Networking

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Despite a lingering migraine this afternoon, I am bringing you a Two for Tuesdays post! Last night, I got thinking about some of the negatives that I’ve heard from my lawyers about networking, and how to combat those. Today, I’m bringing you two of the top complaints I’ve heard and some suggestions for solving them.

Networking Negative One: Awkward Silences

There are some people who can talk with anyone – my brother-in-law is like that. Put him in a room with a bunch of people he doesn’t know, and he excels at connecting with them without awkward silences.

But for many of us, that is unfortunately not one of our strengths. I’m a prime example of that. Raise your hand if you’ve ever been speaking with someone, only to have the conversation taper off and leave you standing there wracking your brain to come up with something to say? 

*Hand raised*Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Networking Negatives

We’ve been full of networking tips here at Zen lately with the ILN’s European Regional Meeting happening last week. It’s only fitting that I sum that up with some post-conference networking suggestions on this week’s Two for Tuesdays!

Tip One: Connect & Share

Any time you leave a conference, whether it’s an ILN conference or not, it’s hard to keep the momentum going as you face a mountain of work and personal responsibilities. It seems to get more and more difficult to step away from the office these days – I know I’m always trying to prepare to leave and spending time catching up when I return, even when I’m checking in and working the entire time I’m away!

But forgetting to do a few simple things after a conference can really take away from all of the headway you’ve made in networking. So add in these few things to your to-do list today (force yourself to do one each day, rather than trying to do them all at once!) and it will make a big difference in your efforts. Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Post-Conference Networking

It’s Monday, so that means that the 2014 ILN European Regional Meeting is officially in the books. I want to offer a special thanks to our hosts at Okland & Co DA, and especially their managing partner, Tom Carsten Troberg.

As I was flying home yesterday, I had the opportunity to ruminate on the conference, and the takeaways I gained from the various presentations and social functions, and I wanted to share those with you today!

  • There is really no substitute for face-to-face relationship building: As you know, I love social media, and think of it as a great bridge for keeping connections going in between face-to-face interactions.

    But there’s no substitute for seeing your connections from around the world in person, talking about personal and professional things, laughing together, and experiencing a new city together. Not only do you get to know each other better (and get a richer understanding of the challenges and cultural differences facing your colleagues in other cities), but you leave with a warm feeling that reminds you to think of them first when making referrals or getting ready to pitch a client. So never think that your online or phone efforts will ever compare to time spent in each other’s company.

    Shared experiences will always win the day – particularly when those experiences involve Aquavit tastings and a mutual fear of lutefisk.

Continue Reading Takeaways from the 2014 ILN European Regional Meeting

It’s September, so you know what that means…it’s prime time to re-ignite your networking efforts! For many ILN members, they’ll have the chance to do that this week, as our European Regional Meeting kicks off in Oslo on Thursday. 

While we’ve covered a lot of networking tips in the past, I’m always on the hunt for new ideas and advice to switch things up.  I recently came across this post that offers seven tips for networking success, Let’s look at a few of them, and how they apply to lawyers and law firms. 

There’s More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, as they say, and there’s more than one place to do your networking.  As the post suggests: 

Attend events at professional organizations that relate to your expertise or industry, but don’t be content with that."

Continue Reading Let’s Get Networking!

On this Two for Tuesdays, we’re gearing up for next week’s European Regional Meeting in Oslo! Our conferences always get me thinking about best practices for networking, so that my attorneys can make the most out of their conference attendance (and you can too!). 

It’s easy to think of networking as something that happens only AT a conference or event, but if you’ve been reading along here at Zen, you know that it’s something that really occurs before, during and after. Since we’ve still got over a week until the conference kicks off, let’s focus today on two tips for networking before a conference. 

Tip One: Review & Reach Out

While not all organizers do this, many of them will make an attendee list available prior to the conference or event taking place. If you really want to make the most out of your conference networking, study this list as soon as you get it.  

You’re looking for companies, firms, geographic locations, specialties and more that may have some strategic crossover for you.  For the sake of simplicity, we’ll use the ILN conferences as our example here for networking opportunities. Let’s say that your firm has done a few referrals with a firm in London, and that firm will have a representative at the conference. Put a star next to their name in your attendee list. Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Start Your Networking BEFORE a Conference

For today’s Two for Tuesdays, I want to look at two tips for following up after a networking event.  Finding the right event, with the right audience, and then meeting the right people are all essential parts to successful networking.  But it doesn’t matter if you meet a handful of great people at an event if you never speak to them again – the key is in the follow up. 

Tip One: Ask a Question

This tip comes from a great post on Life Hacker that suggests just that – follow up meeting a new person by asking them a question (which you’ve jotted down on their business card).  The reason is two-fold: 

  • First, it shows that you were really concentrating on what they were saying – as long as the question is relevant to them. It sets you apart as a good listener, and shows that you value building the relationship, and not just the number of contacts you have. It’s important to make sure that the question is a genuine one, and not just an excuse to keep talking, or it will likely have the opposite impact on your new relationship. 
     
  • Secondly, it keeps the conversation going.  Even when you send up a follow up email, unless there is a reason for the person to respond, they probably won’t. But if you ask a thoughtful question, there’s a reason for them to keep speaking with you, and the conversation can go from there. It may even become substantial enough to warrant a follow up meeting. 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Networking Follow-Up

On Friday, I received an email from someone I don’t know – like everyone, I get LOTS of these, but this one struck me. He must read my blog, because he mentions it in his note. He even manages to spell my name correctly. 

However, the purpose for his email is to tell me about this blog post he wrote, to suggest that I use it as the subject matter of a blog post, and that I tweet out his link to my Twitter followers. In fact, he goes so far as to mention that his is a topic worthwhile of discussion by the entire legal blogosphere. Really?

Well, I’m certainly not biting.

And why not? Perhaps his article is interesting, even provocative. Perhaps I will have something to say in response, or thoughts to add.  But for me, he’s broken a cardinal rule, and asked for a favor without having any relationship equity at all. 

Relationship and social equity are things we’ve talked about here before – we’ve defined "social equity" as "how you build your credibility online to increase your perceived value by others." So, by extension, I would say that relationship equity is how you build your credibility in general to increase your perceived value.  Further, the more relationship equity you have, the stronger the bond is. 

Continue Reading Building Relationship Equity *Must* Come First

Before I get underway with this week’s Two for Tuesdays, I have to say how saddened I am over the loss of Robin Williams. My thoughts are with his friends and family at this impossibly difficult time.  He brought us such joy, showed us how to be kind and giving, and will be so deeply missed by so many.

***

On a much lighter note, last night, I had the good fortune to be able to attend the New York premiere of The Giver, the movie adaptation of the book by the same name from author Lois Lowry.  I’ve never been to a movie premiere before (I was able to get tickets by fundraising for arts charities through the Weinstein Group), so I was keen to see how it all would go.

It was a lovely event, and I was tickled to see the stars up close – Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes, Taylor Swift, Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush, and Cameron Monaghan were all there (missing, unfortunately, was my main reason for being there, the handsome and charismatic Alexander Skarsgard, who is currently filming in England. So if you know him, please feel free to give him my number. I am not joking.). Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Business Lessons from The Giver Movie Premiere

This afternoon, I was reading an article on four suggestions for rules to follow when networking internationally.  The tips are good ones (and we’ll go into more on them in a moment), but it occurred to me as I was reading that they’re actually quite good tips for all types of networking – whether you’re meeting people from other cultures, or just two blocks away. 

The author of the article, Pierre Brais, puts these in a certain order, but I’m going to prioritize them a bit differently. For me, everything starts with "Do your homework." 

Do Your Homework

Whether you’re meeting someone in your own city, or from a city halfway around the world, it pays to do your homework: on the individual, on their business, and on the culture. With so much information available online these days, there’s no excuse for not being adequately prepared.  Before meeting someone, take some time to search for their name online – look through their LinkedIn profile, and find out what outside interests they might have, the types of responsibilities that fall under their purview at their current position, and what other organizations they may have worked for and with. Continue Reading Let’s Be a Little More International in Our Networking