So you have your elevator pitch prepared, you have rehearsed this with friends, and you are now about to enter the room:

Tip No. 4 – Remember your posture!  Take a deep breath and stand tall, head high and enter the room confidently with a smile.  Personally, I usually nip to the rest room first and then get myself in a positive, confident frame.  Visualise yourself walking in, meeting interesting and friendly people, and remember to breathe!

Tip No. 5 – Rember to have a hand free to greet people with – this may sound obvious, but think about how you will juggle any bags or papers you have with you, glass or cup, even a plate of food.

Tip No. 6 – If you are introducing others to a new arrival, don’t just say their name and their job or who they work with, make it personal, ‘this is Claire, she does an amazing job of being a Mum to Tom and Alicia, as well as working full time for XYZ company’

Tip No 7 – Remember your manners and keep eye contact with the person you are talking to.  When someone tells you their name, repeat it back to them.  Everyone likes to hear their name mentioned, and this will help you to remember the name also

Tip No 8 – Approach small groups and look for people who are standing in an open, accessible grouping.  You will see some close-knit groups who form a tight circle, this is a sign that they do not want to be disturbed – best to wait awhile and see if the circle opens out before you approach them.  Stay between 3 – 7 minutes and then move on.

Last 2 tips to follow and these will be on the topic of Business Cards, and the importance of Follow-up.

Many people feel daunted by the prospect of  ‘Networking’, but in reality it is something which everyone can do, and need not be frightening at all!

For now I’d like to focus on the networking events – those events which are meant to be opportunities for you to develop new business contacts for business or personal connections.

As a keen networker I have been to probably hundreds of events and have summarised the first 3 of my  ‘Top Ten Tips’ below:

1. Be clear on your PURPOSE - and in my view this is not to sell! I’ve talked to networking groups and asked everyone who is there to sell their products or services to raise their hands.  Usually the majority of hands in the room go up.  Then I ask ‘who has come here to be sold to?’, surprise, surprise, hardly anyone’s hand goes up.  So take the pressure off of yourself and set your objectives as being more along the lines of ‘identifying contacts in the xyz industry’ or ’someone with expertise in …’

Remember that people really only do business with those they know, like and trust – which all takes time.

2.         Do your homework on who will be there.  Most events publish lists of attendees, or have websites which show the names of the members of the group.  Now you are clear on your purpose for attending, you can be more selective about who you will want to meet and spend time with.

3.         Have a clear ‘Elevator Pitch’ – this comes from the notion that if we were stuck in an elevator with someone who asks ‘what is it that you do?’ we would have a clear explanation to give in the time it takes for the lift to travel a few floors – about 3 mins is the usual time allocated.   So in just 3 mins, what are the key points to come across?  A simple struture might be:

“my name is………… and my company is…………………..we help people to achieve ……….  So who do you know who has problems with…….’

There are many variations on this structure, but the purpose is to help people you meet to be clear about who are your best contacts, and what are the problem areas you can help alleviate.  If you keep in mind that the people you are meeting are not necessarily your end user, but they could well be introducers or advocates for your services, then you need to provide enough information in a short period of time to help them to help you.

So, these are my top 3 tips – the hardest of which is getting that elevator pitch right! The key is to practice, practice, practice.  Try recording yourself first, and then sign up for the next available networking event and put it into practice with some friends.  Ask for their feedback, after you’ve told them what you do, can they think of 3 people it would be useful to connect you with?

Have fun!

I am very pleased to have been invited to become one of the core team members of this new network.  So far we have had a ’soft launch’ of the group, holding 2 ‘After work’  networking events in May and June which attracted over 50 women to each!  If you are a women living in Qatar, and whether you are employed professionally or employed in the home and want to network with other professional women, then please look out for news of future events on the LinkedIn or Facebook Group.

Further details below:

Qatar Professional Women’s Network (QPWN) is an informal networking group for Qatari and expatriate professional women. QPWN was launched by Christina Zini, with support from several other expatriate women living in Doha.

QPWN aims to support the development of future women leaders and contribute to the sustainability of the local community by:

• Helping its members expand their networks
• Refine their professional capabilities, and
• Benefit from cross-cultural sharing.

QPWN is open to any woman regardless of nationality, profession, age, or educational background, including students, freelancers and part-time workers. Women who are currently not working outside the home and would like to maintain their professional network and skills are also welcome to join QPWN.

QPWN offers regular events, which include networking, keynote speakers and panel discussions. Participation in QPWN events is on a pay-by-event basis (no membership fees), and is supported purely by volunteers’ time and contributions.

To become a member, please email qatarpwn@gmail.com, or become a fan of Qatar Professional Women’s Network on Facebook and/or Linked In. Membership is restricted to women only.

Last Thursday I was privileged to be asked to be a guest speaker at Qatar’s first participation in ‘World Leadership Day’ Here is what one of the local papers (The Gulf Times) reported:

QF’s role in honing skills hailed on Leadership Day Doha: Qatar celebrated yesterday the World Leadership Day as an annual,
international event to inspire, connect and transform leadership thinking and development across generations, gender and cultures.

On the occasion, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF)’s Doha Debates held an event attended by HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari and a number of other dignitaries.

The event, held at the Education City, was aimed at marking the day and upgrading the level of open discussion and debate among students and young people in Qatar and elsewhere in the region.
Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Debates Dr Hayat Maarafih, in her speech, noted that Qatar Foundation is an appropriate place for building high-skilled leadership not only on the local level but also on the international level.

Qatar was the first country to celebrate the WLD in the Middle East

Everyone had told us about the generosity of the people in the Middle East, and I have been visiting here regularly for over a year and experienced a great deal of this. However, since moving to Doha two months ago, I can honestly say that we have been extremely humbled by the generous and welcoming spirit of the Qatari people and Arabic friends we have made here.

Within my first month I had been invited to become a regular addition to the Thursday evening women’s get together at the home of the Mother of one of my contacts, and I am now treated just as one of the family. They invited me to the wedding of one of the girls and that was the most colourful and again, welcoming experience I have had – I need to write an account of this alone.

We have been invited to fishing trips, meals to meet family and my husband has even been measured for a traditional ‘Thobe’ to be worn when we go to his friend’s house for the Eid celebration.

One Arabic business women I know explained that in Britain we have to get to know someone for a long time before inviting them to our homes, but here it is completely the reverse situation.

I am enjoying exploring the difference – but my waistline is struggling to deal with all the wonderful food!