When I decided that I was going to have to get a lot better at networking, I became really curious about what was it specifically that I didn’t like about going to networking events.
And I realised that it’s no wonder so many of us don’t like it because I believe it plays on 2 of our biggest fears as human beings.
1. the fear of the unknown
2. the fear of rejection.
So the best way to overcome our fear of the unknown is to turn as many of the unknowns into knowns as possible. Where networking is concerned these usually fall into 3 areeas:
- not knowing where to go
- not knowing who to approach
- not knowing what to say.
So spend as much time on these as possible. To help you with these, you’ll find information all over the site, in my newsletter and in my workshops.
The way I overcame the fear of rejection was to:
- learn how to read a room, so I knew who to approach and who to avoid.
- always contact people before I went so I would at least know someone there.
- get a networking buddy.
And remember you’re not the only one that finds networking a bit uncomfortable, so act like the host and introduce yourself to a few people. Then everyone’s a winner.