Working the room

How to make the most of your opportunity as a ‘fill in’

by Heather Townsend on February 1, 2012 · 0 comments

You are busy sorting out a tricky bit of drafting which you need to complete before you can leave for the end of the day…. Then the telephone rings… it’s your partner, requesting your attendance at a networking event downstairs. They are a little short of bodies and want the room to look a little [...]

4 tips to stop being intimidated by a large room of people

by heather on January 19, 2012 · 1 comment

You enter the room and are met by the sight of a heaving mass of people. The room is filled with the noise of conversations. All of which you are not part of. For some people, a big room of people which they have to network in can be a very intimidating sight. Even some [...]

The 4 most common fears people have when networking

by heather on January 18, 2012 · 0 comments

I was running a couple of networking workshops recently. (well about 12 over a period of two months, but whose counting?) When I go around and hear what people want from the day, I very often hear the ‘C’ word appear. Confidence. It may be confidence to start a conversation, confidence to end a conversation, [...]

Ever been blanked in a conversation?

by heather on January 11, 2012 · 0 comments

I think I felt ten years older than I actually was today… the combination of loud music and far too many children at a 6 year old’s ‘bowling’ birthday party was ever so slightly too much for me. I was mighty relieved when the formal bowling part finished and we could go to the party [...]

Is this the perfect 60 second Elevator Pitch?

by Heather Townsend on January 9, 2012 · 0 comments

Whether you are a visitor or a regular, there is nothing worse than hearing someone ramble and waffle their way through their 60 second pitch. You want to be succinct and crisp in your delivery. I suggest that you use a structure similar to this: Part 1: The introduction Introduce yourself by the value you [...]

The definitive guide to memorising people’s names

by heather on November 15, 2011 · 3 comments

I’ve been running four networking workshops for local businesses this week. On every workshop, someone has raised the question of how to memorise names. A real fear for many individuals, business people and professionals in general and actually a skill which should be learnt by all. So, here is my definitive guide to remembering people’s [...]

Your first ever face-to-face networking event – what to wear?

by admin on October 12, 2011 · 7 comments

I’m guessing that most of us don’t give a second thought to what we are going to wear to our next networking event. But what if this was the first ever face-to-face networking event you had ever been to? This was the question posed on my ‘The FT guide to business networking’ LinkedIn group. It’s [...]

How important are your shoes when networking?

by admin on August 1, 2011 · 0 comments

Wearing comfortable and suitable footwear is essential if you are going to enjoy your time working a room.

Do you remember your first time?

by admin on July 11, 2011 · 0 comments

Find out how Heather Townsend, author of ‘The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking’ fared during her first time networking as a business owner.

five face to face networking no-nos

by admin on June 20, 2011 · 1 comment

Sue Richie, a coach specialising in mid-life and personal impact coaching, recently started networking. In this guest blog, she has a tongue-in-cheek look at how NOT to network!

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