Last week I wrote about people with whom to consider networking.

So there you are, all ready to pick up the phone, write that re-introductory email or saunter into the cocktail party ... and you freeze. You don't know what to say!

And you dread that ever-so-intrusive question "So tell me, what is it you do?"

It's simple if you have no goals of career change in mind. You're a doctor, after all, and everyone knows what that means.

But what if you no longer want to be pigeon-holed as a physician?

Here are tips to break the conversational ice and position yourself in your new forthcoming as-yet-to-be defined role:

1. Declare your intention. I help my clients develop a straightforward almost scripted response that indicates what they are intending to do, and are in the process of making happen -- hence their need to network and get the assistance of others.
   
   This takes the pressure off having to fumph and stutter and feel like a bumbling novice idiot at this networking stuff.
   
   Say "I'm passionate about  _______________ (gardening) and I want to transition to _______________ (healing landscaping) to take advantage of my skills of ________________ (my talents as a gardener as well as my knowledge of medicine and healing plants)."
   
   
2. Let people know who you best like to help or work with. If your listener understands who your ideal "target person" is (the person or people you want to meet), they can more easily introduce you.
   
   If he or she knows what job, career or field you are considering transitioning into, they can mentally scan their Rolodexes to figure out how to help. Which most people naturally are inclined to do.
   
   Say "I work with ___________ (hospital administrators) who are struggling with _______________ (how to communicate effectively with their medical staff and get them to help control utilization) and a good person for me to meet is _____________ (the CEO of Main Street Hospital)"
   
   
3. Illustrate your points with stories or anecdotes. From infancy, we are hard-wired to listen raptly to stories. They fire up our imaginations, and open up our creative thinking.
   
   Share brief case studies from your prior experience, or tell success (or funny failure) stories. Use visual and emotional language to engage them. Reminisce about times when you were engaged in your passion, and how much fun you were having.
    
   
4. Steer the conversation to the other person. People love to be heard. When you have given your short "scripted response" as outline above, make a point of turning the tables on them ("So Joe, I'd love to hear a bit about you and your line of work. What is it you do?") and getting to know them much better.
   
   Ask them how they got into their field (hopefully your field of interest). Find out what they love most about their work. Or what their biggest challenges are, and how they have chosen to solve them. Be interested, focus less on trying to be interesting!
   
   
5. Be genuinely curious about the other person. This is an extension of number 4. You'll have so much more fun and be under way less pressure if you focus on building a real relationship, even if it is around your golf scores or your family vacation plans. It makes a conversation a whole lot less stressful.
   

Next time, we'll focus on what to do after that initial conversation.

In response to demand, and hot on the heels of our popular May teleclass on Internet Marketing 101 for Physician Entrepreneurs (how to create an effective website!), I interviewed Shama Hyder of AfterTheLaunch for this week's podcast.

Internet Marketing expert Shama has mastered the skill of making tough technical ideas seem easy to understand!

In the podcast, I explore with Shama just what SEO (search engine optimization) is, and why it matters to any medical or physician website owner who wants to be found on the Web through the search engines by potential patients or clients.

Shama generously shares the simpler optimization tips that even non-techies can implement (such as using your best key words and phrases in your content and in your article or blog post titles).

Listen here to the The Entrepreneurial MD's Insights from the Professionals Podcast (it runs about 28 minutes) and then please come on back to this blog and add your comment or ask a question. Shama or I will get back to you!

I recently had several clients in career transition who have networked their way into excellent positions. They used many time-tested techniques to great effect.

I thought I'd run a series of blog posts over the next few weeks highlighting specific ways to build your networking skills. These will build on the four newsletter articles I wrote last year by breaking the ideas down into bite-sized chunks.

But first, why network?

Here's what I believe:

• we are social animals who thrive on being connected
• we like to be helpful
• we like to be appreciated for being helpful
• we benefit from knowing that someone "owes us one" once we have been helpful to them
• we never know where the connection might lead us, and that is exciting
• we enjoy better mental, physical and spiritual health when we have a sense of belonging

Networking is NOT about what I can get from you. It is ALL about creating caring, helpful relationships.

I really want to emphasize this hugely important attitude shift.

So where do you begin?

Who can you network with?

The ideal starting position for networking is where you share something in common (an affiliation)

• high school and college alumni -- many have created groups specifically for the purpose of networking
• professional association colleagues (e.g. your state medical society, your specialty organization's local chapter)
• your religious community - church, temple, mosque, prayer house etc.
• your child's school, through a parent community
• as a volunteer in an organization or community
• serving on an organization or company's board
• through a referral, with an introduction
• as part of a formal networking organization, such as mine (Provisors), Vistage, BNI etc.
• as a volunteer helping to put on a conference or seminar in your industry of interest
• at a cocktail party or social event

Next time, we'll talk about what to say to your potential network resource.

And if you have any questions about becoming a more effective networker, please send them to me here. I'll be sure to answer them in this blog post series.

Quick reminder - next week is another free teleclass in The Entrepreneurial MD Business Development series and our topic is "Internet Marketing 101 for Entrepreneurial Physicians".

My guest, Shama Hyder of AfterTheLaunch.com, is a delightful AND knowledgeable marketing specialist who will take our hands and guide us gently through the basics of creating an effective online presence.

Not only will she address what is needed to create a good and useful website that delivers, but she will also discuss how to take advantage of the burgeoning social marketing sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

And if you are wondering if you really need a website for your practice or business, here are some of my thoughts:

How important is a website for a physician in business?

One deadly marketing mistake many physicians make in business

Is your website a waste of time? Four deadly website failures for physician business owners to avoid

...plus my most favorite resource to help you create the content for a website that truly communicates your message:

The Website ToolKit, found in the Marketing Products and Tools section at Action Plan Marketing. It's what I used to develop my website AND it has helped several physician and healthcare professional business owners build theirs.

Here are some cool examples:

Extra MD
Live Fit Medicine
Child Development Partners

So register and join us for the free teleclass, and invite your friends, as we embark on a 60-minute crash course to demystify how to take maximum advantage of the world wide web!

The number one fear is public speaking, exceeding that of death -- correct?

Or so we were told by a London Times survey of 3000 Americans back in 1973. This finding has been borne out repeatedly since then.

In my very early career days as a pathology resident (yes, my tortuous career has even included a year in pathology, which I quit after being buried in the hospital basement "dungeon" for hours on end with scary dieners), I had to resort to a beta-blocker to stop my hand shaking while using the laser pointer to show a scattering of abnormal cells on a projected microscopic specimen.

Since then, I have evolved to a mild belly flutter just before starting to speak, which is merely to emphasize that you too can overcome paralyzing fear and master the skills needed to be a competent and even engaging speaker!

The good news is that there are now numerous resources online to help speed up your acquisition of these learned skills.

But first, why bother?

Mastering presentation skills offers the following:

• the ability to get in front of your audience and lead them to the destination of your choosing - this is accomplished by many great entertainers
• the opportunity to speak to a larger group of people in your target market and leverage your time -- much easier than all those one-on-one networking coffees and lunches
• the ability to project confidence and trustworthiness that an email or letter or website cannot convey
• the opportunity for your prospective clients or patients to experience you and decide if they like and trust you
• the chance to get your audience's attention and interest, generate desire, and to incite them to action, without "pushing the sale"
• the opportunity to position yourself as an expert, go-to person or trusted advisor, without having to advertise
• the privilege of being able to influence, persuade and inspire others

In an earlier post, I shared resources that required some investment in your speaking career.

Here then are some of the freebies:

Presentation Masterclass Part 1: Introduction
5 Key Questions When Planning Your Presentation (Presentation Masterclass - Part 2)
Note: Shaping your presentation - Part 3 is yet to come
Presentation Zen - a great site to sift through to find the gems of top notch presentations with footnotes as to what makes them sparkle
MasterViews International - a site filled with tips on making those deadly PowerPoints sing!
Guy Kawasaki's under 2-minute 10-20-30 presentation video and blog

With all this help, what's there to be afraid of?