I spent Sunday afternoon doing a bit of networking. Not the sort involving name badges, awkward introductions and people trying to sell you something, but the much nicer sort involving coffee, conversation and meeting people you wouldn’t normally cross paths with.
A friend of ours set up a social group called Preston Coffee & Chat back in March, with the idea of bringing people together, making new friends and encouraging a little more face-to-face conversation.
We went along to Chew’s Yard in Preston to help promote the group, handing out flyers and chatting to people over the course of four hours.
It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Conversations that go somewhere
One of the things I enjoyed most was the variety of people we met. Different ages, different backgrounds and plenty of interesting conversations.
A particular highlight was chatting with a student about their end-of-year branding project. We ended up discussing their ideas, looking at the direction of the work and exploring a few ways they could develop it further.
Having spent over 20 years working across design, development and marketing, it’s always enjoyable to revisit the creative process through someone else’s eyes.
I think there’s something quite rewarding about sharing experience without it being part of a formal working environment. Sometimes a fresh perspective or a few questions are enough to help someone see their own work differently.
And it works both ways. Talking to people who are still studying and experimenting is a useful reminder that creativity doesn’t have to follow the same processes we’ve become accustomed to over the years.
Getting away from the usual circles
Working in digital means I spend a considerable amount of time looking at screens, solving problems and communicating with people online.
It’s easy to forget how valuable an afternoon of completely unstructured conversation can be.
There was no agenda, no presentation and certainly no expectation that anything productive needed to come out of it. Yet I came away having met some interesting people, shared a little knowledge and learnt a few things myself.
I suppose that’s networking in its simplest form. Not collecting contacts or looking for opportunities, but just being curious about people and what they do.
More of this, please
I think what our friend has started with Preston Coffee & Chat is a genuinely worthwhile thing. Creating opportunities for people to meet, particularly when so much of our lives happens online, feels increasingly important.
It was good to play a small part in helping promote it, and even better to see how a simple conversation can turn into something interesting.
Four hours well spent, and a nice reminder that you don’t always have to be working to put your experience to good use.