How to Play The Networking Game Discovered and described by Pat Wagner and Leif Smith. Existing for centuries.

Fine Print Use this without restriction. Please give credit to Meg Biddle if you use art that follows. (2003) Excuse my self-indulgence: – love serif type

And now, everyone, it is my pleasure to introduce you to everyone else!

Agenda Brief introduction and history. The Networking Game. The Five Rules. The Core Exercises. Typical problems. Questions?

Brief Introduction & History Office for Open Network Networking is universal. Information exchange. Mutual benefit. Anyone can be useful to anyone.

Scholarly FAQS Humans have always networked: – economics: exchanging values – technology transfer and influence – theory: finding reasons to trade – theory: open harbors

History-Audiences Librarians. Board trustees. Community leaders. Girl Scouts. Church members. Scientists and engineers.

History-Purposes Job-hunting. Community-building. Ice-breakers. Problem-solving. Brain-storming. Research. Resource-sharing.

The Networking Game Remove barriers to exchange. Give participants permission. Let them become stars. The Test: They don’t miss you. The conversations are the key. Trust the process.

The Five Rules Be Useful. Don’t Be Boring. Listen. Ask questions. Play the Wild Card.

Be Useful Reciprocal: – be useful – let other people be useful to you Networking is a tool: – a means, not an end – let the person go back to work

Don’t Be Boring Three ways to be boring: – too much information – taking, not giving – giving, not taking Most people are lopsided.

Listen Who should we listen to? – people we don’t like – people different from us – people with new information – people we take for granted – people outside our comfort zone

Ask Questions Tell me more. How do you know that is true? What is most important to you? What are you doing next? What is the other side? Don’t get angry; get interested.

Play the Wild Card Most people connected to Most people change: – college majors – jobs – careers – addresses

Don’t Make Assumptions People connect in unlikely ways. Ask the next ten people. Ask the unlikely person. Ask the person you tried before. Ask a different way.

The Core Exercises Getting Started. Partnering. Weavers: the next step. Written Exercise: Needs and Offers. Listening. Who do we leave out? The Wild Card.

Getting Started Open space: see and hear each other. Chairs and places to write. Paper and pens. Business cards. Sound system? Helpers when group is large.

Partnering Main exercise: – raise your hand. – find a partner. – be useful to each other. – you have five minutes. – switch!

Weavers: The Next Step Weaver see patterns. Weavers make connections. Network for others. Librarians versus weavers.

Written Exercise Don’t Be Boring: Needs and Offers Two columns: +ten items. Be specific: Not just money. Be tangible: Not just friendship. The Kitten Rule. Personal and professional.

Using the Lists Which was harder? Things to offer: Overlooks obvious. Things needed: Self-sufficient. Things are currency for exchange. Try partnering with lists. Practice yourself.

Listening Conversations: Contests to win? Taking turns. Pausing and silences. Passing the ball. Being in the present moment.

Who Do We Leave Out? Use lists of types of networks. Which categories of people: – do we forget? – do we leave out on purpose? – do we reject outright?

Types of “Others” Age: more or less than years. Socioeconomic status. Philosophical differences. Bad history. Poor communication skills. Strangers.

The Wild Card Likely someone else knows: – has advice – has a link – has a personal connection – has an interesting guess Works mostly, not always.

Typical Problems Trusting the process. Some will struggle: that is okay. Some will dominate. Group harder to control: congrats! Collecting stories.

Questions?