Contributed by April Clark, AAF Omaha Board Member and Membership Committee Co-Chair
Membership in AAF offers many networking opportunities. But we aren’t all the “Hi! How are you” kind of folks. Jamison Vann gives us a Networking Guide for People Who Hate People in his recent blog for The Huffington Post.
“Effective networking is a skill that every professional should attempt to improve on. Talking with strangers and making quick connections may come easily to some people but prove to be quite difficult for others.”
“Unfortunately”, he says, “I fall into that ‘other’ category… “I will be the first to admit that I have a hard time talking to people when I first meet them. No, I don’t necessarily hate people, it’s just that I would rather sit back and observe the scene first. Although this type of behavior might be acceptable at social gatherings, I find business functions are not the place to be a wallflower.”
Don’t automatically say No.
Email: “Hello Jamison, you’re invited to XYZ event!”
Me: “Hmm, I bet there’s going to be a lot of people at this event.”
*Clicks delete*”
Vann calculates nine times out of 10, introverts have either the reaction “This may not be so bad,” or “I would like to die, please”. Vann was usually in the second thought bubble and this is why he used to not attend at least half of the networking events he was invited to.
To read Jamison Vann’s full article Click here – The Huffington Post
Plan to join AAF Omaha in February to Connect. Network. Relax. and get more from your AAF Omaha Membership. To view photos from our November 3rd AdConnect visit our Facebook wall. We will keep you engaged with upcoming educational programs and events (and share lots of club event photos).
