Nabarro networking event attracts LCN publisher

Nabarro recently ran a networking event for its work placement scheme students (and others), designed to introduce vital skills such as: how to join and leave a group; how to introduce yourself; and how to get people to remember your name! The participants were then given a chance to practice their new skills over drinks and canapés.

Keen to hone his own skills in this area, Matthew Broadbent, publisher of LawCareers.Net, attended. He gives his account of the session here:

"Question: What's scarier than walking into a room full of complete strangers? Answer: Walking into a room of complete strangers and being expected to just go up and talk to them. Lots of them. And not being allowed to find one person to cling onto for the evening while you drink someone else's booze. Instead you have to systematically 'work the room', making yourself agreeable, remembering names and avoiding humiliating faux pas.

Unless you're blessed with the confidence of Boris Johnson or Jeremy Kyle, barrelling into a networking event is understandably daunting. However it's a skill that you'll probably have to develop along the way so you might as well face up to it. There are two ways of doing this: trial and error or getting some help. It was the latter approach that the graduate recruitment team at Nabarro took when they hosted an event for a group of 30 work placement students last week with attendees drawn from their vacation scheme and interns on schemes at PwC and Knight Frank. Led by the dynamic Jo McKay, Nabarro's head of development , we were hit with a few of the basics: state your name (first name then full name), give a firm (but not crushing) handshake, adopt an open posture and make eye contact, wear your name badge on the right (it's easiest to read during the shake) and, most importantly, get a drink. But it's not about boozing! The drink acts as a comforter, giving you something to hold onto and leaving you with one fewer limb to think about.

Drinks duly issued, it was time to practice. Introduction practice was followed by the more advanced techniques of joining groups (the group is responsible for welcoming you and bringing you up to speed on the conversation) and leaving groups (it's not rude, you're networking for goodness sake). There was even some entertaining discussion on how to extract yourself from the type of person you would have been without this invaluable training!

By the end of the event it seemed like a real party, with smooth young professionals flitting from person to person like it was the most natural thing in the world….."