Being Marge: Unorthodox Networking

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Unorthodox Networking

In my experience, the most fun business networking events are a bit unpredictable, create connections faster, and raise the participants’ energy so they’re more engaged in the process. Here are a few examples of memorable networking scenarios I’ve enjoyed:

1. During an early morning networking meeting, we routinely played Frisbee inside the room to make sure everyone was awake, ready for action, and smiling at the early hour;

2. At a few local speed networking events, which are pattered on speed dating events, business people rotate around six tables where they make their 60-second presentations;

3. One networking group wrote numerous networking tips on a beach ball and threw it around the group as part of their networking education segment;

4. Another networking group wrote a song about themselves and their businesses, performed it together, and posted it on YouTube for more exposure;

5. A small music group that’s looking for more bookings routinely plays for free at networking meetings to demonstrate their talent.

6. A creative networking group runs their weekly meeting like a radio broadcast and each member broadcasts commercials and news about their business.

7. Each member of the networking group received a fortune cookie and had to incorporate their fortune in their 60-second presentation.

People lose interest when networking events become stale and predictable. Abundance comes through other people and most people like to have fun, so networking events are great places to start to play more and work less to help people connect faster through shared, entertaining experiences.


Check out our 31 Days Mastery Books on Amazon.com