Commit random acts of networking

You don’t have to go to cocktail parties to build your network

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about how to build your network through
small actions rather than just big ones. Today's tip, like
the next few, this week, comes from J. Kelly Howey's

(00:26):
new book, Build Your Dream Network. Hoei is a writer
and investor and quite the connector. In Build Your Dream Network,
she shares her wisdom with the rest of us. Now,
many of us assume that networking is about big things,
going to a conference, for instance, and you should certainly
do big things occasionally. But the nature of big activities

(00:49):
is to be occasional, and, as Hoey writes, successful networking
requires understanding the immense power of regular, daily activities to
connect with someone else. What are these activities? These random
acts of networking? Holy lists several Your email signature line,

(01:11):
what does it say about you? Does it make people
want to get to know you and want to introduce
you to other people? How about the wording of your
out of office auto responder or your voicemail message. All
of these are opportunities to interact well with people who
are trying to communicate with you. Handled well, they can
strengthen your network. Likewise, an update posted on your LinkedIn

(01:36):
profile is networking. Your head shot on a social media
profile is networking. People will search for your name, and
after looking at your head shot, will decide if they'd
like to get in touch. Now, no one needs to
look like a cover model, but we probably do want
to look approachable and professional and convey an important part

(01:57):
of our identities. This way you are Invoices can actually
be acts of networking. An invoice might get forwarded around
to various places at the organization that's processing it, and
all of these people represent opportunities to connect. Participating in
a Twitter chat can be an act of networking, as

(02:17):
other people see your comments using a particular hashtag. Even
taking the stairs can be an act of networking if
you do it with the goal of saying hello to
someone in a different part of the building. The same
goes for trying out a new spot in a coworking space.
The idea is simply realizing that every time someone has

(02:38):
an interaction or a potential interaction with you, it's networking. Yet,
while we might spend quite a while figuring out what
to wear to an official networking event, we spend less
time pondering our email signatures. Even though these signatures we'll
reach a lot more people. I confess that after reading
Hoey's reminder of that, realized that I hadn't updated my

(03:01):
signature in oh a year. Best to get moving on that.
So think about your day and think about all the
ways people wind up interacting with you. How can you
choose to make these interactions as positive and as meaningful
as possible? What random acts of networking will you commit today?

(03:23):
You can let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at
i heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

(03:45):
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then
Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

(04:08):
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I heart
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