NeighborWorks America's 2022 Winter Virtual Training Institute begins this week, and alongside training sessions and roundtables, there's a host of networking events. Can online networking work?
It can if you approach it with intentionality, says Susan McPherson, founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies and author of "The Lost Art of Connecting." "Even before the pandemic, people were losing connectivity and we were facing a crisis of loneliness," McPherson says. "Technology took a lot of the intentionality out of connecting as it was so easy to send off a quick text, email or WhatsApp post without really thinking about it. We focused on the number of followers, clicks and likes rather than building meaningful interactions. And of course, the pandemic made it worse."
The remedy, she submits, is to be more mindful about the importance of connections and more intentional when you make them. "It's never going to be exactly the same as in-person," says McPherson. "You're not going to have those water-cooler moments." But if you know who's going to be in a virtual room ahead of time, you can be intentional about who you want to meet, or re-meet – even after the event."
One benefit of being online is that you can often see the names of the people in the "room" with you. McPherson uses that to her advantage, taking a photo of her Zoom screen so she can look up individuals and reach out to them after an event to see if they're willing to connect.
"To me, instead of looking at what 'online' can't do, it's looking at what it can do," she says.
Other tips:
- Look for spaces with breakout sessions so you are with smaller groups of individuals, where there is more time for connecting.
- Come to events with questions, so if there's time for an online conversation, it can be about more than the weather.
- Use the chat feature. "Remember when we used to be in real-life meetings, we were not allowed to have side conversations," McPherson says. "The chat feature is made for such engagement."
- When you connect with individuals after an event, lead with how you can be helpful to them.
What we need, says Elizabeth Fulton, senior coordinator for NeighborWorks America's Organizational Assessment division and roundtable facilitator, "is a way for people to virtually hand out their business card. We can still create an environment of connection with an intent to reconnect after the VTI, even if it's virtually."
Shawn Chevalier, who will lead "Beneficial Exercises to Combat Sitting at Your Desk" at the VTI, says online networking works when you approach it right. "Everyone has their own agenda," he says. "Some people come with an attitude to receive information and stay to themselves and there are others who come to socialize and thrive off of the energy of others. It's the same energy that you see in the physical office."
Chevalier says that in a virtual situation, you can tap into energy through ice-breakers. As people open up and relax, they find common denominators, bond and connect in their own way. In some of his classes where a group is focused on weight loss, for instance, "everyone is vibing with the same energy." For the VTI, the courses and extras include a variety of ways for people to come together with one focus, whether it's learning or fun.
Networking does looks different online, he says. During an intense exercise class, people will have their microphones on mute, so bonding might take place in the chat instead of out loud.
Tracey Royal Hughes, who will lead Zumba at the VTI, says networking can take place at an exercise class (or any class) if time is set aside for students to chat. During the free Zumba classes she taught during quarantine and the pandemic surge, "I created a space of time to personally welcome people, introduce people and chat with my students," she says. That helped her connect with them, and it helped them connect with each other. During the VTI, though, there won't be much time for conversation in her class unless people come early. "Once we start dancing, we dance!"
Don't forget networking opportunities when you register for NeighborWorks America's 2022 Winter Virtual Training Institute, to be held Feb. 7-11. The VTI is live.
