ATD-Orange County returned from a summer break refreshed and ready to network!

The in-person location at OCTA’s Santa Ana offices provided our 20+ registrants with an opportunity to meet and greet in person, a welcome shift from our increasingly online social environment.

But it wasn’t two hours of talking about training and development. The opening session prompted participants to think about topics they were either curious about or could wax on about, with the caveat that neither topic could be work or AI-related.  

Participants loved how the event was BOTH open networking AND a guided facilitation. “Most events are one or the other, so combining both worked really well,” said facilitator Lola Ivy.  Multiple participants also commented that the opening networking “made them feel less awkward because they had something to talk about that was not just work-related.”

“This was a really great event, one that brought both new and familiar faces. The new attendees obviously expected to meet new talent development professionals, the familiar looking forward to sharing information with old and new friends.” shared Chapter President Cyndi Nagel.

Or, as facilitator Lola Ivy would have described it, a mix of macro-community and “the wild.” Each of us has a network that consists of:

• A micro-community — friends, family, neighbors, co-workers

• A macro-community — clients, acquaintances, lost ties, quite a few members of your LInkedIn network

• The “wild” — people you meet at networking events, conferences, meetings, and the rest of LinkedIn

It’s networking in “the wild” that facilitator Lola Ivy addressed. How do we convert those people we meet in “the wild” into members of our macro- and micro-communities? Lola proposed that we do so by removing the transactional nature of networking that we’re accustomed to and creating authentic connections.

With three rounds of structured networking practice, attendees quickly established their own macro-community as they practiced applying authentic openers, authentic questions, and authentic listening with each other. The formal event ended at around 7:45 PM, but everyone wanted to keep hanging out and chatting well after the program ended.

“We all learned something about networking thanks to Lola’s great tips. I especially loved the tips on sharing more personal interests. I’m already looking forward to the next one.”  Cyndi added.

Kesha Thomas Clark some of her take-aways from the event. “I will be more intentional about thinking of questions to ask ahead of time. I think this will help me feel less anxious and to also have some talking points/thoughts prepared in advance to share at future networking events.”  
Kesha posted her own thoughts about the networking event, here.

Given the enthusiastic response, ATD-Orange County plans to lead with open networking at future in-person events — because sometimes the best professional development starts with a conversation that has nothing to do with work. If this kind of connection is what you've been missing, don't wait for the next recap to land in your inbox. Check out our Event Calendar to find the next MLE and save your seat.