Happy Saturday to all the mothers out there!
In honor of Mother's Day this weekend, I want to share why I believe mothers make the best networkers.
This issue is dedicated to my mother, Ann, and to my wife and the mother of my children, Sarah.
This post takes less than 3 minutes to read.
As someone who has spent a lot of time networking, I’ve come to realize mothers have a unique set of qualities that make them experts at networking.
In this issue, I'll be highlighting three of those qualities. I’ll also explain why they make mothers the best networkers and what you can learn from them.
Mothers Are The Best Listeners
One of the qualities that I have noticed in mothers is their listening skills.
Mothers have a unique ability to really hear what their children and family members are saying.
This quality is especially important in networking because when you're meeting someone for the first time, one of the most important things you can do is listen.
Too often, people get wrapped up in what they're going to say during a networking conversation. They worry about coming across as interesting or impressive.
However, as I explained in TIN #003 - What To Say In A Networking Conversation, the key to building a strong relationship with a new connection is listening to the other person.
When you listen to someone, it shows you value their opinion and you care about what they say.
Mothers are usually very easy to talk to because they take the time to listen to what the other person is saying.
When you're networking, it's important to remember this and always focus on listening first.
Let the other person do the talking. All you need to do is ask questions to guide the conversation. This helps you learn more about them and it also helps them feel like you're a great person to talk to.
Mothers Love To Give
The second quality that makes mothers great networkers is their tendency to give.
Mothers love to give to their families and children, and this trait is something that they carry into their networking efforts as well.
When you're networking, it's important to remember to give to the other person first.
When you give to someone, it shows you value them and you care about their success.
When you think about your mother and how much she's given to your life, you naturally always want to try to do something to help her out or to make her happy.
When you're networking, always think about what you can give to the other person. Way back in TIN #004 - How To Make Networking Feel Good I talked about giving to make networking feel less awkward.
When you do this, it builds trust and it makes the other person more likely to want to give back to you.
So next time you’re networking, remember your mother and focus on giving to the other person first.
Mothers Have Lots Of Connections
The last quality that makes mothers great networkers is all the different types of people they know.
Mothers typically have lots of different people in their lives that they interact with, such as family members, friends, coworkers, and other parents.
All of these different connections give mothers a lot of different people that they can connect with, listen to, and help out.
Mothers are adept at hearing what people are working on in different groups of connections and are able to put those people together to make the network stronger.
When you're building your own network, it's important to think about how you can meet people from different parts of your life and connect them.
This will help you create a diverse network that is stronger and more effective.
Remember Mom
Mothers make the best networkers because of their ability to listen, their love for giving, and their diversity of connections.
If you're looking to improve your own networking skills, try to emulate these qualities and focus on giving to the other person first.
If you're not a mother, don't worry.
I will be doing an issue in June about what makes fathers great networkers.
If you have any suggestions or ideas for that issue, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.
Weekly Share
Each week, I try to find new things to share with you.
This week, I found a great post by Austin Belcak on LinkedIn.
Austin calls it the Advice Triangle, and it’s a great way to get people you don’t know to respond to your LinkedIn messages.
Check it out!
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.
And to everyone else,
CALL YOUR MOTHER!