From last week’s posting, I received several comments pointing out some additional negative networking behaviors for both attendees and organizers and managers of networking groups and meetings. Simple parameters will prevent any such mistakes.
Organizers should always make the
group’s guidelines and organization clear and simple. A group’s purpose must be
easy for prospects to understand so they can decide to join or attend meetings.
Is the group open to all attendees, or are there membership requirements? Is
there any limit on member types or the actions of members?
Where does the group meet, and
what is the purpose of each meeting? What are the starting and ending times for
the meetings, and what are the meeting agendas? Is there a price for each
meeting or a donation expected? Can one attend without becoming a group member,
or are the meetings open to the general public?
The group organizers have a
responsibility to begin and end the meetings on time, as advertised, so attendees
can plan their business schedules. Meetings that do not begin on time will not
end on time, and the organizers will appear to be unprofessional. The
organizers must adhere to the scheduled agenda or explain why they must
deviate.
Attendees should always arrive on
time. Some people are always late no matter where they are going or what event
they are attending, and they are usually late by the same amount of time every
time they attend an event. To correct this problem, they should leave sooner for
meetings, but they must recognize it as a problem first.
If we are prevented by unforeseen
events from arriving on time, we must enter the meeting as quietly as possible.
We must not “make a grand entrance”, speaking to everyone present, and
interrupting the speaker or meeting leader. We only make ourselves stand out in
a very unprofessional manner when we do so.
We must always make sure that our
cell or smart phones are either powered off or set to only vibrate when we
attend a meeting. If it does ring, we must know how to turn it off so that it
will not ring again. We should be able to quickly find it in our pocket, purse,
bag, or briefcase. We cannot ignore it; others will know that it is ours and
consider us to be rude or obnoxious if we pretend that it is not.
A worse behavior is texting
someone else during a presentation. It doesn’t matter if the recipient of the
message is present in the presentation or not. Texting during someone else’s
presentation is very rude; if we must contact someone, leave the presentation
and don’t return during the meeting.
Of course, using our phone to
place, or answer, a call is not acceptable at any time. Again, if we must
engage in a phone conversation, leave the meeting and don’t interrupt the
presentation by returning. A meeting where the attendees are mingling would be
easier to return to if we must go outside for any reason.
Networking behavior is
another form of marketing. A group manager, a meeting organizer, or an attendee
should behave professionally. Remember that what we do not only impacts others
but reflects badly on ourselves. Don’t market negatively, and use your common
sense. Please leave your comments here, or email me at
Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.
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