Embrace Your Inner Clock for Happy Networking
An important strategic decision local chambers of commerce have implement is scheduling a variety of networking events that cater to many personality types. Each of us has a different peak time of day. If you are a morning person, you will interact with people differently at a breakfast meeting than you would at an after work happy hour. Meeting new people and making good connections is vital to keeping your business moving forward, so embrace your prime meeting time to make your best impressions.
If you’re a night owl, attending events after work may better suit your networking efforts. As an evening person, I have learned these events allow me to feel most confident and produce more authentic interactions. Here are four reason I prefer evening networking opportunities:
- You can be mentally present. I find that at morning networking events, I am either distracted by the thought of all of the things on my agenda for the day, or I am distracted by the temptation to start sifting through email on my phone. On the other hand, at the end of the day when these anticipatory mental distractions have mostly ceased or been attended to, it can be much easier to relax, be present, and make real connections with the people you meet.
- Small talk is easier. If you are like me and have the complex combination of introversion and nocturnality, you may also encounter great difficulty when trying to form tangible, relevant thoughts at early morning events. At 7 a.m., what timely questions can you really ask anyone other than, “How did you sleep last night?”, or “Have they refilled the coffee yet?”. Everything else is still speculative at that point! There are more interesting, real-time conversations to be had after the work day is over than before it has even begun. Plus, it’s much easier to position your service or product “solution” while a person’s “problem” is still fresh in his or her mind after living with it all day.
- The crowd is fun. Evening events offer attendees a collective sigh of relief, so to speak. With the workday in the rearview, people are ready to relax and refuel with good conversation and perhaps a cocktail or two. At Ampersand, we work hard and we play hard. We encourage our team to refuel when necessary and After-5 events are ideal for finding like-minded individuals. Added bonus: the food is better!
- The atmosphere is less business-y. It’s my experience that conversations are more authentic at evening networking events. The locations and event formats tend to be less formal so the focus can be more about meeting other people for its intrinsic value, instead of having a goal of meeting a certain number of prospects and achieving a high rate of conversion. I think that this sets you up for even greater success because you are more likely to form lasting relationships when you aren’t solely or primarily thinking about how others can benefit you. People can let their guards down more easily.
What about you? What is your peak time of day to interact with and make connections with others?
