December has been busy with holiday parties and networking events.
Between the Chamber Ambassador holiday party, the main chamber celebration, and the Palm Beach County Bar Association event I recently sponsored, my calendar has been packed.
I didn’t throw a specific SalesBountyHunter party this year, which in hindsight, I probably should have.
But here’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.
Table of Contents
Personal Connection
The best part about these holiday events? It’s not the business cards or the pitches. It’s the personal interactions. These are business events, sure, but you’re not really conducting business at them. Instead, you’re meeting people at a personal level.
Even though everybody’s all done up, they sort of let their hair down. People are having a few drinks, getting to know each other without their work hats on, and actually having fun. You hear about their families, their holiday plans, the stuff that matters beyond the day to day grind. That’s where real relationships get formed.
My Networking Trap
I’ll be honest about something. One trap I fall into at holiday parties, and networking in general, is gravitating towards people I already know well instead of meeting new people. I’m by no means perfect at that. But it’s always a high point when I get to go layers deeper with somebody I don’t know as well, or meet somebody completely new.
At the same time, building a relationship long term does involve revisiting those people you do know well, right? You’re taking things to another level, learning something more, or providing some value. It’s not about what I can get out of stuff. What I can do for other people is really where the magic happens.
Building these kinds of relationships is central to my work in recruiting. I share more about connecting people in 80 Candidates and Counting.
Beyond The Usual
This season also brought some unique experiences. I attended a Forum Club interview with Soledad O’Brien, the CNN reporter turned documentarian. She had a lot of interesting insights. Pretty cool stuff.
Then there was the chamber presentation on artificial intelligence. This one was kind of spooky and strange. They had virtual, AI generated avatars leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance and introducing speakers. Normally a human would be on stage at the podium doing all this. Instead, it was a video of an obviously computer generated person or of actual chamber leaders.
They also created a GPT trained on all of the chamber president’s past podcasts and speeches. They asked questions live, with the actual president standing there too. The computer’s answers were almost identical to what he said, even though the responses were gathered in advance. Weird and interesting stuff in the world of AI. Ultimately, to inspire everybody to get more active and productive with these tools.
Other Pictures
Here are some other pictures of me and Ana.
Conclusion
Holiday parties are more than just showing up and shaking hands. They’re about letting people see who you truly are, sharing stories, and finding ways to add value to others’ lives. Whether it’s reconnecting with old friends or pushing yourself to meet someone new, the personal connections you build during this season often matter more than any business deal.
So if you’re headed to holiday parties this season, don’t just stick to your comfort zone. Step out a little. Ask about someone’s family. Share a personal story. That’s where the real networking happens.
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