A chilly but chilled night on the Clyde!

I like to think I know myself pretty well…but I got me very wrong yesterday!

During the day, I was pretty much scoring a 2/10…I just wasn’t feeling on great form. I peaked at 3/10 but as the effects of my Lion Bar wore off, I was straight back down to 2!

So the mere thought of an hour long drive from Fife to Glasgow on a freezing night, to walk into a busy room where I knew at best a couple of people, was doing nothing to enhance my score – but I was committed! I didn’t want to be that pre-printed name tag which stays on the table!

The outcome of the evening is ultimately that I was the first one there and also the last one to leave, with about 10 times more energy at the end than I had when I walked through the door! As much for self-evaluation and my own future reference, I though it was worth writing down and sharing how this happened. I will read it myself the next time I’m not feeling on networking form.

It was just really good people around me, little more than that.

A stunning venue helps – if you ever get the opportunity to visit “The Beacon” at the Barclays Bank campus in Glasgow, take it! Stunning views from the balcony too, my photos do it no justice! However it was literally the power of engaging people which not only got me through the 3 hours but left me happy enough to stay for a 4th, had there been one!

The success of this event yesterday and my enjoyment of it had very little to do with me, my primary aim at 5pm was to attend as I’d promised to do…and survive! I hasten to add that this is not my typical approach to networking events, if not bounding through the door with energy, I’m at least open minded and neutral. However the way I felt yesterday was far below both of those.

Expanding on the “good people” point, the key lesson learned was the power of great hosts – and the potential to charge my own networking energy on the back of theirs! To be honest, the team at Barclays Bank were first class hosts at an event I attended back in the summer, however from memory I was a good 8/10 when I arrived for that one. They are first and foremost, a really interesting and energetic group of people – and they do a great job of making introductions to their other guests. I don’t really like the expression “working the room” in networking parlance but they did a great job of making the room work. Very relaxed but equally productive, some great business people there.

A couple of key messages to conclude. If you have the opportunity to attend a Barclays event, take it – you will struggle to meet a nicer (and it goes without saying, knowledgeable) team of people. And from a wider networking perspective, don’t worry about how you feel at the start of an event – this is not necessarily a barometer of how you will feel at the end of it! As a regular attendee of events, I like to think I can control how much enjoyment and benefit I gain – if I feel good, the event will be good. What I learned from my experience yesterday is that irrespective of how you feel on the day, still go through that door. The worst that will happen is an earlier than planned departure, on the other hand you may just find yourself, as I did, in a room which rapidly charged my networking battery. Last night had huge potential to be a networking negative – going forward I will get definitely get myself out there, irrespective of whether I’m buzzing or grumpy prior!