From the course: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Networking

How to practice

- I'd like you to practice networking. No, I don't want you to stand in front of a mirror and pretend you're making conversation. I want you to go out and practice in real life. I'd like for you to find some smaller events to attend, probably something that you can find on meetup.com or come as a guest to a six degrees meetup in your city. The first tip for you to practice is to be honest about your newness. Just say to people I'm new to networking, and I just want to get out and be around people who are in my line of work and see what others are up to. You might even use a phrase or question like this. I'm new to this group. How long have you been coming? Is there anyone I should know here? Second, find a podcast that others in your industry might find useful. Listen to a few episodes before you go to the event and then go with those in mind. When you meet someone, ask, have you heard of this podcast? And then use an episode of the podcast as a point of discussion. Third, show up ready to address a hot legal or business topic. For example, is your company doing anything about the new California law about independent contractors? Be ready to discuss it and use it to listen in a way that you learn about the person that you're talking to. You're not trying to impress them. You're trying to engage. If you find someone who seems to know people, ask them this, I'd love it if I could ride your coattails for a little bit and meet some new people. This will give you an immediate introduction to others, and at some point, you can thank the person and let them move on to other conversations. Here's one last practice tip to take with you out there to a real event. Don't leave without asking people, do you recommend any other events like this? That gives you a list of new opportunities for networking, and you can show up already knowing someone. Get out there and practice in real life. If you don't feel great about it, don't beat yourself up. It takes a few events before you start to get your sea legs. It will get better each time you go to an event.

Contents