Networking: A lesson from a Big Beast

Networking is about making human connections.  Practice patience and allow those connections to bear fruit. 

“Be curious, not judgemental”. Walt Whitman

A lesson in great networking

Recently I had a sparkling mineral water in The Dev with one of my favourite people at The Bar.  Favourite Person is extraordinarily successful by all objective measures (status, wealth, rank) and his integrity, humanity and generosity are all unquestionable. He’s also great fun. 

Favourite Person (FP) reported a recent networking success from which much we mortals can learn. Here are three ideas for you to consider while you plan your next networking event.

Great networkers are interested and curious

FP told me about an event he’d attended recently where the opportunity for him to advance his practice were non-existent.  From his account, it sounded like he’d had a great time making interesting conversations on topics that didn’t touch on the law at all. 

Subsequent to the event, his conversation buddy was in touch to say how much he enjoyed the conversation and invited FP to lunch.  No doubt the interesting conversation would continue. Perhaps an opportunity to work together would appear later either for FP, or someone in FP’s Chambers.

The mistake many people make when networking is believing that they have to use the opportunity to communicate what they offer, in case it’s the last opportunity they have.  Instead, demonstrate your curiosity by listening instead. It’s an offer of a different kind which helps begin the process of building trust.

Great networkers demonstrate good manners

A few years ago I was invited to a corporate event in London which involved an expensive wine cellar. Before we sat down for dinner, I was involved in a discussion unrelated to work but of academic interest to the three parties in the conversation.

Just as we three were learning something really interesting, a junior host interrupted the conversation to talk enthusiastically about the expensive tennis club in West London which he shared with the elder conversationalist, excluding everyone from the conversation.

Junior host then led the Elder away by the arm saying “you really must meet…” oblivious to the fact that the other person in the conversation was the one in a position to offer a hefty piece of work.  Needless to say, this lack of good manners did not go unnoticed and probably cost the host a contract.  My residual memory of the event is this one, rather than the event itself.

Great networkers smile

You may have heard of Professor Steve Peters, author of The Chimp Paradox, to whom many in the 2012 Olympic Cycling Team attribute their success.  Prof. Peters is a consultant psychiatrist and specialises in the functioning of the human mind.

His research has found smiling makes a difference to our mood and can produce a positive frame of mind, even when you’re feeling something quite different. Smiling at others, he says, has been shown to have positive effects including inducing others to offer help.

Further, he points to research that suggests that when we see someone smile, we tend to rate that person as being more intelligent than a non-smiling person.  That’s a very useful data point for barristers.* 

For your next networking event, try putting on a smile. It will reduce your heart rate, make others want to help you and raise your IQ, at least in the eyes of others who receive it.

Where to learn networking strategies that work

In Module 4 of Junior Entrepreneur, my online programme designed exclusively for Junior Barristers, you’ll learn how to stop wasting time at networking events which will never yield a single instruction. Sign up to register and start raising our profile, connecting with clients and growing your practice today.

By Heidi Smith
Creator of Jurilogical.com

*Professor Steven Peters (2018). The Silent Guides. Understanding and developing the mind throughout your life (2018).  Chapter 5.