A few lessons from this program
Here are a few of her tips.
Try new events – If you want to meet new people, you have to try doing new things. She’s not someone that most people would consider a “geek” but she tried tech events and ended up meeting her future boss at one.
Set an intention – On her way to an event, instead of listening to the radio or talking on the phone, she spends some quiet time setting an intention for the event. It helps her become more aware of opportunities at the event.
Keep a free hand – Events aren’t about the food & drink. If you have food in one hand and a drink in the other, you won’t be able to shake hands with new people.
Find focal points – I love this idea. Sloane told me that when she gets to an event, she looks for focal points like the bar. She then slowly makes her way from one point to the other. That helps her circulate throughout the event and keeps her from standing in one place or being in one conversation for too long.
Get personal – You build connections with people by finding commonality, not by pushing a business agenda. (Tim Ferriss said the same thing in this interview.) So even at business events, Sloane talks about her personal interests.
Invite people – An easy way to stay in touch with people is to invite them to events. Sloane told me that when she first met Ryan, she invited him to a Heal the Bay event. He couldn’t make it to the event, but he made a her a job offer soon after the invitation.
More – This is only a partial list of what we talked about. Listen to the interview for more.
Do you have any networking tips? Tell me in the comments or by email.
