Alumni pose with Chris Littlefield, founder of AcknowledgementWorks.

Last month, alumni were selected to participate in a workshop facilitated by Chris Littlefield, founder of AcknowledgementWorks. In this rapidly changing economy, it is more important than ever to be an effective networker. Networking is about building and maintaining relationships that provide access to people, resources and opportunities. In this workshop, alumni learned how to step away from just handing out business cards, to start building and maintaining authentic relationships that produced results!

Alumni spent the first full day doing activities and exercises to learn about networking and communication. The alumni were given assignments to do overnight that involved interviewing other people about their own communication styles. The second day, the group met outdoors at a busy café, where the trainer reviewed the assignment, expanded upon the first day’s training, and gave alumni a new assignment to interview strangers by the café in order to increase their skills of effective communication and networking.

The program also covered topics that focused on: identifying and capitalizing your current network; turning every conversation into an opportunity; knowing the right time to check in; networking at work; hearing hidden opportunities, and getting back power in disempowering situations. Salim Al Sinawi from YES ‘13 said, “The training was amazing and Chris was so  energetic in teaching! It wasn’t boring at all! I developed so many skills in communication that will help me in the future.” The event was a great success!