Ten Rules of Networking

Today I had the good fortune of being invited to speak on networking at the University of Texas Dallas. Kanika Williamson of GE Consumer & Industrial spoke as well. We tag-teamed on a life skills program that featured Kanika's presentation on your personal brand and my ten rules of networking. It was a lot of fun.

So, here are the ten rules I came up with for networking. Now, most of these are used in event situations, but most of the list is transferable to other situations. The ten rules:

1. Have a strategy, be strategic, have a plan
2. Ask, don't talk
3. Have energy
4. Have stories
5. Bring people into the conversation
6. Always be on
7. Know the dress code
8. Be known (who knows you, what you know, who you know)
9. Always carry business cards
10. Be polite

While there really isn't a preferred order to this list, the #1 on my list is #10. without manners, none of the rest means anything.

Relentless

Thanks to Jody Everson and her team at UTD.