Two activities to maximize networking opportunities at your next meetup.

Ever have one of those moments where you realize that feedback you had given about ways to improve something was... listened to?

I'm really proud of my friends and colleagues at my local ASTD chapter (Orange County). In response to feedback a number of us had given a few months back, it was gratifying to see last night's monthly meetup hit the nail on the head with structured networking activities.

Last evening's theme: New Beginnings With New Connections.

Appropriate for the new year, wouldn't you say?

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Do you attend for the presentation or the people?

Typically, our monthly meetups have been graced with presentations from colleagues and other experts. The topics were typically of something significant to the field of training and instructional design. While I've found value in all the presentations I've attended in the past, I always felt our meetings lacked a key element: facilitated networking activities.

Don't get me wrong. We've always had dedicated time for networking. It usually occupies the 30- to 60-minute time slot in the agenda right before the meeting starts. The problem I've always had with that, though, is that most people seemed to always trickle in right before the meeting. It seemed, these people were actually there to attend the presentation. Hel-looo...?!

Tell me if you think I'm wrong. But, I say if you'e attending for just the presentation, then you're missing 80% of the value of a meetup. Am I right? Am I wrong?

But do we have the skills to network effectively?

But here's the thing, too. For most folks who attend, even if they're there to take advantage of networking time, I'm convinced most folks haven't developed the right skills for networking. I'll leave it for a future post to discuss my thoughts about that, but I'll risk some of your ire by admitting that I'm sort of a snoot about this stuff.

No, I don't mean I'm uber-selective with whom I choose to talk to. That's not it. As far as that goes, you'll just about find me standing on any street corner. ;)

What I mean is that I tend to feel disappointed if the folks with whom I invest my time during the evening didn't, you know, "get it."

I mean, there's the whole elevator pitch thing. Most don't have one.

And there's the business card exchange thing. Many actually show up without them!

And then there's the whole sharing thing. Not most, and I wouldn't even say many; but certainly there are enough attendees, I think, who show up with seemingly no expectation of sharing things about themselves or remembering to mention people they know who might be able to help solve someone else's business problem. (Hmm. Come to think about it, maybe these are the folks who show up for just the presentation.)

Anyway, so it was with pleasure to see last night's event actually bake-in some that networking stuff as the main event.

My favorites? There were two. Giving and receiving feedback about each other's "17-second introduction." (Similar to the elevator pitch.) The second, "Speed problem solving."

In case you're interested in baking some of these activities into your next meeting, I took the liberty of outlining some instructions below.

Seventeen-second Introduction Speech Activity

In table rounds of about 6 to 8, give each attendee about 2 minutes (or more, as time permits) to write a 17-second introduction about themselves. As an aid, have handouts ready with the following sections for each participant to answer:

a. What is my track record? What gives me credibility? In what area(s) do I have expertise?

b. What do I do and how do I do it? What makes me stand out from others who do what I do?

c. What is the result, benefit, or outcome of what I do?
After participants have taken time to write their introduction, instruct them all to exchange business cards with one another. Encourage them to take notes on the back of each business card.
Then, in round-robbin fashion, allow 2 minutes (use a timer!) for each person in the group to do the following:

a. Hold up their own business card so others in the group will recognize it from the stack of business cards each now has in front of them.

b. Take up to 45 seconds to deliver their introduction speech.

c. Take the remaining time to receive feedback from the other attendees at their table. (What worked well about the introduction? What about the introduction caused others to want to know more about the speaker?)
After the allotted time, instruct all attendees to repeat the process with the next person in their group. Repeat until all group members has had an opportunity to take a turn.

I liked this activity because not only did it give each attendee an opportunity to get to know about one another. But it also taught all the attendees skills about preparing and refining their own "elevator introduction" to help them with future events.

Speed Problem Solving

Arrange attendees so that each person is initially paired with another person.
Instruct each person in a pair to introduce him/herself and exchange business cards.
Instruct each pair to select which of them will proceed with the activity first. The one who takes the first turn will take 30 seconds to explain a problem or situation they have. (E.g., "I have a training project where I'm trying to get buy-in from as many senior customer sales reps in a call center"; or, "I'm in a career transition and need to find creative ways to get my resume in front of decision makers.")
After the first person explains her/his situation or problem, the other person in the pair will begin brainstorming wildly and furiously about any crazy thought or suggestion that comes to mind. In the meantime, the receiver will furiously write any and all ideas given. Do this for 1-1/2 minutes. (Or whatever is appropriate for the time you have.)
When the time's up, each pair should switch roles and repeat the process.
After the second round, facilitate a swapping of partners so that new pairs are formed. Repeat the process two or three times.

I really enjoyed this activity because it gave many opportunities for each of us to meet new people and invite each other to extend the conversation into other venues over coffee or lunch in the weeks ahead.

At your next meetup, consider some of the activities above. Or, make up your own variations.

Do you have other activities you'd be willing to share? Please do. Ya never know, you and I may be at the same meetup in the future. Let's be as productive as possible! And don't forget, get your elevator pitch ready. And, bring business cards!