Quotes on Networking...For Introverts
Are you great at telling people about your mission, but not so great at building up your network?
For many nonprofit managers who are also somewhat introverted, attending conferences and other professional meetings can be painful—even if normal outreach for their nonprofit is easy and even fun.
Networking is different from outreach. Outreach is promoting your mission, telling the world (or at least your community) about the great projects and programs you provide. It’s something you believe in, and so it’s easier even for the most shy to express that to a group or a stranger. But networking often feels like you’re promoting yourself as a nonprofit professional, and that’s where it becomes tricky for introverts.
“There's a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn't.”
--Idris Elba; producer, musician and Golden-Globe-nominated actor
But if someone like Idris Elba, voted People Magazine’s #2 Sexiest Man of the Year in 2013, can fess up that he’s no good at networking, introverts and networking humbugs in nonprofit work should all cut ourselves some slack.
We hope the following tips help. Happy networking!
"My Golden Rule of Networking is simple: Don't keep score."
--Harvey Mackay, author and motivational speaker
We’ve seen it happen over coffee in dozens of professional and social encounters—unconsciously a casual conversation turns into tallying of accomplishments, a one-up-manship of who is a better fundraiser, who has more experience, who has the most education. Once you’re in them, these interactions are hard to get out of, so it’s best to observe Mackay’s rule above: Don’t keep score. Make a game out of networking if you must—challenge yourself to meet three new people, or to hand out six business cards—but don’t make a contest out of networking. You won’t get valuable contacts that way, and you won’t learn enough about others in the process to be able to assess their value to your own network.
"To be successful, you have to be able to relate to people; they have to be satisfied with your personality to be able to do business with you and to build a relationship with mutual trust."
-- George Ross, advisor to Donald Trump
George Ross, Executive Vice President and Senior Counsel to the Trump Organization, knows a thing or two about networking, we’re sure. But statements like these may put an introvert’s heart to pounding, thinking: “What a lot of pressure!”
If you’d like some help relating to people, you’d do well to develop your memory and listening skills. Take note of what you learn about your new contacts (yes, notes on paper, afterward, if it helps!) and keep it in mind for your next encounter. If you’re going to an event where you think you might run in to this person again, think of a few conversation starters based on your last conversations.
"Instead of telling the world what you're eating for breakfast, you can use social networking to do something that's meaningful."
--Edward Norton, actor and philanthropist
Social media might be the best tool ever invented for introverts. Yes, you do have to put yourself <em>out there</em>, but you can do it in a way that is less risky. If you use a scheduling app for your social media (Hootsuite, TweetDeck, etc.) you can even schedule your posts into the future, giving you plenty of time to make sure you’re saying exactly what you want to say, and in the way you want to say it.
Also, social media is a great place for passive networkers. Even just by taking the care to set up a straightforward profile on LinkedIn or Twitter, you’ll put yourself where other people can find you and bring you in to their networks, where you might be able to find even more great contacts!
“Pulling a good network together takes effort, sincerity and time.”
-- Alan Collins, author and former VP of HR for PepsiCo
Collin’s quote is something to remember if networking starts to feel like a chore. You won’t go to one conference and build up a great network all at once. Instead, you’ll need to build up your roster of contacts slowly, over repeated encounters.
Do you have any other wisdom or tips about networking you’d like to pass on? Let us know on social media!