Art of Networking Workshop—Practical Networking Skills for Building Powerful Connections!

Workshop Objectives

Learn how to incorporate the art of networking into your daily life.

1. Identify your level of comfort or discomfort with networking and how it impacts your interaction with others.
2. Recognize the different outcomes resulting from simply passing out business cards versus making real connections. Learn how to earn or lose credibility from the onset.
3. Understand your personal apprehension with meeting new people and learn ways to overcome fear and anxiety when approaching people you do not know.
4. Become comfortable in social and business settings by learning how to strike up a conversation, initiate an introduction, and engage a new acquaintance in dialogue.
5. Learn networking skills that will help strengthen the building of long-term relationships.

Workshop Assumptions

• Participants have heard about “networking”, but they do not really understand what this means to them personally or in the working world.
• Each individual has a network of contacts, but he or she does not know if their “net” is working for them.
• Networking has long been a buzz word in professional circles, but many are not totally comfortable with how to use networking to their advantage.
• People have bought into the idea that you must be an extrovert to be a successful networker. (However, this is a great myth.)
• It is believed that entertainers, business executives and famous people have no problem networking because people are always interested in meeting them. This is not always the case.

Workshop Description

This course is designed for virtually anyone who wants to feel more comfortable with networking. It blends educational awareness, humor, audience participation and practice to gain an understanding of how to incorporate networking into everyday situations. The goal for students taking this course is to learn how to use networking more effectively to expand their sphere of contacts to build relationships.

The facilitator uses personal, real-world examples of networking situations, both formal and informal, to engage the audience and shift perspectives. Participants are encouraged to provide examples of their own networking successes and challenges. Practical networking skills that support building strong relationships will be included to help students establish a solid foundation for developing these relationships. Students will be made aware of certain “networking no-no’s” to prevent mishaps when meeting someone for the first time. Additionally, participants will leave the course with a greater confidence in their ability to create opportunities for networking.