Book Review: So what do you do, then?

At some stage in our life we have all had to go to meetings or events, both in and out of work, where we know no one in the room.

Most people get tense just thinking about it, but we all know deep down that we must go to these occasions.

Do you just turn up last minute, linger around the fringes and get out as early as possible? Or are you going to try to make something of it? To learn from the collective that is there? To look on it as a chance to make new “friends” even?

This book helps to identify the events to go to, how to prepare and how to identify the best people to talk to - and how to approach them.

It also gives useful advice on how to build a network of people, to create effective relationships, sharing values and how to prepare for and make the follow-up telephone call or meeting after the event.

The book also deals with how you go about sorting through the people that you meet, identifying the genuine people, working with people, getting to know, like and trust people as well as how to deal with that person who sticks to you like glue at a party or the habitual bore. I would have bought the book just for tips on how to sympathetically deal with those two types alone!

We live in a world where the web of people, relationships and power around us are interwoven. It is amazing what you can discover if you can overcome your fear of networking, open up and share things for free to help others.

Go on, give it a go - you will be surprised.

I Hate Networking!, Will Kintish, JAM Publications 2006