Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

In one of the many awkward small talk scenes in the show The Other Bennett Sister, Mary Bennett is seated at dinner beside a guest who - besides slovenly table manners - shows and shares no interest in the person seated next to him. Mary, I surmise, is not specially subjected in this regard.

So how does Mary handle the challenge?

After several attempts to spark interest in a conversation by asking questions based on topics she's interested in, Mary asks the jerk what he's interested in, then displays wild interest in learning all about that.

It's an amusing moment in the ongoing saga of Mary Bennett - but her handling of this painful social exchange is a masterclass in networking for us all.

Don't fear the "gawd, what will I say..." or "what if I'm stuck talking to..." networking moments - because they will happen - prepare for them instead:

🚀 Ask questions to get the other person talking.

🚀 Remember, listening is your networking superpower.

🚀 Show up at networking events with a few topics on hand to chat about - in case you need them (this is No. 6 of 8 tips on ways to ease Networking Anxiety found at page 184 of The Social Billionaire).

Need more?

💡 One skill AI cannot replicate is emotional intelligence. Leverage those awkward social encounters to enhance your EQ. My daughter wants a career that survives AI — so I ranked them 

💡 What does what they say, say about them? Noticing the what may reveal more about the person than they care to share. Unmasking the creator of Bitcoin

I'm a social capital strategist, and author who has spent her career making the case that the right relationships change everything. Behind all my posts and musings are years of research, extensive client work on the power of social capital, and my personal experience - that is, my own hard-won reinvention to the subject. The Social Billionaire: A Networking Roadmap for Women Seeking to Flourish and Achieve More - is my second book on networks — and is the advice I wish I'd been handed at various points in my career.

📘 The Social Billionaire: A Networking Roadmap for Women Seeking to Flourish and Achieve More is available in paperback (workbook) format on Amazon + Barnes & Noble and in ebook on Kindle, Bookshop.org, Smashwords, Vivlio, Thalia, Apple Books, Fable and Rakuten kobo.

📚 Conference. event, offsite, team building? For bulk orders, place your order here, on IngramSpark. Personalized copies (yes, you read that right) can also be ordered via IngramSpark.

💡 Book reviews help other readers find the books they should be reading, and I'd love ambitious women to get the networking strategy they need. Review The Social Billionaire on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

🗝️ If you’re planning events designed to boost women’s professional connections, let’s talk, as I’d love insights from The Social Billionaire to be part of these conversation.

Listen up!

From why the two track network-building approach is the right one to why "not having time to network" is transactional, we cover a lot of ground on the She Leads podcast hosted by Adrienne Garland.

Find the episode "Networking for Women: The Two-Network Formula Behind the Social Billionaire" on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.