Index of

Notes From the Field
In the Spotlight, Under the Microscope
I was the lead presenter at a three-day conference. My highly interactive
sessions required enormous focus and energy. Th e conference
was a great success, with uniformly positive feedback. However, I
failed to pace myself between sessions; instead, I was constantly dashing
from event to obligation and back again.
A couple of weeks later, I was surprised by the phone call I received from my client.
She said a participant had told her she believed that I thought I was above it all. Th e participant
said that when she had approached me to talk after a session—an encounter I
didn’t recall—I “blew her off .” My client knew me well enough to interpret the misunderstanding,
but I defi nitely appreciated getting the information.
Th e interaction, I was told, had taken place after the concluding program on the fi nal
day. I remember I was wiped out and prepared to dash to the privacy of my suite. I can
imagine conveying a nearly complete lack of presence at that point. In my mind I was
already out the door.
What I learned, and off er as advice to introverted presenters, is this: protect your
I-time—yet when you are still in the limelight, maintain your presence of mind along
with your presence. An unintended off ense can become impossible to undo later.
Pacing is not an optional luxury—it is a necessary component of a successful strategy.
An extrovert described herself to me by saying, “I’m a joiner.” Precisely
the opposite of how I would describe myself—and we got along
great. Increased understanding leads to increased appreciation of our
own opposites.
In the chapters ahead, we will apply the concepts of pause, process,
and pace to diverse networking situations—including (coming right
up) networking events, job searches, business trips, and running your
own events.
58 NETWORKING FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE NETWORKING