7 Ways to Network through Podcasts. How I Did It Without Even Realizing.
I have a long commute (drive for all the British/Aussie readers out there) to work each day. All up it takes me around 1 hour each way from San Jose to San Bruno on the 280 in California. I sharn’t dare go on the 101 — but that’s for another story….
During this 1 hour I like to listen to Podcasts, here’s a list of my favs:
1. Love + Radio
2. Serial
5. Hidden Brain
7. Foundr (sometimes….)
If you know of any of the above podcasts, they’re mostly human interest pieces, whether it’s how Bowe Bergdahl decided to walk off his post in Afghanistan (Serial), or the stroke that Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor experienced that opened up pathways to the brain that we’d never thought possible (Love + Radio).
So how did I go from auditory voyeurist to actual connection, well my friends, here goes my story:
I was listening to this episode of Love and Radio (clickable pic):
I loved it so much that I tweeted to Sam (see my tweet here, another clickable pic):
Sam responded, and then we set up a time to chat. Whilst chatting Sam told me that he’s looking to create a movie about his life, and maybe I knew some folks in the business considering I’m in California.
Alas, I didn’t know any folks — but I did know the next best thing:
Albert started this group and it has grown rapidly in size, it’s for people to connect and network in the Silicon Valley area. So I posted in the group and Albert suggested that I connect with the one and only:
I met with Mark and discussed Sam’s story, from here Mark invited me to his networking event that he holds regularly:
Here at this event I met Anthony Lee who was intrigued about the non-profit that I worked for and offered to help propel us to gain better traction with our messaging through his program called:
Anthony then invited me to the Wisdom 2.0 conference that looks at how technology can be integrated with the human condition and how we can be more aware of how we can integrate technology to enhance our lives. This conference is 17–19 February 2017 in San Francisco.
The journey has come to a comma (not a full stop as described by coldplay below), stay tuned for what’s next….
Key takeaways to network on podcasts:
1. If you like something that you heard — tell that person, we’re at an age now where the separation is at 4 degrees and not 6 — why not use it to your advantage.
2. Don’t let fear hold you back! Fear is the #1 killer of networking, often people think “oh, I’m not rich/popular/intelligent/pretty enough to talk with that person” — summon your courage and just do it! What’s the worst thing that could happen? You get knocked back — check out all these folks that got rejected:
They got up and dusted their shoes off! You can too!
3. Utilize your social networks:
Twitter: professionals/quick tweets and shares
Instagram: creative types/photography/recommendations (travel, clothing, fitness, food etc.)
Facebook: building connections, can have in-depth conversations, your connections can see what you’re doing on a day to day basis and comment.
4. Keep up your relationships, even if it’s a quick birthday wish on Facebook, or you saw a picture on Instagram and thought of someone — tag them! People love to be thought of, why not make someone feel warm and fuzzy?
5. Chase up on the recommendations from your connections. If I had just stuck with only talking to Sam, I’d never have ended up meeting Anthony and helping the non-profit I work for in the meantime. People are like diamonds, treat them that way.
6. Expect the unexpected. By keeping my mind open to possibilities I was able to grow personally and professionally, learning from these wonderful folks that have come and added to my life.
7. Listen to podcasts. This is pretty self-explanatory.
I’m still connected with all these fine folks above, as a matter of fact, I had drinks with Albert recently, wished Sam happy birthday on his Facebook wall and connected with Anthony regarding a job change.
I’d love to connect with you and hear your views you can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and many other social media sites.
It would also be a huge compliment for me if you shared this article (you’d make me feel warm and fuzzy).
