[nabentre] Networking article

Wed Sep 21 01:17:23 UTC 2011

>The tips in the article are pretty basic but probably often 
>overlooked, just by the fact they were written might suggest that 
>:). I think you have some good strategies, working the bar or food 
>table as it were for a time. Probably not for too long though or 
>folks might get the wrong idea you just like to eat  or are a lush 
>:), kidding I know you said you stand off to the side. . I suppose 
>it depends on the networking group or purpose.  Once you get 
>associated with a person or two, you might attend the same 
>networking event as they  and  ocasionally meet up with them  in the 
>room again in between your own schmoozings. One good thing that is 
>good to do if you can find opportunity, is to volunteer for 
>something in the event. Hand out brochures or programs  at the door 
>and etc. Not only do you meet folks looking for what you are doing 
>for a service, but you'll be communicating with the inner group that 
>put it on by default.    Also depending on what the event is and who 
>is there but you could do some homework on some particular names 
>that might be there. For instance John Doe is likely going to be 
>there because he was last month's Gold Star sales person and had a 
>big write up on the company newsletter. Great now you've got tons of 
>talking points.  And Jane Doe is always there because she's the VP's 
>new secretary and could use a welcomeing intro to yourself. 
>Basically do some background on some first string players and when 
>you hear conversations mentioning those items you not only can find 
>them easier but also have much to contribute. Of course you could 
>also be the Sales Person of the Month  yourself and then folks wil 
>come to you for congrats and etc. :). This is what is nice about my 
>being a "performing songwriter", most times folks wil come up  and 
>intro themselves and chat a bit and it goes from there.  I 
>personally have a very tough time in louder places with lots of 
>people such as wedding receptions, bar environments, anyplace loud. 
>My ear has a horrible time detecting conversation out of background 
>noise or music . I even have a hard time at times with those audio 
>captias.  This can be different for everyone. Some have no issue, 
>but some do. Reading a book called Musicaphilia, I found that it can 
>be a brain thing. Just like some folks, blind and sighted 
>alike,  see color or letters of the notes when music is played. Some 
>folks cannot make distinctions of foreground voices in chatter, its 
>just how things are processed. It could be a frequency issue thing 
>too. At any  rate in general I think its harder for blind folks 
>because we're a bit disorientated from our navigational hearing 
>being disarmed as well. So I don't have much to offer there.
>
>Brad
>
>
>On 9/20/2011  07:01 PM Mary Ellen said...
>I came across the following networking article on www.mashable.com, a site
>for anyone interested in social media and e commerce.
>
>http://mashable.com/2011/09/20/networking-tips/
>
>The article dealt with seven tips for people attending networking events.
>
>As a blind person, I sometimes find these events challenging.  I believe
>that we could come up with a similar article for blind people attending
>networking events.  All the tips in this article intended for the sighted
>apply to us, too, but I'd be interested in the reactions of people on this
>list.  I doubt I'm the only one who finds working a crowd a learned art.
>So, what have you learned?
>
>1.  How do you find people to talk with without awkwardly interrupting
>conversations?
>
>I listen for conversations going on around me and walk over to people who
>seem to be interesting.  I stand quietly by until an opening presents
>itself, introduce myself, and comment on the topic under discussion.
>Sometimes this works well; at other times I fear I may have thrust myself
>into a place where I'm not really welcome.  Partly it's a matter of
>confidence, others are doing the same thing I'm doing, except that they're
>making eye contact first.  Like everyone else, the conversation gambit works
>sometimes, but not always.  How do you handle starting conversations with
>strangers at a networking event?
>
>2.  What about those chairs?  I have found that a blind person moving
>through a room looking for conversations to join can appear lost to sighted
>people.  Their reaction is often to place us somewhere safe so that we're no
>longer moving.  It's common at such an event for a friendly soul to offer to
>help me find food and then escort me to a table where I sit in not so
>splendid isolation.
>
>If most of the other people in the room are seated at tables and tend to
>stay there, then I find a table that's fairly full but has a few seats
>remaining and hope it's an interesting group.  If most people are standing
>and circulating, I either politely refuse to sit at a table or sit there
>just long enough to finish my munchies and then circulate again.
>
>I like to stand near, but not right at, the food table.  I often have some
>food on a plate or napkin so that it's clear I've found the eatables I need.
>People tend to congregate near the food or the bar, so it's easiest to join
>conversations in those places.
>
>It's tempting to continue a conversation with a congenial person, but the
>purpose of these events is to meet people, as many people as possible.
>After I've been talking to someone for a few minutes and get the sense the
>person is ready to move on, or I'm ready to move on, I often say something
>like, "Do you come to these events often?"  If the answer is affirmative, I
>ask my conversation partner if he or she has met people interested in
>whatever subject I choose.  The topic may be my reason for being there, but
>it could be something totally random.  My purpose is to get an introduction
>to someone else in the room.  Often I can meet quite a number of people by
>openly asking to be introduced.
>
>If I'm attending a gathering with a sighted colleague, or if a sighted
>friend happens to be present, I ask them to help me find particular people I
>want to meet.  I am also quite willing to ask a sighted person, even a
>stranger, to describe the layout of the room.  If I have good information, I
>can move with confidence.
>
>Sometimes networking events are noisy.  I haven't found a good way to work
>around the problem of music or ambient noise that makes it hard to find
>people or hold conversations.  How do all of you handle loud gatherings?
>
>Please write back with your networking event tips.
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Brad Dunse

"...siht gnidaer er'uoy fI"
You might be a 70's rock songwriter. --Capt'n Frank

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