Here's how you can use emotional intelligence to expand your network in the Venture Capital industry.

Talk to your investments. Yes, the actual bits, bytes and especially the atoms. Okay, so you can only talk with the investments that are made of atoms -- we've not yet mastered digital people. So talk to your investments. The founders, the staff, even other investors. Communication is everything.

Using emotional intelligence can really boost your networking in Venture Capital. Start by actively listening to others. Show genuine interest in their ideas and concerns, which helps build strong, trust-based connections. Be mindful of your own emotions and reactions. Staying calm and positive in conversations makes you more approachable and engaging. Finally, empathize with others’ challenges and successes. Recognizing and validating their experiences can create meaningful bonds and make your network more robust and supportive.

In my experience, active listening is a powerful tool for building connections in the venture capital industry. By genuinely paying attention to what others are saying, you not only show respect but also gain deeper insights into their needs, concerns, and motivations. This helps in forming more meaningful relationships, as people appreciate being heard and understood. Active listening fosters trust, which is essential for expanding your network.

Cultivate genuine Empathy with a big ‘E’ for entrepreneurs. Having personal experience as an entrepreneur is valuable, but even without it, you can and should develop empathy by actively listening to founders, understanding their challenges, and trying to see the world from their perspective. This approach helps build trust and meaningful relationships with entrepreneurs and helps formulate the right solutions to help them when you can.

Put yourself in their shoes... that's what they always say to encourage empathy. But what does that really mean? It's not about seeing what they see but why they see it that way. Put yourself in their shoes to understand what series of events or circumstances led to that perspective, understand the WHY... really understand it. Then using the knowledge you gained, step back into your own shoes and engage with the person in a way that adds value for both of you. You can't stay in their shoes forever - you are you not them. Your own shoes were made for you, as theirs were made for them. By doing so, you can better understand what drives their thoughts and actions (to an extent) and have a more fruitful and positive engagement for both of you.

The key is to provide CONSTRUCTIVE feedback. You might spot something and don't have a better alternative in mind, that's fine - but take care in how you frame the problem. Frame it in a positive light, clarifying your intent to help improve and enhance, rather than making a negative comment that adds no value. Be specific and detailed, explain the why, and together you can work on the how, to reach a better alternative. If you already have a suggestion, even better. But know that it is a suggestion, and it is up to the other person to choose to implement it or not. Again, frame it positively, highlight what you like and how that inspired or informed your current suggestion, and what you think it adds that was previously not there, and why.

The strength of your network is not measured by the number of people you know, but no the depth of the relationships with those people. Interactions should not be transactional, they must be genuine. You should not be thinking of what you can gain from the other person, but rather what you can offer and how you can add value, because that will help create a genuine connection, and it will encourage the ogre person to also think of how they can add value. There is a lot more to any individual than what meets the surface, and they may surprise you in how they end up adding value, often when you last expect it. But again, that should not be your goal - your goal should be genuine connection without a target other than to maybe learn from them.