 |
Suffolk Networking Meeting Format The aim of the Suffolk ecademy club is to provide a place for people who live or work in Suffolk to get connected; to provide a forum for Suffolk people to meet each other, to make new relationships, to support one another, to generate referrals and to create new business opportunities. Note this is a draft meeting format proposed to give the group some structure. Suggestions for alternative formats and tweaks to the proposed are welcome. The meeting has three parts:
Informal Meeting From 7pm we meet for an informal gathering. At some meetings we will meet for snacks at 6.30pm . Penny's is a Tapas restaurant and Penny provides some delightful Tapas for only £5 per head. Cyclical Meeting Format Our cyclical meeting starts at 7.30 and finishes at 8.45. In the middle of the cyclical meeting we pause for a ten minute presentation from a member. We use a unique cyclical meeting format that ensures that everybody gets to meet everybody. You will only have to deliver your two minute presentation at most 6 times and to groups of no more than 6 people. The cyclical table part of the meeting last no longer than 60 minutes. Guidelines on preparing for your two minute presentation are below. Ten Minute Presentation. The ten minute presentation is chosen by the group and a member volunteers to talk on the subject. Topics are chosen at the previous meeting. Overall … ... we aim for our meetings to be fun, lively and productive. Please come prepared with a two minute introduction of yourself and your business and your needs, And of course plenty of business cards! Feel free to bring guests. They do not have to be ecademy members. The Suffolk club, its success - and your success - very much depends on your support. So please come along. Meeting Guidelines
Guidance for Your Two Minute Presentation State what you offer. Be clear on the skills and/or resources that you bring to the party. This will help people understand how you can add value to their business. And what you need . Spend sometime thinking about what skills and resources you are looking for. This will help you identify the people that will add value to your business right now. Focus on the advantage that you provide to the audience or others. Provide real-world examples of what you do for them. Avoid jargon or acronyms specific to you industry. This is terribly easy to do when you work with like-minded people most of the time. Aim your presentation at the average man on the street. If they don't understand it, assume no-one will. Make it entertaining. Your two minutes can be upbeat and entertaining. This will help people to stay focused and to remember you. I once heard an Accountant refer to himself and a “Modern day Robin Hood without the tights”. Make it memorable . Adopt a phrase, rhyme or prop that you always use in your presentation to keep yourself in people's memories. People remember catchy phrases or eye catching props better than names. If you can use something that relates to your industry it will help them remember what you do. It's better to be remembered as the optician with the ‘Biggins' style glasses than ‘Some bloke who spoke about contact lenses'. Time it . Ensure that your presentation will take the allotted two minutes. Do not be concerned about saying everything that you do. You will get an opportunity to discuss your business in detail during the informal part of the meeting. Ready to find out about Mark Spall? Click here. |
