Five Ways to Feel More Comfortable at Virtual Networking Events
If you run your own business, you have enough stress in your life. So why court even more stress when you participate in an increasingly popular venue for introductions and relationship building — virtual networking events?
When you attend virtual networking events, remember…
First, that it’s not an in-person event where everyone will see you stand up to address the room or — gasp! — walk up to a podium and then back to your seat.
And second, you are always in control of your time and, therefore, your destiny. If someone is being rude or too salesy in a breakout room, you can always leave the room. The same goes for leaving the main room if you don’t like the vibe (where you can hit the “Leave Event” button).
With the goal of maximum comfort while you dedicate your precious time to virtual events, here are five ways to stay calm and collected:
Reduce the Zoom app (or whatever app your event uses) screen size. With less screen real estate used for your event, the stakes seem smaller. A few days ago I shared a video on my LinkedIn profile about this that provides more context; check it out here.
Say a calming mantra to yourself in your mind — a word or short phrase. I use “Calm, Mark” and “Stay calm.” If you have a favorite color, you could tie it to that. For example, my favorite color is blue, so I sometimes think “blue” or “ocean.” In terms of using this at a virtual event, I find this is my go-to in cases where the host asks all attendees to answer the same question, where I know I’m coming up to speak after a certain number of attendees go before me. I don’t always feel nervous in this case, but when I do, this is my trick to staying loose. I talk more about this in this video on LinkedIn.
Massage your hands. There are several points in your hands that tie to stress relief throughout your body. And because you can set up your camera frame so that the bottom cuts off before attendees see your forearms and hands, you can easily do this while listening or even talking. In this LinkedIn video, I share the way I like to do this.
Keep your feet bare (don’t wear socks or shoes), and feel the coolness of your office floor or floor mat. If your bare feet are on a carpet, consider purchasing a floor-based foot massager. Even one with no hot or cold functions can be a great help as long as it has a cool surface and nodules or ridges.
Tell yourself, “I’m not hunting for sales right now.” Knowing that you're just having conversations with people — learning more about your industry and other industries, and starting to build relationships that will pay off over the long term — takes the pressure off for your current event to yield an immediate ROI for your time.
If you want to get even more out of virtual networking…
Check out our Virtual Networking 2 Leads System. This DIY system helps service business owners and solopreneurs build a pipeline of leads from LinkedIn ➡️ virtual networking events ➡️ 1:1 calls added to your calendar and your leads spreadsheet or CRM.
We also offer a free list of top virtual networking events for business leads, which you can access here.
