Today, we will be discussing the “Best Places to Go to Build a Powerful and Influential Network.” This post will especially be helpful for introverts to navigate networking.
Everything we accomplish in life is with or through other people. No one does it alone. Name one person that succeeded at anything completely by themselves without any help?!
Our ability to connect, build and deepen relationships has been proven to play a major role in both our success and happiness. And inside everyone is a core need to belong, it’s in our DNA.
On the other hand, disconnection will bring us the greatest pain, disappointment, and suffering. It’s rooted in believing we aren’t good enough, i.e shame, which everyone has felt and can relate to. For example, how many us have felt at one that we are not smart enough, thin enough, rich enough, promoted enough, etc.? I bet practically everyone!
The way through disconnection is creating deep, meaningful connections where we are really seen for who we are by being authentic and vulnerable.
The social, communication and emotional skills sets to do this are learned behaviors so anyone can get great at them if they practice and commit to the process every single day. [To help master these skills, there are bonus resources that you can access at the end of the article].
But how many people invest, cultivate and develop their social, communication, and emotional skills? Very few people ever do this because many people are under the false assumption people are born with these skills.
Well, no one is a “natural.” For example, does a baby know how to work a room to network? Absolutely not!
So it’s time to invest. Spending only minutes a day practicing, you will be amazed at how much more in touch you are with everyone in your life and business, and how your relationships dramatically improve over time.
And it’s equally important to go to the right places where you can practice these skills successfully. It’s an area that most people completely miss. We will be discussing Part 1 today.
Where you should you go? The best places to go are charity, nonprofit, business and events, along with interest and political groups. They are key places to go to build personal and professional relationships.
Here are some reasons why these are the places you need to be:
1) People’s defenses are down in these places. They are much more open and willing to meeting anyone. One reason is that everyone is given some level of trust just by showing up because of the group dynamics, and you don’t get this in other environments.
2) It’s easy to start conversations in these places because you always can ask people if they are a member in the organization, who they know, etc.
3) People don’t go these events if they don’t want to be social. You know they are there for a reason…to meet other people.
4) It’s an easier environment to practice introducing people to others. It is the #1 top social skill to develop and I guarantee you it will change your life.
5) People in these groups are upwardly mobile, social, professional, etc. They are typically the social influencers in your city. That’s a major upside in going to these types of events.
6) Networking events are the last on my list because they can be problematic since many people go there because they are in a challenging life situation (i.e. looking for a job…and possibly desperate for one).
7) People do business with people they like. The same goes for hiring people. These are untapped places that people never think about.
When you meet people in bars, restaurants, grocery store, coffee shop or really any other place, people’s defenses are up. People often don’t want to talk or socialize because they are going out for a particular reason: meeting and catching up with friends, discussing challenges in their lives, etc.
They often also just don’t want to deal with the hassle of interacting with others. That’s why people typically have a low success rate in “cold approaching” others (i.e. without a formal introduction from someone else).
Also, going in these environments consistently can be harmful to someone’s psyche because of the amount of rejection encountered.
Now, let’s get more in depth into some of the key groups to get involved with.
Politics
For those who are interested, this is a way to meet like-minded people or be involved with candidates that represent your views. There are a ton of organizations, from the official parties to young professional groups, think tanks, the candidates themselves, etc.
There are great advantages to getting involved in local politics. Remember, today’s unknown politician can easily be a future mayor or congressperson, who would be a powerful person to have in your network.
Next time in Part 2, we will be discussing more key places for you to go to build out your network.
Jason Treu is a top executive coach His new #1 bestselling book, Social Wealth, is a how-to-guide on how to build extraordinary personal and professional relationships (#socialwealthpdf #socialwealth). His twitter.com is @jasontreu. His podcast is called Executive Breakthroughs.
