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The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships - Hardcover | Diverse Reads

The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships

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Named a Best Business Book of 2021 by Soundview Magazine

Reclaim the power of genuine human connection

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 is 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.

ISBN-13: 9781260469882

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: McGraw Hill LLC

Publication Date: 03-30-2021

Pages: 224

Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

Susan McPherson is a serial connector, seasoned communicator and founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focused on the intersection of brands and social impact. She is the author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships. Susan has 25+ years of experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications, speaking regularly at industry conferences, and contributing to the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes. She was selected to the Forbes 50 over 50 Social Impact list, appeared on NPR and CNN, and has been featured in USA Today, The New Yorker, New York magazine, and the Los Angeles Times. 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.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Part I Gather

1 Help, I Don't Know Anyone! 3

2 Invite to Get Invited 21

3 Location, Location, Location 33

4 Zoom Calls, DMS, IRL Meetings, and Snail Mail, Oh My! 51

5 The Constellation Effect 71

Part II Ask

6 How Can I Help? 85

7 Know Your Ask: The Who, What, Where of Getting What You Want 97

8 Pitch Perfect 107

9 Speak Up! A Guide for Introverts 115

10 Communication 101 121

Part III Do

11 The Art of the Follow-Up 141

12 Spread the Wealth 161

13 Not for Profit 169

14 Always Take (and Innovate On) the Meeting 175

Epilogue 183

Acknowledgments 187

Notes 189

Index 195