Comments on: I don’t like networking events

By: Kathy Kniss

Kathy Kniss — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:01:29 +0000

Wow, yeah, “networking.” Kinda a scary word – it conjures up a very cold, covert approach to making friends. Friends who aren’t actually your friends. Networking: the forced-friend making activity, that’s really what it is. So I like the term “connecting.”

You can connect anywhere, it doesn’t need to be at a networking event per se. I connect with peers in my professional all the time. Whether it’s hunting, fishing, shopping, camping…if you keep your ears open you can find opportunities to connect all over the city. It’s a much more comfortable atmosphere.

By: Lee Love Photography

Lee Love Photography — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:39:40 +0000

I agree will all of your points but it is also important to also be able to describe you company’s services clearly. If some ask what you do and it takes 20 minutes to tell them that is also a problem.

The reason most people attended networking events is to learn and connect with like minded people in the industry. As a photographer a big part of job my job is connecting with people in a short amount of time in order to reveal something about them that is reflected in the image. If you don’t enjoy people then networking events can be painful.

Be yourself, go into an event to learn not sell some thing and you will come away a much richer person.

By: Milo Curtis

Milo Curtis — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:04:35 +0000

Thanks for the platform to be honest about this stuff. I have no formal training in graphic design, marketing, and business. Yet here I am, the marketing director for a firm with 20+ years of experience and a wealth of integrity and respect in the community we serve.

What I’m learning is that people are people. Regardless of the setting, education, experience, “bling,” etc. People want to be related to as individuals and in the context of what they are proud of. NO ONE wants to be an experiment for your latest “pitch.” People can smell insincerity…I know I can.

By: Angie Gutenson

Angie Gutenson — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:59:06 +0000

Tim Hughes, – I’m with you on the creepy elevator speeches. Yuck.

And Tim Klabunde, it’s nice to hear that even a networking expert like yourself doesn’t always like networking events. It’s been nearly 14 years since my first industry event. I was 22 and I hid in the ladies’ room the better part of the event. Later I graduated to the “cling to the confident friend” tactic where I shadowed my networking savvy buddies, and today I’m finally comfortable on my own. And the reason is exactly as you note above. I know in what areas I’m an expert, I’ve made tons of friends, real ones, and I’m relaxed enough to enjoy learning all the things I don’t know from the people I encounter. Hopefully you’re ideas above help someone else make the transition from scaredy cat networker to confident relationship builder a little faster than it happened for me.

By: Timothy R. Hughes

Timothy R. Hughes — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:49:12 +0000

Count me as someone who is simply bugged by elevator speeches to begin with. The concept of pre-testing a rote memorized description of what your business is without regard to context or audience does not make a lot of sense to me.

We can all stand honing out understanding of our business, what clients are looking for, and where our businesses stand out … but prepackaged repetition usually sounds like it.

Final thought – I think you really hit it on the head talking about friendships. When an event stops being a networking event and instead becomes sharing time with friends, colleagues and respected professionals, the entire focal point and reaction evolves into something a lot more fun.