Let's Talk: The Lost Art of Connecting w/ Susan McPherson

Networking is often considered a necessary evil for all working professionals. With social media platforms like Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at our disposal, reaching potential investors or employers are much easier. Yet, these connections often feel transactional, agenda-driven, and dehumanizing, leaving professionals feeling burnt out and stressed out.   Instead, we should connect on a human level and build authentic relationships beyond securing a new job or a new investor for your next big idea. To build real and meaningful networking contacts, we need to go back to basics, remembering that technology is a tool and more than just a means to an end. We need to tap into our humanity and learn to be more intentional and authentic.    As a “serial connector” and communications expert, Susan McPherson has a lifetime of experience building genuine connections in and out of work. Her methodology is broken down into three simple steps:

• Gather: Instead of waiting for the perfect networking opportunity to come to you, think outside the box and create your own opportunity. Host your own dinner party, join a local meet-up group or volunteer at your neighborhood food pantry.
• Ask: Instead of leading with our own rehearsed elevator pitches, asking for help, ask to help, opening the door to share resources, experience, contacts, and perspectives that add diversity to your own vision.
• Do: Turn new connections into meaningful relationships by taking these newly formed relationships deeper. Follow through on the promises you made and keep in touch.

Woven together with helpful tips and useful advice on making the most out of every step, this book draws on McPherson’s own experience as a renowned “serial connector,” as well as the real-life success stories of friends and clients. Filled with humor, humility, and wisdom, The Lost Art of Connecting is the handbook we all need to foster personal and professional relationships that blur the lines between work and play―and enrich our lives in every way.

We're excited to have a leading expert on the subject, Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting, who will be coming to talk about the importance of connecting. Susan will share her methodology for creating amazing connections using her Gather, Ask, Do method for building meaningful business relationships. Susan believes that what this all really boils down to, in addition to being a good listener, is asking, 'How can I help?' Being generous with your suggestions, ideas, and connections - even when you don't need something from the other person - is one of the most powerful ways to connect." 

Join us for our next Let's Talk:

12 pm- 1 pm PST San Francisco, CA

3 pm-  4 pm EST New York, NY

8 pm - 9 pm GMT, London, UK

5 am - 6  am KST, Seoul, South Korea

Susan McPherson is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focusing on the intersection between brands and social impact, providing storytelling, partnership creation, and visibility to corporations, NGOs, and social enterprises. She’s a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes and has 25+ years of experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications. She is a featured speaker at industry events including Net Impact, Inspirefest/Dublin, Center for Corporate Citizenship's Annual Summit, DLD, TOA Berlin, and Techonomy. Susan is a regular guest on a variety of business and leadership podcasts and has appeared on NPR, CNN, and CBC (Canada) as well as been quoted in major media outlets including USA Today, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times.

Currently, Susan invests in and advises women-led technology start-ups, including iFundWomen, Inc., Messy.fm, The Riveter, News Deeply, Hint Water, Apolitical, Arlo Skye, and The Muse. She serves on the boards of USA for UNHCR, Girl Rising, The PVBLIC Foundation, and the Lower Eastside Girls Club, and previously served on the board of Bpeace. Additionally, she is a member of the MIT Solve Women and Technology Leadership Group and serves as an adviser to several nonprofits, including Girls Who Code, Ocean Collective, She’s The First, The Adventure Project, and The OpEd Project. Susan is a Vital Voices global corporate ambassador and has received numerous accolades for her voice on social media platforms from Fortune Magazine, Fast Company, and Elle Magazine. She resides in Brooklyn with her rescue pup.

Susan's book The Lost Art of Connecting comes out *THIS MONTH* Have you preordered your copy? Available March 23rd.  https://lnkd.in/gJ2hb38

Join us on Let’s Talk as with Susan to hear her story  

Let's Talk is a bi-weekly conversation with leading executives, thought leaders, and changemakers. There are no presentations or talking heads, just people having a conversation about career, family, and what matters the most to them.

It doesn't have to be lonely at the top.