Speed Networking

A couple of nights ago I facilitated a Speed Networking Event sponsored by IABC Indianapolis and Hoosier PRSA.

Before we started I tried to help people reframe networking in their minds - moving from "passing out business cards" to "building relationships and seeing how you can help others."

We built the format to be somewhat like what I'm told speed dating is like. People were in two lines and paired up. They had 3 minutes with their partner, 90 seconds devoted (in theory) to each partner. Rather than just sending them off to do this, we gave them a stack of 4 x 5 cards:




With each partner their job was to fill out the four blocks (or at least use the four blocks as their guide for conversation.)

Name - of the other person
Needs - What they need or how they could be helped
Expertise - what they are especially good at
Offering - How you an help them - personally or who you could connect them with.

The energy in the room was fantastic! Relationships budded and people left with smiles, new connections, and I'm guessing more than one pressing problem solved - all because of networking.

In the end the format might have been based on speed, but the lessons, and the results were all based on solid relationship building principles.

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