WORK THE POND!
Use the Power of Positive Networking
to Leap Forward in Work and Life
By Darcy Rezac
with Judy Thomson & Gayle Hallgren-Rezac
ISBN 0-7352-0402-0
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www.workthepond.com

Darcy Rezac's Positive Networking Tip of the Week ...

Card makeover time.  Spring is here so take a look at your card right now.  What do you think?  Your card is your personal brand.  Is it making a good impression?  Can someone over forty read the information on your card or is the point size too small?  Are you using all the real estate?  Could you include something on the back of your card?  Your web site?  An award?

EXPAND your network. 
Work out with new friends. Want to keep fit on a business trip? Sure, you can take that little hotel jogging map and run alone. Instead, why not go online and find the names of some running stores in the city you are visiting. Call to see if they have a running club that goes out in the early mornings or evenings and then join them. Put some business cards in your running jacket.

Go to four events a month.  Check your Chamber of Commerce website Events page.  Look in newspapers for events and Google 'calendar of events' in your area. Take a tag team-mate: a friend, a client, a potential client.

Not just a participant.  Are you a member of an organization, but a little stagnant in that pond? Contribute more than your presence. This year get involved in a committee of an organization where previously you've just shown up for events. Yes, be a participant, but also a contributor.

Take the plunge.  Is there an organization you've always thought about joining, but have been too busy to join? It could be a charity, a business organization or social club. Make this the year you get involved.

Become a super connector.  Connect two people who you know, but who don't know each other. Make the phone call and bring them together, that's what great networkers do.

Here they are! ... The 7 most essential tips to help you WORK THE POND! positively:

Tip 1
Become a super connector. So what is the absolute key characteristic of all great networkers--those folks who really 'work the pond' with the greatest of ease? It's this: they connect people. They act as a host, bring people together, include others and treat everyone they meet as equals. And, that great networker can be you!

Tip 2
Be memorable. The goal of 'working the pond' is not about closing a deal but opening relationships. Great networkers are memorable because of their style of connecting. When they talk to you they make you feel like you are the most important person in the room. Practice this technique!

Tip 3
Ask permission. We've all been there: we meet someone interesting at an event but can't focus on the conversation because we are wondering--how am I going to follow up? Will they take my call? Will my email be answered? If you want to follow up with someone, ask permission, 'Would you mind if I called you about...?'

Tip 4
Not all home runs. Working the pond is about circulating. Set a goal of meeting seven new people at each event, but be realistic. All encounters aren't going to be home runs. If you strike out, don't take it personally. The other person obviously didn't read our book about 'treating everyone they meet like gold.' Move on.

Tip 5
Catch more flies. Do you arrive just in time for a networking luncheon or dinner and miss the reception? The best opportunity to meet a wide variety of folks is at the reception. Once you get to your table you are kind of 'stuck.' Remember, the early frog catches the flies.

Tip 6
Dress up, not down. Fear of rejection and being judged are two common causes of networking nervosus. If you have a networking event on your schedule, look your best. Men: it's easier to take off a tie than to be the only man at an event without one! For women, wear the classiest suit you own.

Tip 7
Plant a big one. Plant a big, shiny smile on your face before you enter the room. People are hardwired to smile back. A smile shows that you are open to conversation. If a big smile is not your thing... just say the letter "E"... Try it.

more from WORK THE POND ...

Transactional versus Positive Networking.
You meet two kind of networkers. One is thinking "what can YOU do for me?" The other is thinking "what can I do for you?" The first is a transactional networker, the second is a positive networker.

Networking is a contact sport!
Networks are like any other personal or business asset. If we spend little time interacting in social, business and community activities, our network won't disappear, but it will depreciate like any aging asset. Networking is a contact sport!

Plan ahead.
Go online to see what networking opportunities are happening this fall and put the events you want to go to on your calendar now . It could be speaker breakfasts or luncheons, charity galas, fun runs, or business after business events. Get the most out of these events by inviting an associate or client. You will introduce them to your network and vice versa.

Life doesn't come with an eraser.
We've all heard about the infamous 'Oprah at Hermes' incident. It's a reminder that you can't erase what you wish hadn't happened. Treat everyone like gold! Alice Mong, executive director of the Committee of 100 says "I hate it when people drop someone like a hot potato the minute they exchange business cards, check out their title or company and decide they are not worth their effort." Make sure you don't snub a prospect who might be an Oprah!

Send shorter emails.
Train yourself to edit, edit, edit the emails you send. We all know the feeling, coming back from vacation, opening our email inbox and having to go through hundreds, if not thousands, of emails. Challenge: Can you say it in three lines?

Coming up blank?
If you are worried about having something to talk about at your next social event, read some interesting stories from that day's newspaper -- the story of the person who won the lottery, the latest business bombshell, government-behaving-badly, etc. Pick topics that will stir conversation, but not inflame it.

Write it down.
Reliability builds your reputation as a positive networker. If you promise to do something, do it.
Nietzsche said "One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes." Forget Nietzsche, most of us need to carry a small notebook or PDA.

Nighttime nervosus?
This is good advice for anyone, but particularly for women. If it's an evening networking event and you are going solo, valet park your car. It doesn't cost much more, and it saves you from going into a deserted parking lot alone. Our motto: When in doubt, valet it.

Meishi manners.
In Japan the exchange of meishi (business cards) is a high art. The business card is never taken and casually stuffed in your pocket, without so much as a glance. We can all learn something from their gracious exchange. Treat a person's card with interest and respect.

Reduce the Degrees of Separation.
An easy way to find out more about a person you've just met is to tell friends or associates. Remember six degrees of separation is science not folklore. There's a high probability someone will know this person and what better way to follow up than with a personal link!

Open the circle.
If you are chatting with a group of people and someone is hovering outside your circle, be the first person to invite them into the group.
Get their name and introduce them.
That's being a positive networker.

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."
-- Francis Bacon