One at the launch of the new integrated childrens’ and young peoples’ service in Trafford and the other at our latest IoD event at McCann Erickson in Prestbury.
I’d like to write more about both of those in a later post, and for now I want to comment on the contrast between my experience of the IoD event at McCann’s, which I got to chair, and one of the very first networking events I attended.
I still find it quite nerve-wracking to stand up in front of a room full of people, especially when you’re being listened to by the communications wizards at somewhere like McCanns. But I believe that it’s possible to make a real difference for business and business-people in my region, simply by getting people together in this way, creating something inspirational and helping them feel comfortable there. If I can remember that, then it’s usually enough now to banish any nerves I have as I step on the stage with a mic in my hands.
Compare that with how I remember feeling at one of the very first networking events I went to when I started coaching around 10 years ago. We met in the oak-panelled boardroom of a large company for coffee, pastries, chat and the usual powerpoint from the host company. Obviously I’d been to meetings like this before - but never because I was trying to get my own business going completely from scratch, and that just had me feeling as nervous as a bag of cats.
About halfway through the mingle, my nerves and the coffee sent me off to the toilet and, on the way back, I took a wrong turn. Somehow, instead of being back in the boardroom, I ended up in the atrium right next to the carpark. I was so nervous and embarrassed about getting lost that instead of finding my way back and finishing my danish I went out the fire exit, jumped in the car and drove home!
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