For the longest time, I have believed that putting myself out there in the Social Space would make me more vulnerable in the vast space of the digital world we live in now. With almost every fifth individual out there being an influencer in the social space, it makes you always ponder - “What if I was in that space that he/she is in?”
Somehow, that very thought of mine changed over a span of two days where I was part of the Stoa and its Social Networking Sprint facilitated by Ankit Vengurlekar, Editor in Chief at Coinswitch. Over four hours of my weekend went with understanding how crucial the impact of putting yourself out there professionally over mediums like Linkedin and Twitter can also contribute immensely to building your own brand, and more importantly your name in the professional space.
I’ve imbibed valuable takeaways over these two days through the sessions that have enabled me to open my mind toward building my very own brand. I felt the need to put these into words after a Hiatus of a few weeks from writing these Newsletters, as I feel that it is extremely important to pen down your thoughts while they have an impact on you to look back and wonder about your exact emotions and feelings at that very moment looking back a few time-jumps ahead in life.
And this session just happened to be one of those moments of absorbing good knowledge.
Takeaways at a glance
We live in an Economy of Words
Given the rampant rise in the availability of information across the internet, a majority of the population in the professional space have the capacity to judge a piece of content in the first three sentences itself to decide whether that piece of output is worth their time or not. Hence, it is necessary to frame your initial pitch - crisp, clear, and to the point to ensure adequate information reaches the receiver in the quickest attention-grabbing manner with quality.
Be Concise in your Approach and Know your Ask
Before indulging in the connect, it is ideal to structure your thoughts in a concise manner that can be creatively expressed to the network you aim to build. Engaging in a crisp and fruitful conversation of 10 minutes can add as much value as an hour-long conversation if the approach to the conversation is maintained in a simple-concise manner.
Knowing your ask in the conversation goes a long way in making things simpler for both you and the recipient about your intent towards building that connection and must be practiced to master the Art of Networking.
Choose Diversity over Similarity
A Room full of similar individuals seldom adds differences in opinions, thoughts, and ideas that contribute towards progression in the conversation. Diversity brings to the table an entirely different opening to other views, thoughts, and ideas that could potentially bring in all the differences you would need to solve a business problem (or any problem as a matter of fact). It is crucial to also remember that you bring the equilibrium to your train of thought in these diverse conversations as it is only human to respect others’ opinions on a topic of discussion. Basic Etiquettes go a long long way in building your social circle and personal identity in the network circle.
The Network Model of Connections
Every Social Connection we maintain can be categorized into three broad spectrums of connections as - Strong, Dormant and Weak Ties which are based on the proximity and recurrence of communications we have with them.
Strong Ties
The Strong Ties are those individuals in your network that you are the truest self with. Ideally, your closest friends and family members who have provided you the warmth and support for your growth in life.
Dormant Ties
Dormant Ties are one of a kind in your networks and resonate the closest to “long-lost friendships” that have suffered the passing of time and differences in paths of life. They are right at the fingertip of a call button, but something pauses you before you hit that call button.
Weak Ties
The Weak Ties add all the out-of-the-blue value to your life just by their presence and assistance in the most unexpected of times. These are absolute strangers from different backgrounds whom you probably have just connected digitally, but when there is an instant sync in terms of ideas and support needed, the universe connects you with these individuals.
The Network Model of Connections is a mix of all of these ties that corresponds to the conclusion that I believe is apt in my life at least. The Strong Ties provide you with the reality and comfort that you have already inculcated, but it is the relationship that you build with the weak ties that add strength to building a solid network circle for your personal brand.
I have penned down a much more narrowed version of these takeaways above, but in reality, I have only realized that the learnings from this sprint are yet to take shape in executing the process of building this personal brand of mine over the course of my career.
The Art of Networking Sprint has immensely contributed to developing a deeper admiration and respect for all those individuals who have built their personal brand over the organization/educational brand that they come from, and in the words of one of my cohort-mates on the Zoom Chat this weekend - “Personal Brand > Any Other Brand that you come across daily”