Networking to the Top
My business, like so many others, depends on networking. If you don't know about me, you can't hire me. I talk to people wherever I go. You never know when you are sitting next to someone who will eventually need a speaker. However today, I've been traveling non-stop for four weeks. I just wanted to sit down and be still.
A perfectly normal looking woman sat next to me. I buried my nose in my magazine and ignored her. She began to read. Thank goodness. I don't have to make small talk.
We landed. I gathered my belongings and stood in the isle waiting to get out. She looked up and smiled at me so I HAD to say something right? I looked at her book and said, "What are you reading?" Which of course began a conversation about her book and reading in general. I still didn't really want to talk but I reluctantly forced myself. I asked her if she was from Syracuse our departing city. Yes she was, and yes so am I. We continued for a minute with the same conversation I've had with hundreds of passengers on hundreds of flights. Where are you headed? What are you going to do there? How long will you be staying? She looked at me and said, "OMG you're… you…. I've heard you speak. You spoke for us at Bond Schoeneck and King! Oh I'm so glad to see you again, do you have a card? I've got a conference I'd like to see if you can come to?"
Would you believe I didn't even have one stinking business card on me! Talk about not being prepared. Feeling like a complete loser I said, "Yvonneconte.com" as I fled the plane.
I promised myself that who ever sat next on the connecting flight to me I would chat it up big. That is my job after all, to connect with people be engaged.
This next person may be the CEO of a big corporation that could introduce me to an entirely new pool of clients. I was the first one on the plane. I waited to see who my seat partner would be. An extremely tall, lanky, young man in worn out corduroy pants, a back pack and glasses sat next to me. He had that grundge look. What could I ever have in common with this man? I thought about just closing my eyes, but remembered my promise and decided to engage. I found that he was visiting his girlfriend who was a professor at a local college and that he creates robots and makes things that will eventually be on the market. He's smart. We talked the entire flight. He was from California. No I didn't make a business connection with him, however, I did sell him my son John's music CD's, gave him John's web page so he could get on the mailing list and go hear him live.
What did I learn? I should talk to everyone I come across in my day. You never know who may be sitting next to you. It may be a potential job for me or it may be someone who just happens to love alternative music.
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Footnote: A few days after I wrote this I was on a long flight. A young mom sat in front of me with her two small sons. She was loving and tender with them and they in turn respected her wishes and were good the entire flight. On the way out of the plane, I said, "Excuse me. I see young mom's and their kids interact all the time on flights. I must say you are a remarkable young mom and very good with your children." She burst into tears and put her arms around my neck. She sobbed, "Oh thank you so much for saying that. I needed to hear that today." I hugged her and whispered, "You are a very good mother honey and God loves you for it." She disappeared into the airport and I thought to myself…. you never really know what people are dealing with. You never know how one kind word from you can make a remarkable difference and may be just what they need to hear in that moment. It's not just about networking it's really about connecting.
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Yvonne Conte, Motivational Humorist
Humor Advantage, Inc.
4736 Onondaga Blvd., Ste. 231
Syracuse, NY 13219
Yvonne Conte Website
Voice: 315.487.3771
Fax: 315.487.5633
E-mail Yvonne here
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