I had fun last evening attending a women's networking group that met at the Fort Lauderdale Art Museum which I have not had the pleasure of visiting before. What a really nice place with rooms filled with beautiful pieces of art. One of our tasks was dividing into teams, getting to know each other and then going on a scavenger hunt throughout the museum. Our team (Team #1 - 5 people) engaged each other in conversation, getting to know each other before we headed out on the "hunt". We worked really well together as a team and actually won the contest which involved 10 teams.
Why did we blend so well together and choose to work together as a team on the hunt? Could have been the blend of our personalities, the common bond we found during our conversations and the fun we had during the hunt. On our name tags we had to write down a catch-phrase somehow linked to what we do for a living. It was fun guessing what the words meant and laughing in the process as some were really unique. In the end, I met some nice ladies who I will stay in contact with.
Our second exercise for the evening was walking across the street to the Auto National Art Learning Center where we all got to paint or sketch under the guidance of staff teachers. I had fun sketching in charcoal a still life scene of oranges, a pitcher and a bottle. We did this for about an hour and I must say my finished product wasn't too bad. I approached this fun activity knowing I am not an artist and so I just wanted to have fun but create something in the process. A little background music would have been inspiring.
What I want to pass on to others is to have fun in networking situations. Be open to conversation, making sure to ask about the other person/people getting curious of who they are and why they are at the event, etc. If you are entrepreneur, own your own business, are a sales person or anyone who has to find new clients and new connections networking is a necessary part of your job. You might as well figure out how you can leverage networking and more importantly get comfortable doing it. People like doing business with people they like and they trust so what better way to begin a relationship than engaging someone in conversation at a networking event. Golden Rule: never let it be all about you. Networking is easy for extroverts but not so much for introverts. I am blessed that networking comes naturally for me as I love engaging people and finding out about them. So most of the time I have fun, meet interesting people who sometimes join my circle of influence and become clients or I can introduce them to people they would benefit from meeting.
