Master Career Counselor

As we have been focusing on the importance of networking and how to do it, we come to the most difficult question of all: Who do I dance with?

Networking is after all, closely related to dancing. It takes timing, effort, focus and most of all another person to join in.

With this process comes true diligence and even tenacity. People are busy, full of demanding schedules with barely enough time to breathe. How does on find the right persons to network with and develop an intimacy that connects one human to another?

First, if you want to network, you have to know how to listen. Listening is not thinking about what you are going to say when another is talking. Listening is attentive posturing and intentional caring about what others are saying. It involves energy that is never ever wasted.

So, have you practiced listening? The best way to do this is to give feedback to others when they share with you. Let them know what you are hearing and if you are accurate. Clarifying is the key to listening.

Second, increase your awareness to the body language you are disclosing. At least eighty-five per cent of communication is without a single word. We say a lot when we say nothing but our body language betrays us.

Finally, give people a chance. They are worth your effort to develop nurture and care for. This is the secret to longer life, healthier bodies and more satisfying careers. When we network, when we connect and when we listen, we are tuly living life and not merely existing.