Believe it or not, I’m an introvert. I like my quite time alone. My day to day life is so busy and always buzzing that I had to learn at an early stage how to be an extrovert. I needed to survive in that environment.
Being an introvert has great qualities that have really helped me. It allows me to go into hiding to find myself. However, I’ve found that it can also hinder me in certain situations.
My line of work is heavily based on having interactions with other people. I can remember being at my desk and being afraid to call a client or another colleague because I was always afraid of forgetting what I would say or I was terrified that the person on the other end of the phone would think I was stupid! I had all these irrational fears that kept me from public speaking engagements and these fears eventually got so deep that I started to place limitations on myself. All because I carried these introverted traits.
Networking is a very large part of my professional life as well as my business, but the thought of networking makes me nauseous and terrified. I relied heavily on other people to attend networking events with me. I never wanted to go by myself, I feared how people would perceive me. So, if I couldn’t find a companion I simply did not go. I was missing out on ample opportunities to connect with people who I could learn from and I was beginning to feel the strain.
Then one day, as I sat there and re-evaluated my whole networking strategy, or lack thereof, I remembered this famous quote; “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”
I acted and drew up my ‘Network Survival Tips- Be an Introvert but network like an extrovert’. I hope someone out there find these tips very useful. Let me know if you use them and how you got along.
- Set a quota
I have always struggled when deciding how many invitations I should honour. The best way around this is to set yourself a quota. Decide how many events you want to attend in a month and then figure out which events take priority out of all the invitations you have been given or the events you become aware of.
- Smile
Seems obvious, right? It’s surprising how many people don’t realise that they aren’t smiling until someone tells them. I happen to be one of those people. I could be happy but my face has this natural hard look. I must consciously remember to smile or else someone will catch a hard look and automatically think I’m stuck up or just mean.
- Less is more
To get the best out of your networking opportunity, target the people who you want to speak to. If you have prior access to the guest list, you can do your research and target individuals. If not, once you arrive at the event, spend a few minutes scanning the room then decide on the 3 people you want to network with and follow through.
- Ask questions
People really love to talk about themselves and they appreciate those who let them do it. If you want to warm up to someone new, let them do the talking. The key is to remain engaged enough to ask questions to keep the conversation going. Also, by staying engaged and truthfully listening, you can make connections.
- Exit gracefully
When you’re out there in the world socialising, you will eventually reach your breaking point where you’re ready to go home. You need to train yourself on how you can gracefully exit a situation that is becoming too intense. For example, ‘it’s been great talking to you but unfortunately I’m going to have to take my leave as I have an early start tomorrow…’
- Follow up
Everything you’ve done up to this point will mean nothing if you skip this step. This makes it easy for you to stand out and grab their attention. Your follow up could be a quick email or a follow on social media. No matter your means of communication, make it a point to reconnect with the people you met.
The doors to the next level of your life are always unlocked by people who are already there! Take these simple tips and set yourself up able to accept everything you deserve!
Did you implement these tips? Did they work for you? Do you have any other tips? Share in the comments below!