The talk itself itself was split into two parts, a lot of it probably more useful for new networkers rather than more seasoned types. The first part covered the essentials of networking, like the different kinds of networks, how to become more attractive and how to behave at a networking event. At times, this seemed more of a "what to do" rather than "how to do it." For example, Carlo mentioned what you wear when networking is important, but he didn't go into detail about how you should dress. I did pick up some useful tips, however, like how to sound warmer (and thus more attractive) by speaking from your chest.

The second part covered the law of attraction -- in a nutshell, act today like the person you want to be tomorrow. It's not particularly new or revolutionary, but it's something that often gets forgotten and bears repeating. It sometimes came across as a bit "touchy-feely," like we should get in touch with our inner selves, and may have turned off a few of the more cynical members of the audience.

A couple of games really helped the hour fly by. The first was introducing yourself to the person next to you and then introducing him or her to the whole room, something that was also used successfully at AustCham's How to Network Effectively seminar some months ago. Game number two involved handing out "you are the most _____ in the room" cards to people who had struck you as being humorous, confident, spiritual or whatever. Despite my initial cynicism, the game worked well, though quickly turned into the "real card" exchange rather than the exchange Carlo had in mind. After all, what else would happen in a room full of networkers?

Unfortunately the venue, Shanghai Library, wasn't up to much. The room had bad acoustics and continuous rows of desks, making it that little bit more difficult to leave your chair and get networking. It would have been useful to have some more equipment as well, like a projector, instead of just being stuck with a small flip-chart.

On the whole, I'd recommend this event to networkers who are just starting out and want an idea of what they need to learn when networking. For more experienced networkers, it's still worth attending for the great networking and some nuggets of information you may not have picked up before.

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3.23 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."