Over the last few years I’ve met people that swear by social media saying that they never have to go to another in-person networking event. I’ve also met my share of people who feel that social media is merely a distraction with no real value. How do I feel? Well, given that I offer courses in both traditional networking and social media I’m sure you can tell that I believe there’s value in both. And like most things in life, where you get the most benefit will depend on your situation. I will say that completely discounting either method of making new connections is a mistake. I have had successes using both methods and I know many others that have as well.
Networking Success: 10 Ways to Strike Up a Conversation – Part 1
Shyness is one of those qualities that can stand in the way of your success. If you consider yourself shy, you’re far from alone. Meeting new people is the second biggest social fear (public speaking, of course, is number one). So how do you learn to overcome shyness? The same way you learn other skills – practice.
So if you want to deal with shyness, simply practice starting conversations with people. Yes, you could go to a business networking event which is the easiest place to learn how to start a conversation. But if you can’t get to such an event, all you need to do is be somewhere where there will be other people. So how do you start a conversation, here’s a few simple ways:
Will Web 2.0 Kill Public Speaking?
Since the internet rush of the 1990’s which meant going online wasn’t just for nerds, the way we communicate has changed significantly. Email helped us record and organize conversations, text messages helped us zap quick notes to each other and social networks allowed us to reach people from all over the globe. Teleseminars, podcasts, blogs and webinars now give us the ability to potentially communicate to millions of people. So where does public speaking fit in to all of this? And more importantly, will there still be a need for public speaking as the internet continues to change the way we communicate?
Follow Me on Twitter
Even though Twitter has been around for years, I’ve been reluctant to try it out. But I finally decided to give it a whirl. Writing real blog posts can be chore so I wanted to see what this micro-blogging business was all about. Using a service like Twitter can help you promote your business as well as any other projects that you’re working on. Both Presidential candidates here in the United States are supposedly using the service.