Making New Friends...

I have been a bit shy, but I am convinced I must become pleasantly aggressive. My goal is to be one of the best, but I must have the best team supporting me in order to achieve my goal. The key move now is to make new friends, but others call it networking. I resolve to use the word, which feels a bit distant to me, but I will perceive it as a friendly relationship.

This next key move is going to take effort. I have to manage the new relationships. So, I already created a database that will help me stay organized. The question is how do I become a better networker?

Gratefully this information was easy to learn, with the help from my Career Development Advisor at Full Sail University. An article that she sent my way, was full of powerful tips to make the most of new encounters and conversations. Here is what stood out from 20 Ways to Improve Your Networking by DarcyRezac, Judy Thomson and Gayle Hallgren-Rezac:

1. Discover what you can do for someone else
2. Treat Everyone Like Royalty
3. Experienced networkers say ‘Nice to see you’ or ‘ Great to see you’. They know it works better than ‘Nice to meet you’
4. Great networkers are focused, listen carefully and are non-confrontational in their style
5. A smile opens the door to friendly communication. It’s your best networking asset 
6. To build a network you have to be there. Try to go to one event per week. Set a goal of seven new contacts per week. At the end of three years you will have a network of more than 1,000 contacts- and their networks 
7. A room's entrance is the best place to meet people or start a group. Avoid the back of the room - networking Siberia. It's a cold and lonely place. Come early and then, from this prime location, greet people as they arrive. 
8. Before you email anything to anyone, ask yourself: Is what I am about to send going to contribute anything to this person's busy day? If it isn't, don't send it

I also found the article 7 Habits of Super Networkers on Entrepreneur.com. It was not hard for me to embrace this new term in my mind. After I had a talk with Al Schlesinger, the former President of The Recording Academy, I was refreshed with a new attitude about networking. I will tell you why. The top three things that Al Schlesinger listed as required to make it in this industry are:

1. Network
2. Network 
3. Network

With that said, I reviewed this article on Entrepreneur.com again. I made a series of new plans in my calendar to network. It is a new practice. The 7 key habits listed below are setting me up to make new friends.

1. Ask insightful questions
2. Add value
3. Learn their 'story'
4. Share a memorable fact
5. Keep a list
6. Make small promises and keep them
7. Reward your 'power' contacts

Cheers to reaching my ultimate goal.