I attended the Macquarie University Ignite session yesterday morning and it was a great experience. Lots of good speakers, interesting topics and a great deal to learn. I am a fairly shy person when it comes to these sort of events though and during coffee time I dread the so called networking opportunities. Maybe its just me but I don’t think I have much to say and I never know how to start the conversation. I have had some good chat’s at these types of events but generally it was because some else approached me. I am going to do a bit of research on this topic and present it back to you over the next few weeks as I do think it is important and you can learn a great deal as well as build a positive professional network.
In contrast I do a fair bit of networking online. Which actually surprises me. This has really only happened over the last few years as the development of social media has expanded. My key online network spaces are LinkedIn and some groups in there, twitter with a select group of training professionals and blog posts. One particular website has also been very good – The Training Zone. They have an excellent blog which you can post to or ask questions and the community is very helpful. I do use facebook but it is really only for friends and family at this point. Have a look at this article and see how this person networks online and why.
But now it is over to you to help me in my quest to solve the personal networking puzzle. How do you handle it? How do you start a conversation? Any other tips?
Before I forget, thank you to Macquarie University for a great free development day. I hope that continue to do this each year. Thanks.
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