned over the last 15 years. Both my mindset and my approach to networking had shifted significantly and I sincerely wish I could turn to my 25 year old self and tell her these pearls of wisdom I had learned!
A pivotal moment for me in my early career came after a very drunken and miserable Media Week Awards dinner. I was seated next to a senior member of the media industry who I didn’t know, and spent the whole evening too frightened to look let alone speak to him. Why would someone like that be interested in talking to someone like me? The lack of confidence I felt and lack of anything interesting to say was overwhelming.
Following this dismal failure, my boss at the time gave me some great advice and told me that ‘networking is about learning and helping other people’. This perspective was a game changer for me….networking as learning and helping – no problem!
It was this piece of advice that led to my revelation that just by being interested and asking questions – whether in meeting scenario one on one or at an event – was far the most powerful way to learn and help. In fact it was largly due to my curiosity in others that led me to retrain to be a coach and trainer four years ago. If only my 25 year old unconfident self had been able to be more curious and asked questions of the former mentioned senior industry individual……
Reflecting over the years on that dismal Media Week Awards evening, I also realised how important it is to come across as interesting myself in a networking situation. Over the years I have learned that putting time and preparation into my ‘elevator pitch’ has not only helped build my confidence in these situations but also has led me to become much more impactful and articulate when meeting people for the first time.
Coming back to the CEW networking event, my ‘warm up’ certainly raised the energy in the room for what went on to be a successful and enjoyable evening for all involved. The feedback I got on that night is that I was not alone in the fact I used to hate networking. How do you feel about it? Does it make you feel uncomfortable? If it does, my advise is to put some of this into practice and go out there and meet new people as much as you can. Know what you want to say about yourself and be curious and up for helping and learning.
At Thrive we train groups and coach individuals on the power of networking and how to build meaningful trusted relationships with clients. If you want to know more, we’d love to hear from you. charlotte@thrive.sosdev.co.uk