6 ways to Nourish your Network

You open the agenda to an event and it has the words “60 minute networking opportunity” smack bang in the middle of it. What do you think?

“Ohh lovely, a great opportunity to meet some new people!”

or do you think

“OMG, where the hell am I going to hide for 60 minutes?!”

For me, it’s the latter. I am socially awkward, and I am terrible at small talk. Stick me in a room full of people, warm wine and light conversation and I can literally come out in hives. I have distinct memories earlier in my career being in the basement of a well-known retailer’s Head Office, thinking I was going to have a panic attack, if I actually had to go and speak to people.

This sounds ridiculous to some – I can stand up on stage, I can “own the room”, I can backwards dance on a stage (ask colleagues from my 20s about that one!) but I struggle to talk about the weather or what I do for a job in the simplest of ways. And the thing is I love connecting with people. I struggle to survive without people around me (turns out that’s not just a “me” thing, it’s a human thing) but those warm wine and small talk situations - they are NOT for me.

Despite all this, I have built my network to over 12k connections on linkedin and I am the "go to" person people when people need a contact or an introduction. So, it can be done both with and without the warm wine and small talk!

Nourishing your network is really important as it creates new opportunities, future proofs your career and can create an amazing support network and mentors for those times you need it.

And I know you think you don’t have time, but I promise you, it’s worth it.

If this all resonates, here are some networking tips that could help it feel less scary and more something you CAN do:

1. Reframe the “small talk”: if you do find yourself in the situation I have mentioned above, then reframing it in your mind to a “curious conversation” can be helpful.? You’re just finding some interesting stuff out about a new person
2. Ask lots of questions: if you’re scared of the spotlight being on you, having some questions up your sleeve can really help in these situations!
3. Less is more: Think quality over quantity when it comes to your network. It’s great to have a bunch of “loose connections” but building a real support network around you can be more comfortable and more helpful in the long run
4. Take it online: I built my network during the pandemic so online was the only way but it was a game changer for me. Something about the boundaries of a screen make it much easier for me to network – and then to meet those people in real life.
5. Connect with a “Super connector”: you know that person than seems to know EVERYONE? They need to be in your deeper connection list, as they are your gateway to much bigger
6. Leverage linkedin: don’t just scroll on linkedin, engage in the conversation, comment on other peoples posts and dare I say it?! Post things yourself (not as much as me, that’s total overkill – haha!). Linkedin is not just for job searches these days and I have found it to be a super supportive community.

If armed with all this, you’re ready to go for it on a real life networking event (disclaimer: no warm wine but plenty of cake) then I would love to see you at our “Nourish your Network” event on 26th June 2024 in Leeds.

Lucy Wager and I created this event as part of the Oh for Food's Sake podcast. We will have guest speakers (so it’s not just about networking AND you’ll have something to talk about!) and will be recording a podcast live talking about all things confidence.

We have created a safe place to try out your networking skills (we even supply prompts!) and you'll have at least one person to talk to - ME! (But know that I cannot talk about the weather!)

Would love to see you there. Here's the link to reserve your space: https://academy.ohforfoodssake.co.uk/network