Networking feels spammy when you make it about yourself. Instead, ask what people are excited about, listen for ways to help them, and offer small, concrete things: a tip, an introduction, a shared event. Make it easy for them to say yes.
the one word that so many of my clients use when they talk about networking is inauthentic, and that they feel inauthentic when they network. Ooh. And that's why they stop. Ooh. Because they feel spammy, they feel like they're takers, when really people wanna help you, you just need to give them a path to help you. Ooh, right. And you're spot on, you also want to be generous in your conversation. People love to tell their stories. So, you know, I think that giving people an opportunity to share their stories is really important, but also asking key questions in the conversation. Questions I love to ask in networking conversations is like, Trevor, what are you excited about lately? Like, what do you, what is it? And so it might be a vacation, it might be something you're working on, but whatever it is, I, in my little brain, I'm gonna think about, oh, he's taking the family to Disney World. Okay, well, what tips can I give him? How can I help him with that? Or do I have a friend who works there who gave them like a special tour? Or something like that. Or, or if it's something business-wise, I try to think of something, just something little. It might even just be, oh, you have an event, you know, next month. I'll make sure to share it on my LinkedIn.
AI Won't Tell You the Full Truth | Arthur Brooks + Simon Sinek | A Bit of Optimism Podcast
How To Make the Best Decision | Arthur Brooks and Simon Sinek | A Bit of Optimism
