Event Networking – Tips for Lawyers
I’ve had several conversations recently with my clients and other lawyers focused on event networking challenges. That was a cue to post again about tips to improve your skills and comfort level with networking at events. If you go with a purpose and a plan, you’ll make the most of your next event, including enjoying it.
Before you go:
- Identify the returns before you go. Knowing what you want and why you are there will motivate you to make the most of the event. Are you looking for advice? Do you want to meet new people? Maybe you just want to have fun. That is okay, too.
- Practice your self-introduction. Incorporate energy, enthusiasm, examples.
- Read up on the day’s news. Starting a conversation can be as easy as saying something about the event or the facility or asking what drew the other person to the event.
- Put your business cards in your suit pocket or outer pocket of your purse. Keep cards in your car in case you forget to put them in your suit or purse, or in case you attend an event on the spur of the moment.
Arrive Early:
- Scan the nametags on the registration table. Look for names of people or companies you would like to meet or might help.
- Meet the organizers and hosts, including the people behind the registration table. Ask and listen to what they want to accomplish with the event. Consider how you can help it be a success.
- Put your name tag on your right lapel or where that lapel would be. This makes it easier for people to read as they extend their hand.
- Meet other people as they arrive, before they start breaking into groups. This tactic helps you avoid being in a room where everyone is already talking to someone else.
During the Event:
1. Focus on others instead of on yourself. Try one of the following.
–Be gracious and act like you are a host. Approach those standing alone. Rescue them and they will be grateful.
–Connect people with others in the room.
–Have energetic conversations. Ask questions to engage people in something that interests them. “How did you get started in your business? How would I know if I am speaking to a potential client of yours? What is your biggest challenge?”
–Listen well. Two ears, one mouth–listen twice as much as you speak.
-Smile and say hello to people, even in passing, while acting as confidently as you can as if you know them. (Haven’t you ever walked down the street or into a restaurant with someone who enjoys smiling and greeting people they see? They are so often greeted the same way in return, their positive attitude is a pleasure to be around, and pretty soon they do know a lot more people….)
2. If no one is standing alone, look for groups of 3 or more.
-People tend to pair up. A group with an odd number can be easier to join.
–Look for a group where people are laughing. Join after the laughter or during a break in the conversation. “This looks like a fun group, do you mind if I join you?”
–Does someone appear unengaged in the conversation? Introduce yourself to that person.
–If you feel uncomfortable, move on and find ways to help other people.
3. Start conversations with people while in line for the bar or food.
4. Spend time getting to know new people. You can talk with your friends and colleagues another time. Keep in mind your purposes for attending the event.
5. Get the business cards of the people with whom you feel a strong connection. Again, keep in mind your purposes for attending. You do not have to get cards from everyone.
6. To end a conversation and move on, say something like “Thank you, I’ve enjoyed talking with you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.” Then move purposefully away. (Yes, this is hard and it takes practice! Watch how others do it and notice what you think works well.)
After the Event
- Congratulate yourself for going, for arriving early and for whatever else you did well.
- Consider what you can do differently next time.
- Record notes and contact information for those people with whom you felt a connection. Follow up with them in timely, appropriate ways. Sending a LinkedIn request a day or two later, with a personal note, might be a very easy way to establish a connection and path for following up in the near future.
Walking into a room full of strangers, most of whom are already talking to someone else is hard. I know, I’ve been there. Ending a conversation and moving on is hard as well, sometimes very hard. Practice, practice, practice. Aim for progress, not perfection.
I’m off to a lawyer event tonight. Fortunately I’ll know most of the people there but I still have to aim for progress.
Refresher for Job Applicants – 3 key tips
Three job search tips jumped out at me from Jay Goltz’s article on tips for job applicants in yesterday’s New York Times. They are critical to setting yourself apart, yet I know they are commonly overlooked by lawyers and law students seeking their first or next job. Doesn’t that sound like an opportunity?
“7. Think about things you have done in school, in a previous job, in a volunteer position that speak to your commitment, your ability to solve problems, your ability to deal with difficult customer situations, your ability to get a job done. Work it into your résumé and your interview responses.
8. Ask questions, especially when interviewers ask if you have any questions. If you don’t, you look unengaged, afraid or uninterested. And make them good questions about what you’ll be doing on the job. Don’t ask how much vacation time you get. The primary goal of the questions you ask is to get the job, not to decide if you want the job. [emphasis supplied] * * *
10. Stay in touch. If you get to be a finalist for a position but don’t get it, suck it up. Don’t take it personally. The company clearly liked you, but you were edged out. It is not easy to pick between finalists, and many times it is very close. Ask if you can stay in touch. If you get an enthusiastic yes, be sure to do so. There is a good chance that the new hire won’t work out or that another position will open up. You are close!”
If you, or someone you know, want to make changes now for a more effective job search, please contact me to start coaching.
Practical Pointers on Everyday Persuasion – Part 2
2. Appeal to Their Interests, Values and Needs.
When trying to persuade someone, consider that person’s interests, values and needs. Stand in her shoes and see the subject from that point of view. Listen to and respect the other person. Then tailor your comments to appeal to her interests and needs, and so she sees the benefit to herself. Demonstrate how she will benefit. Provide real life examples.
Sales people and young children do this all the time. They align their position with the other person’s interests, appeal to what is important to her, and then communicate clearly and with compelling evidence how the matter is advantageous for her.
Sales people make small talk with a customer and then say something like “I can see quality is important to you” or “this vehicle has all the features a growing family like yours will need.” Many young children are very skilled at persuading their parents by appealing to their parents’ interest in avoiding a public scene.
To persuade your boss to give you a certain matter to handle, consider his concerns and what is important to him. Figure out how giving you the matter aligns with his interests and how it benefits him. Communicate clearly and provide evidence of your readiness and a plan that eliminates his concerns.
When persuading my colleagues to be guinea pigs in the e-newsletter, I appealed to their interests in marketing their legal services in a unique, personal way. Knowing that time is precious, I also made it very easy for them. Similarly, to persuade new members to join the association, we are focused on demonstrating how we meet their interests and needs.
3. Whose Idea
A last bit of advice comes from lawyers who are excellent brief writers. They advise new lawyers to let the judge follow the bread crumbs. Don’t force the conclusion on the judge. When you seek to persuade, let the other person think the idea was his.
If you are ready for coaching to help you get what you want in your career, please contact me.
Practical Pointers on Everyday Persuasion – Part 1
Maybe you want to convince your boss to give you greater independence on a case or project. Perhaps you have to recruit new members for your organization. Today you might be trying to convince a judge. Tomorrow you might need to convince someone to change their behavior, give you a raise, buy something or support a cause.
We encounter situations daily in which we are trying to persuade someone else to hold a certain belief or act a certain way or in which someone is similarly trying to persuade us.
Instead of trying to win an argument or force something on someone, what can you do to polish your power of persuasion for these daily encounters?
Much has been written about the art of persuasion, including Dale Carnegie’s 1936 classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. If you have not read it, I recommend this little old book. But if your time is limited, here are a few pointers on everyday persuasion.
1. Trust and Credibility
I may sound like a broken record but people do business with people they know, like and trust. We use doctors, babysitters and hair dressers with whom we have experience or who are recommended to us because someone else we trust knows, likes and trusts them. We patronize franchises and buy brand name products because we know what to expect. They have credibility in our eyes.
Similarly, your relationships with the people you seek to persuade also play a key role in your ability to persuade them. The more trust and credibility you have with them, the easier it is to persuade them. Moreover, you may have found that you personally are more easily persuaded by people you like.
Therefore, even in brief persuasion encounters, try to establish trust as well as credibility and be positive, likeable, confident. Of course, this includes being sincere and knowledgeable about your subject.
You can use subconscious persuasion techniques like mirroring the person’s body language, getting them nodding, using reciprocity, or over-asking and making your second request the real one. But without trust and credibility, these techniques won’t get you far in winning someone over or inducing a particular action.
For example, without an underlying relationship built on trust and credibility, I never could have persuaded three members in my bar association to be guinea pigs in a new e-newsletter last month. They agreed to be the first featured members, in part, because they trusted that the association and I would produce a quality publication.
Part 2 tomorrow.
Should Lawyers Have a Personal Brand?
Until I facilitated and spoke about branding at two different lawyer events last week, I wasn’t convinced the word “brand” was a relevant concept for lawyers. I didn’t even think it worked very well for law firms. While the word reputation seemed more accessible, brand seemed a very amorphous concept that marketing consultants push, with law firms re-branding by changing their logo, colors, tag line and web design. Working through preparation and discussions last week, however, persuaded me that the concept of a “brand” has relevance and value for lawyers.
Brand and branding have hundreds of different definitions. It’s easiest for me to think of a brand as the essence or promise of what will be delivered or experienced.
Consistency
Lawyers shoud have a personal brand in the sense that you should figure out what the consistent experiences and expectations are that people have with you as a lawyer and what you want them to be. Ideally you want them aligned.
Lawyers don’t need to have a personal brand in the sense of something you describe to someone else. You don’t have to be able to tell a prospective client your “brand identity.” It isn’t a question people ask each other.
For example, Nike doesn’t say action, athleticism, performance, excellence and success are its brand. But those are words that capture the essence of Nike athletic apparel and the image that Nike conveys in its marketing. By making sure that its products live up to this image, Nike maintains its brand and the consumer knows what he or she will receive every single time he or she purchases a Nike product.
Capture the Essence
Like Nike, Apple or McDonald’s, consider what words capture the essence of you as a lawyer and the consistent experience you want people to have with you as their lawyer. Those words won’t necessarily appear in your tag line, elevator speech, website bio, LinkedIn profile, introductions when you speak or author notes when you write an article. But self-reflection will better focus you on your strengths and core values as a lawyer, the services you offer, your reputation, image, style, real interests and fit with your best clients. You will have more clarity on who you are as a lawyer and the consistent experience you provide for your clients.
The Compelling You
With this clarity you can create a more compelling website or website bio instead of using the same buzz words as every other law firm. You can rework your self-introduction to sound more like you. You can write a better personal business plan for 2012 or speak more confidently and directly during your next evaluation.
The clarity and focus will help because you will realize what you do well, what is important to you, how you connect with your clients and colleagues and why they keep coming back to you.
After you identify your brand, you can build brand awareness by raising your visibility and name recognition. Become known by your target market and potential referral sources for the consistency of the services and experiences you provide.
Results
Getting focused and clear on your brand helps you attract more business, advance professionally and have more control over your day, practice and career. Regardless of whether you are in a law firm, corporation, government or elsewhere, a new lawyer or an experienced one, identifying your brand is time well spent.
If you are ready for coaching on branding, please contact me.
One Innovative Campaign to Get a Job….
Actions speak louder than words. This young woman put her social media skills into action in her bid to land a job as the University of Michigan’s first Director of Social Media.
Public Speaking Tips From Recent Lawyer Meetings
Last week at state bar annual meeting events I observed lawyers as public speakers in various roles and thought about a few tips that go beyond being prepared, varying your pace, making eye contact, etc. It was a good wake up call for me as a frequent public speaker.
Regardless of whether you are introducing a speaker, running a meeting, giving a report, interjecting in a forum, presenting an award, receiving an award or giving the key note address, remember this bottom line:
- Be respectful of your audience’s time and interest. Know why they are there and what they want to hear. Know what is most valuable to them and present it. Don’t overstay your welcome.For example:
- Have humility.
- Don’t fall in love with the microphone. Leave your audience wanting more.
- Don’t say I’ll be brief. Just BE brief.
- Bonus tip: if you are going to refer to someone previously at the podium, make a note of his or her name and use it. Project the image of a good listener.If you would like coaching to help you improve as a public speaker, please contact me.
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Inside Look At One Prosecutor’s Life
For those of you interested in becoming a prosecutor, here is an interesting profile of a very experienced female prosecutor in Washtenaw County, MI.
Dianna Collins, Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor
Written by Frank Weir of the Washtenaw County Legal News and published August 18, 2011.
For law students and new grads, remember you have to be ready to answer: Why did you decide to go to law school? Why do you want to be a [trial lawyer][prosecutor][employment lawyer]…?
Tips 2 & 3 on Doing Things Differently
2. Take responsibility for your practice and career.
Many lawyers in firms see themselves as “service partners” working on other partners’ clients without any control over or time for the development of their own practice. It is a self-perpetuating reality until they take big steps to change it.
One partner finally realized it was up to her to assert herself and act more like an owner than an associate. She knew if she wanted to take her practice in a particular direction, she had to put a plan together and get started. She did. Result: her senior partners noticed and initiated the discussion about supporting a workable plan.
A partner at another firm wanted to develop his own book of business but needed time for it. He set parameters for the scope of his involvement on other partners’ matters, managed his time better and let his partners know he was developing a niche. Result: he is steadily building a book of business through referrals and presentations and doing more of the sophisticated work he likes.
3. Timing is rarely right.
“The economy is bad right now.” “My kids are little.” “My parents need me.” “Work is crazy lately.” “Maybe when things slow down a bit.” “We want to have another child.”
Face it, timing is rarely right. When was the last time you thought “this is a good time to ….?”
Stop waiting for the perfect time. Marketing/business development, time management and career management are never ending processes. Name your fear(s) and make a list of what you will give up if you don’t take action now. People have done it and you can too.
Please contact me if you are ready to start.