Nervous or shy about networking? You’re not alone.
Here’s a story and some tips that will help
In my conversational networking seminars, I often share this story:
The Shy CEO
I was at a fund raising dinner, seated next to a CEO of a large corporation. We got talking about our interests & our work. When he learned that I teach savvy networking skills, he said, “Boy could I ever use your help. Whenever I attend mixers I feel like a fish out of water.”
Sneak out
“I’ll walk the four corners of the room. If I don’t see anybody I know or nobody approaches me, I’ll stay 5 minutes and then just sneak out.”
When I share this story and ask my audiences if anyone can relate to this, more than half the room usually raises their hands.
This is the advice I gave the shy CEO
Tip 1. They are just as nervous as you
If you think about going to events where there are hundreds of people attending, it will seem daunting. A less intimidating approach is to consider that the event is comprised of single individuals who are just as nervous as you are.
Tip 2. You don’t have to be an over-achiever
Set some achievable goals such as meeting just 2 or 3 of those people and reconnecting with two or three people you already know. This way you’ll experience more ease and be way more effective than attempting to meet everyone. After you’ve met a few new people you can go home feeling like you’ve accomplished your goal.
Nervous is normal
After a recent Complete Engineer seminar, I delivered in Vancouver for APEGBC, one of the female engineers came up to me and said, “Thanks so much for sharing that story of the shy CEO. It normalizes how I often feel. I thought it was just me.”
She then went on to tell me that she was attending a breakfast mixer the following morning and wasn’t feeling quite as much terror as she did prior to the seminar.
Work in progress
I followed up with her a couple of days later and she said her breakfast mixer went very well. She was actually able to practice some of the skills she learned. She’s not perfect at networking and conversation but is a self-described, work in progress. Aren’t we all.
Hi Richard,
We’re so pleased to hear that you gained valuable networking tips and have even shared them with your VP. Please let us know how you like our newsletter — we’re interested to hear your feedback especially as you are a new subscriber.
Hi Joanne & Terry,
I attended your seminar at the Canadian Payroll Association conference in Vancouver earlier this month. I found it quite interesting and I share the knowledge with my introverted VP. Thanks for sharing your newsletter with me. I’ll read all the articles to help me get out of my shell.
Richard