Answers To 2 Questions That Should Be In Your Networking Arsenal

Networking. It’s essential if you want to advance.

The bigger your network, the more connections you have. The more connections you have, the better the chance of landing a new job, advancing your career, forming a partnership, maybe even finding your spouse.

You have to do it and you have to do it well.

Image by Ludovic Bertron

You get prepared for the networking event by dressing to the nines. Grabbing your best briefcase. And freshening up.

But do you have the most important tool to effectively network? Jane Friedman gives us two essential tools for effective networking.

She recently published a post telling us what 2 questions you should memorize for networking events. The two questions come from Michael Ellsberg. They were great questions and I thought it would be fun to share my current answers on the blog.

So here we go:

  1. What’s most exciting for you right now in your life/business?
    I have a couple of exciting things happening in my life.
     
    First is my blog. I’m able to influence and encourage other leaders. Giving the tools and resources to growing leaders is a joy.

    Next comes relationship with my wife. We’re growing closer. A couple of weeks ago we started a devotional book that has been challenging us. It focuses on specific areas of your life for each of the twelve months. While it can be tough, it has also been rewarding. Learning more about each other and going deeper in our faith.

    Lastly, are the business ideas that are brewing. I’ve got ideas for two products and at least one other website. I’m busy trying to put things together and see how they all fit. I’m hoping that I’ll have something released by the end of the year.

  2. What’s challenging for you in your life/business right now?
    Just like the exciting events in my life, there are a couple of challenges.
     
    Time management has been a huge challenge for me. Between working full time, running the blog, and volunteering in our youth group it feels like there is no time left. I know I have to prune and trim things back to allow myself to flourish. The challenge is knowing what those things are.

    Product development… I have ideas of products and other blogs I would like to create but it’s been challenging to get the ideas onto paper and into a physical form. This needs to become a priority before they fall by the wayside.

    Organization. Most of my life I’ve been a fairly sloppy guy in regards to my housekeeping. Piles of paper, music, and junk pile up and it stays there. I know I need to get things organized and ready for the great things that are about to happen. Yet it’s probably been the hardest thing for me to deal with.

My answers to these two questions will change over time but it’s great to have answers lined up. Also important is to have questions like this lined up when you’re out networking.

Getting potential clients and business partners to interact with you and give you pertinent information is vital. These two questions will give you a good insight into their life.

Now get out there and become the networking machine that you were born to be!

Questions: How would you answer these 2 networking questions? What other questions are valuable to effective network? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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