Networking 101: Strengthening your networking skills

If you have been in the industry for a while, you may have developed some good networking skills but there are always opportunities for improving them, which is what I'm offering, ways to strengthen pre-existing networking skills.

For those still new to networking, the Victorian Small Business Network (VSBN) offers articles on networking including: The Benefits of Networking and How to Start Networking.

How to strengthen your networking skills

Communication skills

Information can be transmitted and received through a process known as communication.

Verbal communication: Helps you use the right words for the receiver to understand your message and speak in a tone that encourages a response. Part of this can include learning how to paraphrase, which is yet another way you can show someone they have all your attention and feel valued.

Written communication: Written communication is valuable when it comes to building relationships with people on social media or professional networking websites. Unfortunately, it can also be more complicated because there is no tone to listen to or body language and facial expressions to try to read. When trying to improve your written communication skills consider ways to clearly express yourself, write details to lessen confusion. An important aspect of written communication is also spelling, grammar and flow. If these are weak points, perhaps look at online writing classes.

Active listening: Maintaining eye contact, smiling, nodding, and other nonverbal gestures shows you're listening. Repeating or paraphrasing the speaker's words shows you understood. Practicing your listening skills with someone you are close to is a great way to develop this skill.

Empathy: Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and understand a situation from their point of view. It's different from sympathy. A great youtube video to explain the different between empathy and sympathy is Brené Brown's Empathy vs Sympathy https://youtu.be/KZBTYViDPlQ . When you are empathetic towards someone, they are more likely to be comfortable around, and talking to you.

Humour: Positivity and suitable humour can reduce tension and make others feel comfortable talking to you which is always good in Networking. Check out some jokes and see if there are ways to work it into the conversation at an appropriate time.

Set goals

Write down the networking skills you use and ways you can improve them. Set yourself little goals related to them and a date you want to achieve it by. Any self-improvement is a good thing, and if it's working on developing your networking skills it not only helps to improve your self-confidence but can also increase the number of clients or customers and referrals.

Work on your elevator pitch

Review your elevator pitch often so it doesn't get stagnant or sound too rehearsed, which is going to sound silly when I next tell you to practice your elevator pitch. Ideally, practice it with someone you are comfortable with that can give you honest feedback on where you need to improve.

Feedback

Not everyone can take critique but without it we can't grow, and in a constantly growing word, you can't afford to be left in the past. Always ask for feedback on how you can improve yourself or do things better. It is not unusual to miss things when performing self-assessments, so being able to get feedback from a friend, family member, mentor or career coach can be invaluable. The value of asking for feedback from someone different to yourself is also important because different people see things differently so, while you might be stumped on something, someone else can see a way to make it better.

Your online presence

Make sure your online presence presents you in a favourable light by considering how your introduction is written, how often you interact online, what you share and how this will appear to people you want or have a professional relationship with. It is important that you review your online presence often as well, for spelling errors, updates to systems or new interactions from existing customers or people you do business with. Having a good online presence can do half of your networking for you if you're willing to put the time into it.

It's important to always be working on your networking skills and do your research to make sure you're up to date on the latest business trends. Don't be afraid to ask for the opinions of others and for feedback from people that have heard you networking so you can improve on your weaknesses and continue to develop your strengths further.

Want more ways to strengthen your networking skills?

To really sharpen your networking skills, nothing beats practice. Register now as a member and come along to one of our events. It's a relaxed and friendly space for you to you grow your confidence.