5-min Networking Guide for Introverts
For most of my life I’ve considered myself a raging extrovert.
Yet, somehow the combination of pandemic life and middle age has prompted me to embrace my growing introverted side. In addition to recalibrating my social life because of my kaput party-stamina, it’s also brought me to a shift in how I approach networking.
And it’s this change in perspective and planning that has helped me truly appreciate and support my introverted clients in all of their networking endeavors.
So for all of you whose eyes just opened a little wider, here’s my…
5-min Networking Guide for Introverts
The “who”:
Prioritize one on one conversations over big events where you’re mixing with multiple people. That’s a lot of people-ing.
Wherever possible, choose people to connect with who you find energizing.
The “how”:
Choose a place to meet that is quiet, calm and not too crowded.
Make it easy for the other person to meet with you with a convenient time and place for them.
Do some research on the other person’s work, organization and career. Your research will show you value their time. And you can do it while you’re by yourself!
Be yourself in the meeting. Be open. Be honest. Be vulnerable. It takes a lot more energy to be someone else and when you’re yourself – you attract the right people and repel the wrong people.
Build in quiet, solo downtime before and after your conversation.
Don’t judge yourself for needing quiet, solo downtime before and after your conversation. You need what you need. It doesn’t mean anything negative about you.
The “what”:
Always have a goal for the conversation. There are hundreds of potential goals that you can get at with strategic questions. (What’s the culture like at your organization? How did you make your career transition? What’s your day to day like in your role?)
Start the conversation with some questions about the stuff of being human – family, weekends, vacations, etc.
Make sure you get to the goal by the halfway mark of the conversation. If you get through the whole meeting without discussing it, you both will feel like it was a nice talk, but neither of you got anything out of it.
Authentically appreciate the other person for their good work (see the research you did, above) and their willingness to take time to speak with you.
Send a thoughtful note after your meeting to follow-up on any to-do items that came up in the conversation and to deeply appreciate them.
That’s it.
It does take energy, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. You’ll click with some people and you won’t with others. When you don’t click – it’s not about you. It’s about the fit – and you can’t expect to fit with everyone.
I look forward to hearing how it goes when you take all of this guidance out for a spin.
You got this, introverts!