Task 1. Write an email to your boss whether you think your company should participate in a speed networking event. Give two reasons (in separate paragraphs) why you think yes, or why you think no. In the third paragraph bring up an argument from the other side, and refute it, that is give a third argument supporting your own stance that shows why the opposite side is wrong.
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Send your emails to me before next class.
January 2, 2007
The Hasty Hello
By JULIE BICK
How does speed networking work?
At “speed networking” events professionals move methodically from one business prospect to the next, getting acquainted for just a few minutes at a time.
It is the corporate equivalent of speed dating, invented in the late 1990s by a rabbi hoping to fix up Jewish singles, a practice that has since spread widely.
“You won’t have time to make a business deal in eight minutes, but you’ll gather a great list of people that you might work with in the future,” said Tom Jaffee, founder of Match Events (matchevents.com).
Speed networking events use the same approach as speed dating, so the participants meet random people in an orderly way. A few companies like Match Events and eXtreme Networking, which is based in Chicago and operates Speednetworking.com, use software to help make the perfect business match.
For this more advanced type of speed networking, those attending the event fill out profiles detailing their job description, title and industry, and specifying the types of people they would like to meet. For example, attendees may hope to meet new suppliers or customers, or service providers like payroll or legal professionals. The profiles and requests are then matched up electronically, and a personalized list is generated for each participant. At the speed networking event attendees chat successively with each person on their list, typically for five to eight minutes each.
In this way, attendees meet a wide selection of people. With speed networking, there’s always an incredible buzz in the room. People are excited and full of energy.”
“I wish all professional conferences included speed networking”
Aaron Abend, president of the Viapoint Corporation, a software company in Burlington, Mass., says he wishes that all professional conferences included speed networking. He recalled flying across the country to an Oracle database conference, in search of companies that might distribute his customer relationship management software.
Looking for a table of prospective partners, he ended up sitting with employees of the Food and Drug Administration who were at the conference solely to learn about features in Oracle’s software, and had no interest in his product. “We could do nothing for each other, and the meal was a total waste of time,” he said, “but it would have been too rude to get up and leave.”
The format is not for everyone, though. Speed networking may feel uncomfortable to those less confident in social situations, as they have to introduce themselves over and over. Some attendees may feel too rushed to absorb information. And if the room is not set up well, acoustics may hamper one’s hearing because of the many simultaneous conversations.
While attendees often have a list of people they want to meet, some also keep a list of people they want to avoid. Some software systems that organize speed networking events offer a “no meet” guarantee, which gives participants the option to list a person, company or profession they do not want to be matched with. “That helps alleviate the number of uncomfortable pairings,” said Adam Fendelman, vice president of eXtreme Networking.
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