Online mingling
Q: Online networking is all well and good, but is there a limit to how many people you can meet during one session?
A: There will always be a limit, but it’s certainly possible to make several brilliant connections online during one session – as many as you would in a packed out room in real life, possibly more so. You just need to go speed networking.
Today I attended a two and a half hour Zoom group networking meeting with 81 other Athena Network members. This speed event was set up for members to have as many introductions as possible, at the same time giving and receiving clear feedback on each other’s elevator pitch.
In real life it takes place in a large room on trestle tables with a timer commanding delegates to move. Online, it was the Zoom equivalent of being on the waltzer at a fairground, but in a good way.
The mastermind behind the event, Athena’s own networking queen Jacqueline Rogers, ran the session with her customary èlan and warmth. You need a clear and calm head to keep such a session from going off the rails, and Rogers has all that in spades. Here’s how the maths worked:
The first half hour begins with customary introductions, followed by two mix-up breakout ‘rooms’ containing four delegates each, with about six minutes to chat in a general way.
The spin-and-talk sessions then began in earnest. Every three minutes delegates are placed in a room with one other person, given a minute each to deliver an elevator pitch, then a combined third minute in which to critique each other’s work. Spun back into the main meeting room, there is just enough time to scribble some quick notes and slurp more coffee before the next room whisks you away.
There’s a five-minute break in the middle to grab more coffee (or gin or a snack), before the second half kicks off with more of the same. Totting up my tally at the end, I worked out I’d talked in person to 27 women, not counting those I was put back with in error due to Zoom’s duplication blips (but not in error at all as that ‘mistake’ allows valuable time for proper catch-ups under less time pressure).
It is fast and furious and lots of fun. As the clock hit 3pm exactly, all the tiny Zoom figures waved and closed. In real life this delegate staggered away slightly unsteadily with a folder full of new contacts and some great tips for that 60-second pitch.
What I lost in voice-power I gained in contacts and advice. This networking technique may not be calm or steady, but it’s a truly effective way of throwing out the net in a far arc.
I’ve added all the advice I got to my Monday To Do list because now it’s Friday and my computer, still smoking slightly, is asking politely to be switched off. As am I.
Cheers, ladies [pours more gin].
Just one of four screens at Athena’s July multiple networking event. Spot the fairy…