Strictly Social?
Ok…I’ll admit it. Maybe I don’t get out enough in a purely social sense. I’m accustomed to the more business focused affairs, so to speak. Put me in a chamber mixer, even in a strange city and I’m in TOTALLY in my element.
But recently I came into possession of high-end charity art gallery tickets and asked a girlfriend to join me on a Friday night. The keywords here are “charity”, “art gallery” and “Friday night”.
The first hint that told me I was in trouble was this: NO NAME TAGS. OMG…what now? How do you start a conversation when you have no clue as to their name or where they work ? I was totally in the dark. I started to panic. Think, think. “Have you seen this artist’s work before?” (Who is the artist?).
Then, just when I’m chatting with some guy, his date appeared and gave me a chilling “GET AWAY FROM MY MAN!” look that sent me scurrying across the room to a familiar face I knew from a local chamber. Being shot down (with just a look) by a jealous partner has NEVER happened at a business event in the 20+ years I’ve been attending them.
I talk about creating a large Networking Footprint in your community…having a presence in many different sectors. The social, philantropic arena (what I have heard callously called “the disease curcuit” MDA, Cystic Fibrosis, Heart Association, MS, etc.) can play an important part in making business connections, but your first priority is to support the cause at hand; business takes a backseat. But that does not mean that you leave your business cards at home…just your name tag.
