Each person you meet has a network of individuals they know, and it may be one of those persons who will be a good match for you. Speed networking can be another tool in your professional toolkit to contribute to your success.
Speed Networking: A Quick Way to Expand Your Professional Contacts Networking can be one of the most powerful and productive activities an individual can do to launch and manage their career. Preparation for Speed Networking Practice a second statement that includes your name, title or occupation, and what you are looking for, such as information, leads, a job or internship. Some people like speed networking because you get right to the point and there is no time for small talk.
Make sure you have a supply of business cards ready. Sometimes event planners will suggest a number; bring at least If you are unemployed at the time, get business cards with your contact information and occupation printed on them.
Assemble brochures, resumes or other type of handout, if applicable. Bring a pen, notepad, and your appointment calendar with you. Usually attire is either business or business casual. Check with the organizers if it is not stated. Remember that you have a few seconds to make a positive first impression. During the Event First of all, have fun. The fast pace of this kind of event contributes to a high level of energy in the room.
Usually minutes are allowed for each round; the leader will inform the group about the time frame. As you meet each person, shake hands and exchange names and business cards. Read each card as you accept it. What to hope to take away from this event?
Which session are you most excited about? Do you have other coworkers attending the event with you or are you by yourself? Have you been to this city before? What do you like to do outside of work? Group networking can be a lot less intimidating than one-on-one networking and help people feel more at ease. After some initial networking, you can also have each table compete in a teambuilding contest. The opportunities are endless. Scavenger hunts are a great way to get people moving.
There are a number of organizations and corporations that plan event-wide and city-wide scavenger hunts, designed specially to bring your attendees together in a way that promotes teamwork. With challenges like visiting sponsor booths, posting photos with a conference hashtag, answering questions about keynote speakers, and finding attendees who share the same interests, scavenger hunts can be an extremely effective tool in increasing attendee and exhibitor engagement.
With scavenger hunt technology, event planners can work with experts to create a program that uses QR codes and photos to increase interaction between attendees. Whether your goal is to increase brand awareness, engage your attendees in a unique way, or simply offer a fun activity for your event-goers, scavenger hunts are a unique networking game for your conference , annual convention, or large-scale corporate event.
How does something like a conference scavenger hunt work? Your participants will download a scavenger hunt app via a link you send out. They can then see an entire list of different challenges relating to the event. For each challenge that they complete, they earn points, which eventually add up towards a prize. Challenges could include things like:.
In addition to these types of challenges, you can also incorporate vendors and presenters so everyone feels more involved and engaged. Share the photos people uploaded to a TV screen in real-time and take advantage of the leaderboards most scavenger hunt apps offer so that your participants can see where they stand which encourages competitiveness and how far they are from winning a prize. This type of networking game is especially great for people who tend to hate traditional networking events.
It gives them an excuse to meet fellow event-goers and feels more like fun than it does networking. And by offering a prize or prizes at the finish, participants are encouraged and motivated to work together to overcome each challenge. City-wide events can also be especially fun, and an unconventional way to see a city. Wherever you are, your attendees will appreciate getting to do some sightseeing instead of sitting in a convention center for four straight days.
City-wide scavenger hunts can add in even more fun. Eat a meal at this famous restaurant. Take a photo in front of this tourist attraction. It can really help people find a balance between learning and experiencing. Instead of a free-for-all networking session format, make it a contest to see who can meet the most people and in turn collect the most business cards.
Sometimes attendees, especially more introverted attendees, need a little extra push. This way, your attendees can further connect with the people they met more briefly in the business card collection contest. Another networking game you can try at your next conference or event is human bingo.
Fill the boxes with things that are relevant to your unique industry and audience. You can also add in less industry-focused statements if you want to make it a little more laid-back. Here are some ideas for those types of statements:. Sometimes, these types of conversation starters can help your attendees feel more at ease and relaxed. And that positive, authentic energy is more likely to carry over to other sessions.
This is a quick, easy-to-set-up networking game. Simply have your attendees find a partner anyone in the room and give them 1 minute to fire off questions. To make it easier, consider displaying sample questions on a screen in the area in case they run out of ideas. It also creates a more dynamic and open-minded way of looking for win-win situations for both of you, as the party can find opportunities within your offer to help them out.
This applies not only to speed networking but all forms of networking activities as well. We have written about this at length in other blog posts too, but defining your personal brand will greatly benefit your speed networking and all of your other career goals.
Take some time before the speed networking event to establish your personal brand and make sure you are always looking through that lens.
During the meeting, make sure this is a fallback point of view if you feel you are getting off-topic. Understanding your personal brand will help you stay on track as well as find new opportunities.
Think of everything. Are you dressed according to the expectations of the event, are you communicating your core values and your basic principles, are you looking past the first point of contact for potential fits?
Also, be aware of your posture, your body language, and note the way your counterpart is responding to the way you are delivering your message. Speed networking is always viewed as a quick way to gain connections, but it is also a fantastic method of getting feedback for your pitch. Having an elevator pitch locked in will make any speed networking event a breeze. An elevator pitch is a second description of yourself, what you do, and what you want to communicate.
Prepare a pitch before the speed networking starts and think through the most important things you would like to communicate. Refine the pitch so that it sounds natural. If you can execute this well, you will have an audience that is alert and attentive to whatever you have to say afterward. Present your elevator pitch and then tie things back to what they need as well. Bringing this back to how you can help the other person reaching their goals and how they can help you reach yours will make the whole process much easier.
The values you create for your clients, by describing a typical problem, what activities you used to solve it, and the actual result. You can round up by including something about your goals and the results you wish to achieve from the meeting.
Too often participants jump into an event without having any speed networking questions they can go to in order to get the conversation started. The quality of the connection you form will directly impact your ability to make something out of the networking event. Taking notes in a speed networking event is often overlooked despite the multiple benefits it can provide. Jot down who it is you are talking with, the date, the context as well as a summary of what is being said.
Getting this all down on paper can make the speed networking process a lot more fluid and help you identify new opportunities. It also has the beneficial side effect of helping your image during the meeting. Someone who is attentive and takes notes will be perceived as trustworthy, interested, and a hard worker. This will not only help directly but trigger some reciprocity as well! Successful people think on paper.
One of the most important aspects of networking is to follow up on the contacts you have received during the meeting. For some reason though, a good number of speed networkers think that all of the magic is supposed to happen during the event.
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