Welcome to Intentional Conversations, the podcast where thoughtful leadership meets meaningful impact.

This week we’re honored to be joined by Gisele Marcus for a powerful discussion on networking!

🎧 Grab your headphones, hit play, and let the conversation begin!

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Make sure you’re visible to people when you’re away.
• Always hear, “Keep your head down, do your job and by doing those things you’ll get promotion”, but the networking piece is what was missing.
• There is a special art to networking… lots of times people say networking and it’s not really networking.
• The term “networking” has gotten a bad rap. It’s really about building a 2-way, authentic relationship.
• It has a negative connotation when people are doing it in an inauthentic way. When it feels like you’re pushing it and not doing it in a natural way.
• On LinkedIn, 95% of people she actually knows who they are, why she’s connected and how she’s connected to them.
• Always know how you know someone. First or 2nd DM on LinkedIn is how am I connected to them.
• People love to hear things about themselves, so if there’s someone you want to meet… find out something you have in common with that individual.
• Connecting with them on something that is a connection with them. To ask someone to do something for you and you do not have the pleasure of meeting them, that is not authentic.
• She never connects to someone with a cold connection. Use the tools that you have to grab someone’s attention.
• People want to connect with you because they want to follow you.
• When you walk into an in-person event, see groups of people chatting with each other, as an introvert you do not want to jump into the conversation, look for the other people who are by themselves. That person would love to talk to someone.
• Introvert don’t appreciate back to back meetings. To get the best outcome, be prepared to plan in a way as if they were introverts. That way there is a comfort to receive the information, you’re not sending them home totally exhausted.
• Conversation starters are good for you to have in your hip pocket - “What brought you to this event?” “What high school did you go to?” “What church do you go to?” Give a compliment. “I see you’re here by yourself, are you meeting anyone?” Not too invasive as well.
• Don’t let opportunities slip by, use the resources you have and use the spaces you’re in because you never know when it will land you where you want to be.
• On the days you’re in the office, make the most of those days. Be politically astute at work, part of that is being visible.
• Just walk around, but also have at least one meeting on her calendar, not even with an agenda, but just to get to know someone better.
• You can still network virtually!
• It is a lot easier to hold onto a job when people know who you are.
• What advice for people who don’t like small talk?
• They have a decision to make… does it serve you well to just cut the networking out. What are you missing out on? Or commit to it for 10 - 15 minutes or meet 1 - 2 people, then walk away. You don’t have to stay forever.
• Don’t allow networking to be the one TON guerrilla in your mind. Move it out of the way so that you can have a better path to fulfilling the goals you have.
• Don’t allow the heaviness of networking get in the way of you propelling the goal you have, think about it accelerating where you actually want to be!

🟣 CONNECT WITH GISELE:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giselemarcus

Website: https://giselemarcus.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Gisele_Marcus

🟣 CONNECT WITH NWC:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nikawhiteconsulting

Facebook: https://facebook.com/nikawhiteconsulting

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nikawhiteconsulting

Visit our website to learn more: https://nikawhite.com