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<span class="provip_member_name">Sierra Faye Kennedy LMP</span>
Sierra Faye Kennedy LMP
Injury Treatment Massage for Groin, Pelvis, Low Back and Hip Pain
Seattle, Washington
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Posted by Sierra Faye Kennedy LMP, Seattle, Washington | Oct 31, 2008

Subscribe to Community-wide general discussion Contribution Buzz - Enter your advice #here#

So I'm holding a Contribution Networking event on the biznik event boards and I need some help from all you smart savvy people.

My co-host (Jacob Caldwell) and I have some good ideas of what we want out of this event but I'm just not satisfied with our level of experience and understanding of how to get what we want.

What I want to get out of this event is this:

people really listening to each other
people really stretching their brains on how to help the people they are listening to.
* I want people to walk away from this going "holy cow on a stick! that was the most productive networking I've ever done!"

What I'm thinking is that these goals can be accomplished more by how the time is structured, rules and guidelines, instruction, questions to ask etc.

I would really like to know what YOU think I could do to "add to", create space for, entice, suggest or direct attendees to really go deep into their abilities to help others out.

What things would you tell/suggest people to do in order to get the results I have listed above?

(opinions that I'm "fighting a losing battle" or "crazy to think I could get the results I want", also welcome - every bit of opinion and advice helps me create the best results)

Feedback is, by the way, is the only way we can understand and know how to correct mistakes and get better... even if it makes us cry.

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7 Bizniks have posted replies

  • Nancy Juetten
    Posted by Nancy Juetten, Bellevue, Washington | Oct 31, 2008

    The best advice I can offer is to focus intently on the people you meet and really listen to what they have to say and what they are striving to achieve.

    Then, you can be in a good position to share resources, contacts, or other ideas to help the person you are talking to get what she/he wants.

    Listening is so powerful and contributes to how memorable YOU are for having invested the time to really connect and care about someone else.

    The Universe is an amazing place. Set the intention for your event that the right people are going to show up and connect in winning ways, and they will.

    Get seen, heard, and celebrated in your own backyard!
  • Paul McFadden
    Posted by Paul McFadden, Bellevue, Washington | Nov 01, 2008

    Sierrra: I'm attending the upcoming event at Phil Smart Mercedes Benz on the 14th. it's more out of curiosity than anything. If you're planning one after that date, I'm happy to give you feedback based on my experience. Take care.

    Paul

  • Howard Howell
    Posted by Howard Howell, Seattle, Washington | Nov 01, 2008

    Sierra... RE advice for this event... Much of the time spent in an individual in-person network engagement is spent on a dialogue with non-aligned objectives. If you can facilitate a group exercise that produces individual "ah ha moments", you will succeed in your goal.

    I would suggest you create an exercise that puts a group of 2-4 people together and clearly defines who are the listeners and who is the speaker. The speaker being the one seeking the help. (Maybe even use a visual aid like a paper hat so that every one knows the role they are playing during that segment of time.) A rule could be that listener's can ONLY offer advice when they speak.

    Roles and groupings should rotate with some kind of timed signal and some kind of "random" decision process that mixes up people that they would not have chosen themselves and that decides the role they are serving in for that period.

    I will be there to experience your event and regardless of weather you like my suggestion or not, I'm sure you will have a GREAT event.

    In my humble opinion ...Howard

    Helping YOU Sell YOUR Expertise
  • Sierra Faye Kennedy LMP
    Posted by Sierra Faye Kennedy LMP, Seattle, Washington | Nov 08, 2008

    OK! so this would be a post to update everyone on the wildly successful event we had this last thursday!

    The numbers were good and so was the experience.

    There were still a ton of people in serious conversation by the time I left at 915 pm. whoa!

    The gist of the success was this: the mingle was intense, the conversation was directed and focused and ripe with ideas, sharing and creation!

    As a group we were able to work out some bugs in the way it was run so that the next one will be smoother and more on track.
    On the individual level - people were helped in deeper ways. What does that mean? It means that I observed people learning new ways to get what they need for their businesses that had not occurred to them before.

    I observed people being more receptive to other people's suggestions.

    I also observed more people being willing to explain things in greater detail to an attentive audience than I usually see at most networking things.

    This really was like Networking on steroids.

    Howard was there and I saw him shine like a new penny because his wealth of experience and knowledge got to be tapped by so many willing listeners.

    I saw many eyes light up with new ideas and avenues that solved their business problems thru the evening.

    It was awesome!

    I will hold another one with Jacob at Arcania for sure.

    I would love to hear what any of the attendees thought of the experience.

    For those that did not attend, this was it: http://biznik.com/events/contribution-networking-give-so-you-may-receive

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  • Jessie Upp, M.S.
    Posted by Jessie Upp, M.S., Edmonds, Washington | Nov 08, 2008

    I applaud you, Sierra, for taking the stand to create a space for debriefing with the group.

    I think this created the necessary fire to open people up - and the idea of going around the room to express wants/needs in a nutshell was fabulous!!

    ~j

  • David Krafchick
    Posted by David Krafchick, Seattle, Washington | Nov 09, 2008

    I agree and I may have found a couple people to help me. What's the oldest chestnut - give and you will receive. Absolutely. See you next time.

  • Mara Applebaum, PhD
    Posted by Mara Applebaum, PhD, Seattle, Washington | Nov 14, 2008

    Sierra, I look forward to another contribution event. This is a great idea. I do hope you do this again. I agree with Howard ... a bit more structure and focus might make it even easier to help people.

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