4(d) Networking

Figure 1. Networking enables you to develop a web of support for your ideas (Stenzel, CC BY-ND 2.0)

It’s well known that networking -- making connections with other people -- is essential for the success of projects. Networking enables you to engage with stakeholders, to get supporters and receive valuable feedback. It can also inspire others and help take your project to the next level. Networking is about building long-term mutually beneficial relationships, offline as well as online.

Preparation

In Module 4(c) you spent time thinking about the story behind your project. Having this story, or several stories for different audiences and purposes, is critical for networking. When you connect with others you must have a clear sense of what you are working on and your goals. This will make it easier for you and others to see how they might fit into the picture.

Once you have prepared your stories and pitches, it’s time to practice! Try them out - record yourself and review the recordings, ask your friends and teachers to practice with you. Be careful not to overpractice, so you still sound natural and can easily react to questions when someone interrupts your explanations. Speaking of questions, remember that if your project sparks interest, your audience or potential partners are likely to ask you some questions. Think in advance of what these questions might be and prepare your answers. Again, ask you friends to help you think of these questions, and practice your responses.

As you learned in Module 4(a), you need to be aware of your audience in order to choose the most effective platforms. If you are trying to reach youth or collect their opinion, you might want to consider promoting your project via social media such as Instagram while if you are looking for a more professional audience you consider creating a page on LinkedIn and joining groups of professionals related to your field. Either way you need to ensure to have a clear and consistent communication strategy with a clear message adjusted to the specific audience.

Methods of networking

It is very important to remember that almost every social encounter is a way of connecting with other people. You don’t need to think of every contact with others as a networking experience, but being open to others about what you are working on, even when you are not deliberately networking, can yield some surprising opportunities.

Figure 2. Even casual meetings over a bite to eat can build your network (Wallpaperflare.com, CC0)

There are many different ways to make connections with people when you want to expand your network to look for support and collaboration. Table 1 shows some methods of networking and how you can use them.

Table 1. Networking Methods

Networking Methods

Characteristics of a good networker

Once you understand what methods you can take to establish connections with others you also need to work on the skills needed to make effective connections and keep them over time. The following is a list of skills you will need to develop to be a good networker:

Be a good listener - You may have perfected your pitch and storytelling. But you need to be a good listener to make strong connections with others. It has been said that a good networker has two ears and one mouth and uses them proportionally. You need others to help you, but they also want you to support them. Listening to their stories and ideas is important to discover how you can strengthen your connections with others and to ensure you take on their feedback to improve your project. Active listening requires that the listener concentrate fully, understand, respond to and remember what others are saying. Asking questions shows interest and facilitates communication. You learned about active listening and may have done a practice activity for it in Module 1(a).

Figure 3. Active listening is an important part of connecting with others (Pixabay, CC0)

Project a positive, friendly attitude and willingness to collaborate - Positivity and collaboration go hand-in-hand. People naturally want to be with positive and optimistic people. If you project a positive attitude others will be more certain of your project’s success. An openness to working with others will signal to them that a productive partnership is possible. Regular contact with others, where you are thinking about their interests and finding avenues to work together to achieve a common goal, can really help.

Be sincere and authentic - People will be able to tell if you are not really interested in them, or are only looking for support, rather than being supportive. It is important to choose your network carefully, to ensure that you can be authentic and sincere about your intentions to establish true, two-way connections rather than just having your own interests served.

Be reliable - We all want partners we can count on, so be that partner! Be on time, do what you say you will do, and do it well. When you establish yourself as someone who is reliable you will earn trust and respect from others. Your network will strengthen and people will give you more opportunities.

Photograph of young woman talking and gesturing

Figure 4. What does this body language tell you? (fizkes, CC BY 1.0)

Pay attention to non-verbal communication - Body language can help express many of the qualities mentioned above. Facing the person you are speaking to and using eye contact conveys interest and active listening. Standing up straight projects reliability, confidence, and strength. Smiling conveys a positive, friendly, and open attitude. And hand-gestures convey authenticity, trust, and enthusiasm.

Others’ body language can also tell you a lot about whether that person may be a good contact for you. However, it is important to be aware that body language differs from culture to culture. So if you are engaging with someone from another culture, you have to be aware that their body language does not necessarily mean what you think. If you know you will be working with people from another culture, it is a good idea to read up on body language to avoid misunderstandings.

Be patient, practice - Networking skills take time to develop and you need practice. The best way to do this is to get out there and try it! The more you do it, the more comfortable you will be with the process and skills.

Say thank you, often - It is important to express gratitude when others help you, even in small ways. It makes others feel valued and appreciated and will make them feel more willing to help you in the future. Research shows that expressing gratitude also contributes to your own happiness, so do it a lot!

Figure 5. Saying thank you, often, can help strengthen your connections with others (woodleywonderworks, CC BY 2.0)

Following up

Now that you met many different stakeholders, it is time to classify them. We recommend that you set up a spreadsheet to document all the new contacts. Remember to note their name, profession, location, whether or not and why they might be relevant for your project and at which stage, what you could possibly offer to them, a couple of your personal impressions (never underestimate intuition!) and of course the date when you met.

It is a good idea to connect with them via LinkedIn or other social media too. If you had a good conversation, do not hesitate to send them a message thanking them for their time saying that you hope to meet them soon again. Remember, networking is a long term process and something that must be nurtured. Also, you never know which contact might be useful in the future, so document all the contacts even if at that point they seem useless.

If you have a clear proposal and idea how some of your contacts could benefit your project, depending on the scale of your request you might like to prepare the ground before approaching them with your request. For example, if you are asking a local organisation to post on its Facebook page about your event, it might be fine to use your contact there and approach that person directly explaining your request. However, if you are asking the group to donate a larger amount of money or have all their members volunteer for an event of your project, you might like to set up a meeting to explain to them all the details to ensure that they understand the full picture of your project and can then decide about the support.

Keeping contact with your network is essential, you might like to send them personal emails or set up a regular newsletter to inform them about the progress of your project. Remember that networking and partnership works both ways, you are asking feedback but should also provide it to others in your network. Be engaged and keep positive relationships within your network.

Practice / Project Activity

The best way to learn networking is to just get out there and do it. Do some investigation with your peers or mentor / teacher to find upcoming events at your school or community where you can go and practice talking to people and building your connections. Even a family event can be a chance to test out your ability to tell your story and build stronger relationships.

Before you go to any events, make a copy of the Networking spreadsheet in the Tools section below. Begin adding information about any people you may have already met who can help you with your project and be sure to add new contacts as you try out your new networking skills.

Examples in different contexts

Reducing plastic in the household

The student attended multiple fairs, exhibitions, and conferences related to sustainability and talked to many people, collecting contact information and recording it in the Networking spreadsheet.
She signed up for a LinkedIn account and started connecting with others working on zero-waste solutions. She posted regularly, and “liked” other’s postings.
The student volunteered to help other changemakers with their projects and events, setting herself up as a reliable partner and building opportunities for reciprocity.
The student, along with some of her new youth contacts, signed up for a free course from the Acumen Academy called “Designing for Environmental Sustainability and Social Impact”. During the course, their connection to one another strengthened and they also met other young changemakers from around the world.

Mitigating CO2 emissions in the school

The students met very many people working in gardening and forestry during the time they carried out the project. They kept a good record of contacts using the Networking spreadsheet, which was shared between them for updating.
The network the students were able to build with the forest department was the most significant for the project, as it allowed the students to connect with a government organization that itself had a very large network. Through their work with the local forest department, the students established further networks with regional and national groups working to strengthen forests and expand greenspaces in urban areas.
Several of the students signed up for a LinkedIn account which enabled them to make connections to others interested in forestry beyond their local community. They posted information about their activities and found out about many more opportunities to learn and connect with others.
Several of the students were able to go to regional and national conferences and workshops related to forest-management and climate change, again further strengthening their network.

Informing people with Down syndrome about social distancing during a pandemic

The finished product was digital and publicly shared online, which opened up many opportunities for networking and connecting with different organisations and stakeholders.
Just by uploading it on various social media channels, the video was reposted by UNICEF, Down Syndrome International, Special Olympics and other local organisations that are working on promoting the rights of people with disabilities.
Some of these organisations contacted the students directly, offering possibilities for cooperation on future projects.

Tools

Documentation for exhibitions and reports

Don’t forget to document your work. For a reminder about documentation, see Module 1(e).

Ideas for documentation in this section include:

Networking contacts spreadsheet

Works cited

Fizkes. “Friendly Female Colleagues Having Good Relationships.” Shutterstock, www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/friendly-female-colleagues-having-good-relationships-1246077505.

Stenzel, Peter. “Networking.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 29 Nov. 2019, https://tinyurl.com/y32t43dq.

Woodleywonderworks. “Thank You Note for Every Language.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 4 July 2010, www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/4759535950.

Images for examples in different contexts source information:

Samoilov, Yuri. “Coronavirus.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 20 Mar. 2020, https://tinyurl.com/ya2ngksd. CC BY 2.0

Webster, Tony. “Plastic Bottles - Waste.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 16 Sept. 2012, www.flickr.com/photos/87296837@N00/7992944072. CC BY 2.0

XoMEoX. “Tree.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 28 May 2017, https://tinyurl.com/y8bw46ns. CC BY 2.0

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