Summary: I’m running a training course with Helga Henry at Fierce Earth. Booking details here.
In 2009 Helga Henry and I ran an Arts Council sponsored training program called Metapod Connect designed to help arts organisations get to grips with the social media phenomena that was sweeping the nation. Feedback was good and we were green-lit to run a sequel, but we knew we couldn’t just roll out the same course again. What was new and strange back then was rapidly becoming commonplace and similar programmes are offered by development agencies as a matter of course.
So Helga and I had numerous meetings over the year trying to figure out how to approach this. It had to be useful, it had to be somewhat unique and, most importantly, it couldn’t be a solution looking for a problem.
Finally it hit us. Helga has done lots of training on networking and client building, helping shy arty types walk into a room of strangers armed only with a business card. She takes the “make that sale!” tools, strips out the obnoxious stuff and humanises it. I was speaking at a course of hers where she was breaking down how to stay on top of a conversation with a stranger and I was impressed but also intrigued.
Because what Helga does with talking to strangers face to face, I do with engaging socially online. Whenever I do a training session a significant part of it is demystifying and explaining. People have a rabbit in the headlights reaction to a understanding the Internet, thinking it all looks like this:
And people have the same reaction to networking events which they think are full of people like this:
What we realised was we’re both working on the same thing – helping people to connect with other people – just in different circumstances. And since my big schtick has always been explaining online in terms of offline, the reasoning being it’s all just people communicating, it could be very interesting to combine the two.
So that’s what we’re going to do.
We’ll start off looking at networks and understanding how they work. What does it mean to have Twitter followers or Facebook likes? What does Helga mean when she talks about Brokers, Connectors, Champions and Mentors?
Then we’ll move on to look a networking processes. I’ll do the Social Internet 101 followed by Helga’s application of “steps to a sale” and mapping of conversation to getting results from a meeting.
The participants will then go away with some homework, returning in a month to apply these ideas to grow and mature their networks. We’ll look at some real world examples and break them down into practical strategies.
And then, finally, we’ll deal with management. How can busy people find the time to go to meet strangers or write blog posts? How can you be sure you’re investing that time effectively?
While we hope that alone is worth people’s time, what we hope will make this more than yetanothertrainingprogram will be the roles Helga and I will play. We have a lot to learn from each other. I’m terrible at selling myself in a meeting (I still, after four years, can’t answer the “what do you do” question succinctly) and get the sweats in a room of strangers. Helga knows the importance of all this digital stuff but will be the first to admit she’s approaching it with boxing gloves on. We’re very different people with very different ways of dealing with the world and we’re hoping this dynamic will keep things grounded and bring everyone along for the ride.
I will, no doubt, be writing more about it as the month progresses. In the meanwhile for the nitty gritty details please read Helga’s post or contact her at Fierce Earth:
helga@fierceearth.com
T: 0121 212 0440