Recently, the Guardian posted an article titled, There’s nothing more excruciating than trying to talk to someone who isn’t interested. And I should know … by Adrian Chiles.

The article begins, ‘there are few things worse than trying to engage in conversation with someone who plainly does not want to talk to you…’

I mean who could disagree?

However.

In the creative industries, relationships are central to our success. And the ability to create new relationships is as important to writers as being able to string a compelling sentence together.

The Guardian article regales the tale of an awkward encounter at a party, one that left the author feeling pretty crap. And we have all been there.

We all have emotional blood stains from botched encounters, awkward conversations, faux pas and just plain old rude people.

I get it. I do. I also dislike networking.

BUT, I recognise the enormous importance of it as a skillset. And it really is a skillset that you can learn in a day. Master even in a day. We are all pretty good at from the get go, but we have stories and baggae around it that gets in our way.

I can see in so many fabulously talented creatives, filmmakers, writers, even actors, whose careers are not soaring as high as they should simply because of the dread that the word networking manifests in their very being.

I have myself experienced many terrible faux pas.

Perhaps the worst being the time I spoke to Gail Anne Hurd after she handed me an award for a film I had made. Dizzied, I spoke about how she and other women filmmakers had inspired myself and my then business partner Genevieve Jolliffe. People like her and Kathryn Bigelow. The room went silent. Her PA gave me the face of horror. Then Gail said ‘Oh you mean the James Cameron ex wives club?’

I wanted to die.

But you know the funny thing?

I didn’t.

And I even managed a brief apology and continued the conversation.

Now I just wanted to vomit.

Again I didn’t.

The point is clear.

As the author in the Guardian article pointed out, we will at some point have regrettable encounters. It’s inevitable. But for the most part, these encounters are at worst, tons of fun, and at best, career and life changing.

And all too often, this single skill is the biggest one in the way of success for so many of us.

Yes, we all have experiences that has left us with this sense of dread around going up to people we don’t know, but that’s mostly from adolescence.

And if you are up for being challenged, lat me ask you this. Is this all that is in your way?

Because THIS is super easy AND fun to overcome.

It’s why I created the one day Networking Masterclass that is taking place in September.

And directly after the event, we have an actual party with 600 industry peeps. I mean COME ON!

So if you are hesitant about networking, join me for a day of networking training, when you will flip the story, and quickly become that person who looks forward to, and adores, networking events.

I look forward to seeing you there…

Here’s the link to join us…