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You need to be networking if you are trying to be sucessful in your business. But it's hard if you deal with social anxiety. Career advisor, speaker, and author Christine Hunter Arscott explains, “Anxiety is more common than not when it comes to networking. Most people report that they feel nervous or anxious before engaging in it.” The good news? There are strategies that can help you reduce this anxiety. So with that being said, you're not alone. But what do you do?
- One of the ways is by switching up your thinking. “The question isn’t whether we are going to feel anxious,” says Arscott. “We are likely to feel anxious, but how are we going to manage those emotions and network inside of them?”
- Another effective way is to approach networking with a sense of curiosity. It’ll shift your focus away from your nerves and instead have them on the people you’re meeting. “The benefit is that you’ll learn about other people, and you’ll be more likely to find points of commonality, as well,” she explains.
- Arscott also says not to use the term “networking” and instead think of it as “connecting” with others.
“Starting early is essential, if you want to reach compounding returns,” Christie also stresses. “One mistake I see people make is waiting until they feel they need a network to start cultivating connections, and it’s too late. You can’t wait until you are ready to transition roles or organizations to build network, as that is too little too late. Connections should start before you have a need.” So again, you're not alone,take deep breaths and follow these tips and your anxiety could move out of your way and let your business move forward.