Ready, Set, Network?
In a city that never stops recalculating EBITDA, do we have time to stop and calculate the value of our conversations?
On a grey day of January, our The Network team met again. It was a cold crystal day like the glass walls of our hosting place, but our hearts were warm and curious. Curious to learn how to survive networking events. And our guest, Pedro Castilho, founder of the public speaking company Verbalius, was there to help us navigate this social maze.
When you meet someone for the first time, you automatically label, and get labelled in return. It’s in our human nature to try and tackle the unknown with something familiar: a face, a term, an image, a story. We say we should never judge a book by its cover, and yet we do it more often than we think. Pedro started our networking adventure with a game. We labelled each other without the other person knowing.
The question was: were the labels right? And more importantly: did we want to stay only within those labels?
The game opened the door to a deeper conversation. During a panel discussion, Pedro was joined by Patricia Martin, Vice-president of The Network, and Bobbi Jean Breboneria, Partner at KPMG. They reminded us the real purpose of networking is not exchanging flashy business cards. It is all about creating context, where sponsorship, mentorship, trust can slowly unfold.
During our journey through the networking maze, we learned to dare to put ourselves out there, to be present and meaningful about our conversations. A business card has no value if our conversations are as superficial as a fund that looks good on paper, but delivers nothing.
Some of us like to stay hidden in the corner of the room and observe, rather than making ourselves known. But at some point, even wallflowers wonder what it feels like to be invited into the dance.
Building trust, even when networking, is no easy thing. You start with presence, with stepping outside of your labels. You are curious to learn more about your peers, you ask questions and you listen. You put yourself out there, you show people who you are. You become intentional. And later on, you connect.
An authentic networking can get you a mentor, a sponsor, or an ally when life throws curveballs. But above all, it helps you build something far more valuable: human connections.
Did we survive the networking event?
At the end of that night, there was networking, there was laughter, maybe a few clumsy conversation starters. For me personally the best return on investment that night was human.
Written by Camelia Pavel