Today I went to a CPAFE meeting for the first time. It stands for the Central Pennsylvania Association of Female Executives. They meet early in the morning and this is the first time in my life my childrens’ schedules allowed me to be out of the house at 7:15 a.m.

As a guest, I had to stand up and introduce myself. No big deal. No big deal?? A year ago, I would have stumbled all over myself and my hands would have been shaking. Networking is like any skill…if you work on it, it improves over time. I have no problem now walking into a room full of people, scouting out someone who looks approachable and asking if I can sit next to them, introduce myself, etc. I have to admit, I’m very proud of myself.

For the first time in my life, I experienced speed networking. What an experience, we did this with 3 people, and each had a minute to speak. For 2 out of the 3 people I talked to, I could have had a conversation with them for a much longer time period because of complementary career fields (one was an account exec. for a Woman’s Business magazine and the other was a professional coach.). I guess leaving “wanting more” is better than running out of things to talk about though. I got both of these ladies cards and emailed them after the meeting.

Tomorrow I’m going to a BOUNCE business expo and hope to meet a whole bunch of new people. That’s a fun, energetic group.

Online networking is good, but nothing can replace being in a roomful of live people, especially when you work virtually 95% of the time.

Until next time….