You know that networking is a great way to build your practice or advance your career but you avoid doing it because it makes you uncomfortable. One reason you feel that way, no doubt, is because you feel compelled to perform.
You’re supposed to be calm, cool, and collected, but you’re not. You’re supposed to come home with a pocketful of business cards but you get tongue-tied and beat yourself up for not meeting your quota.
You’ve read the books about how to make a good impression, start a conversation and keep it going, but there’s too much to remember and you’re not sure you’re doing it right.
No wonder you hate networking. It’s like handling a jury trial the day after you’ve been sworn in.
You don’t have to be good on day one. Give yourself permission to be bad:
1) Forget the rules
Be yourself. Relax. Meet a few people, shake a few hands, and go home.
If you’re uncomfortable, don’t try to act like you’re not. In fact, tell people how you feel. Poke fun at yourself. Watch and listen and don’t worry about anything else.
No agenda, no goals, no pressure. Just go somewhere there are people you don’t know and be normal.
When the pressure is off and you can be yourself, you might actually enjoy yourself, or at least not hate the experience as much as you thought you would. From there, you can grow.
2) Get a wingman
If you’re attending an event for the first time and not looking forward to it, bring someone with you, someone who is outgoing and can help you. Someone who can talk you down when you feel like calling it an early night.
If not, eventually some good soul will see you standing by yourself, come talk to you and take you under their wing. Hang out with them. Watch them introduce themselves to other people. Listen to how they start conversations.
They will introduce you to others. If they’re real good, those others will have something in common with you and you’ll be able to take it from there.
3) Start with easy
Your first time out, go to an event that is unlikely to have prospective clients or referral sources. That way, there’s nothing at stake and you can practice meeting people without fear of embarrassing yourself or blowing a great opportunity.
Go to a car show, for example, if you know something about cars, and talk to some of the vendors. Ask questions and have fun.
Allow yourself to be not very good at networking and you might just keep at it until you are.
